The Tramway Revolution in France 1985-2015 Volume 5:The Sout

Just over two years from the appearance of Volume 1 of this story, the final instalment makes its slightly delayed appearance. It is worth recording all that has happened in the French story since earlier volumes were produced. In 1983 there were in France three tram systems in service on 27.7km of lines, of which one (Lille) seemed to have a limited future. In 2017 there are (including Lille) 25 conventional systems, with another under construction in Avignon. These have 1,235 trams running on 67 lines of a total route length of 687km. The stage has now been reached at which the pioneer cars of the early systems are coming to the end of their life. The success of the tram in its home market has formed the basis for a flourishing export industry especially to the new systems in North Africa, where equally striking developments, based largely on French technology, are under way.