Tram systems in Valenciennes
Valenciennes is a city in the Nord department of the Hauts-de-France region of northern France, close to the Belgian border. Situated on the River Scheldt, known locally as the Escaut, it is the principal centre of the Valenciennois area. Its artistic heritage has earned it the nickname “Athens of the North”, while the surrounding towns reflect the area’s long association with coal mining and heavy industry.
Public transport in Valenciennes and the surrounding area operates under the Transvilles name, serving the communities of Valenciennes Métropole and La Porte du Hainaut. The network combines two tram lines with an extensive bus network, including the principal Lianes routes, local services, city-centre shuttles and demand-responsive transport.
Valenciennes railway station is an important interchange between the tramway, buses and regional rail services. Other interchange points, including Denain Espace Villars and Famars Université, connect the tramway with buses serving the wider area.
The tramway extends beyond Valenciennes itself, linking the city with surrounding communities along corridors towards Denain and Vieux-Condé. Its two lines share the central route through Valenciennes railway station and the city centre.
Line T1 runs between Denain Espace Villars and Famars Université, passing through Hérin, La Sentinelle, Anzin and central Valenciennes before reaching the university campus at Mont Houy. Line T2 connects Vieux-Condé Le Boulon with Valenciennes via Condé-sur-l’Escaut, Fresnes-sur-Escaut, Escautpont, Bruay-sur-l’Escaut and Anzin. Its southern terminus is Vosges, with selected services continuing to Famars Université according to the operating period.
Transvilles — Keolis Hainaut Valenciennois (Keolis group)
The tram and bus network is operated by Keolis Hainaut Valenciennois on behalf of SIMOUV, the Syndicat Intercommunal de Mobilité et d’Organisation Urbaine du Valenciennois, which is responsible for organising public transport across Valenciennes Métropole and La Porte du Hainaut.
Trams first appeared in Valenciennes in 1881, when steam services began operating on a metre-gauge network. The system expanded beyond the city to connect surrounding industrial towns and communities, eventually reaching the Belgian border. It became an important means of transport across the Valenciennois, serving a much wider area than the city centre alone.
Electrification took place in the years around the First World War, replacing steam locomotives with electric tramcars. The network subsequently continued to carry passengers between Valenciennes and neighbouring towns, with tramcars hauling trailers to provide additional capacity at busy times.
Despite reconstruction following damage during the Second World War, the tramway was progressively replaced by buses as transport policy increasingly favoured road traffic. The last services ran on 2 July 1966, bringing the original network’s operation to an end.
Interest in a modern tramway developed during the 1990s as the local transport authority considered ways to improve public transport and address road congestion. Studies and public consultation established a route linking the university campus at Mont Houy with central Valenciennes, the railway station and Anzin, continuing west to Dutemple.
The project also formed part of a wider programme of urban renewal. Its construction brought changes to streets and public spaces along the route, helping to reshape the centre of Valenciennes as well as providing a new transport link. Construction of the first phase began in 2003.
The modern tramway began passenger service on 3 July 2006, almost exactly forty years after the original network closed. The first section connected Université at Famars with Dutemple, passing through central Valenciennes and serving the railway station. Unlike the original metre-gauge system, the new tramway was built to standard gauge and equipped with modern low-floor vehicles.
An extension from Dutemple to Denain Espace Villars opened on 31 August 2007. Much of the extension reused the alignment of the former Somain–Péruwelz railway, giving the tramway a substantial interurban section and establishing the main route of today’s T1.
The next major expansion took the tramway north through Bruay-sur-l’Escaut, Escautpont, Fresnes-sur-Escaut and Condé-sur-l’Escaut to Le Boulon in Vieux-Condé. Following an inauguration in December 2013, the new line entered passenger service on 24 February 2014, creating the two-line network.
The new route was built largely as a single-track tramway with passing places, reducing construction costs while extending rail-based public transport to communities across the northern part of the Valenciennois. It joined the existing route at Pont Jacob, allowing T2 services to continue through Valenciennes alongside T1.
Valenciennes currently has 2 tram lines, which are listed below.
| Line | Description |
|---|---|
| T1 | Line T1 runs between Denain Espace Villars and Famars Université via Hérin, Anzin and Valenciennes. |
| T2 | Line T2 runs between Vieux-Condé Le Boulon and Valenciennes Vosges via Condé-sur-l’Escaut, Fresnes-sur-Escaut and Bruay-sur-l’Escaut. |
Valenciennes has a conventional steel-wheel tramway built to 1,435 mm standard gauge. The network operates entirely at surface level, combining urban tramway sections through Valenciennes with longer suburban routes linking neighbouring towns.
T1 is double-track throughout, while the northern section of T2 towards Vieux-Condé is predominantly single-track, with passing places allowing trams travelling in opposite directions to cross. T2 joins T1 near Pont Jacob and uses the existing double-track infrastructure through central Valenciennes. This combination of double-track urban running and a substantial single-track outer route is a distinctive feature of the system.
Much of the tramway runs on reserved track, with grassed and paved surfaces used according to the surrounding streetscape. The extension towards Denain incorporates part of the former Somain–Péruwelz railway alignment, providing a corridor separated from ordinary road traffic. The central route crosses the Escaut at Pont Jacob.
The network is electrified at 750 V DC, supplied through overhead wires and collected by roof-mounted pantographs. Overhead electrification is used throughout, including the city-centre section.
Both lines use Alstom Citadis 302 trams. These are articulated, fully low-floor vehicles with driving cabs at both ends and doors on both sides, allowing them to reverse at termini without turning loops.
| Type | Fleet | Length | Width | Configuration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alstom Citadis 302 | 30 | Approximately 33 m | 2.40 m | Five articulated sections on three bogies |
The vehicles have two powered bogies and an unpowered central bogie. Their maximum operating speed is 70 km/h, although lower limits apply according to the route and surrounding environment.
The low-floor vehicles and raised stop platforms provide step-free boarding. Both tram lines are identified as fully accessible in the operator’s published timetable.
The tram fleet is based at Saint-Waast depot, connected to T1 between Anzin Hôtel de Ville and Saint-Waast Hôpital. The site provides tram storage and maintenance facilities and houses the central control room supervising tram operations across the network. Both T1 and T2 use this shared depot.