Paris is celebrating the opening of the new T3 route as part of its Metro tram network. Even the Germans are impressed. (And since Siemen’s invented the technology which made the electric streetcar possible, this is very gracious of them.) You can read more about it in Spiegel Online:
Now the plan is to supplement the star-shaped métro network and the meandering bus routes with a circular tram line — starting with the T3, which will cut through the city’s southwest, from Pont Gariglino to Porte d’Ivry, 7.9 kilometers (4.9 miles) long. (You can see the route here along with other cities that have caught the fever.)
The elegant green and white cars will carry almost twice as many commuters every day as local buses — some 100,000 people. (That’s the number of people the Canada Line is supposed to attract on opening.) The strips of grass and the reduction in car traffic should improve the quality of life for residents. (They even sacrificed a lane of traffic to give the tram its own right-of-way.)
Lots of pictures of the tram and public art here in Le Monde. And this story from the BBC via Colleen Nystedt.
Here’s a link to a number of information pages in English on the T3 Line. There’s a 14km eastern extension planned to Porte de la Chappelle.
http://www.tramway.paris.fr/tram.asp?section=I&lapage=espace_presse/I7.asp
One figure that struck me was that the 7.9km line takes 24 minutes to tranverse, however, it is a ring line and the 4 minute frequency will feed a lot of riders into (and from) the 5 Metro and 2 RER transfer stations on the line.
I foresee a similar role for Vancouver’s proposed streetcar line feeding riders into (and from) the Olympic Village Station, Main Street Station, Waterfront Station and Yaletown-Roundhouse Station.