The Tramway Revolution in France 1985-2015 Volume 1 Introduc

Since 1985 there has been an exponential growth in the construction of modern tramways in France, to the extent where almost all the larger cities were by 2015 equipped with at least one line. From 1997 to the present day, only one year has passed without the building of either a new system or the extension of an existing one. Since 1989 a total of 713km of route has been added to the systems already in operation in that year and in 2006 and 2012 over 100km of new tramway were opened. Trams now run in 25 cities in France, with one other system, in Avignon, under construction, and if the three systems using rubber-tyred cars are included, the total by the end of 2016 will be 29. The French tram has been an ideal instrument with which to adapt its towns and cities to the ideas of the late 20th and 21st centuries and to challenge the dominance of the motor vehicle. This is the 1st book in a series of 4 and starts to introduce the story to the reader.