• "20 Minutes" takes stock of the three connections missing from the Montpellier tramway, ten years after the inauguration of lines 3 and 4.

  • The tram to the sea seems badly blocked, its extension to the airport is much better engaged, and the service to the Sud de France station is recorded.

In Montpellier (Hérault), we celebrate the tenth anniversary of the inauguration of lines 3 and 4 of the tramway, which have considerably enriched the network.

But the network of the territory is not completely completed, and there are still, in the boxes, a lot of projects.

20 Minutes

takes stock of the extensions that users have been waiting for for ages.

The tram to the sea

It's a vast sea serpent. Every summer, more than one tourist is surprised by the terminus of line 3 of the tramway in Pérols, 2 km from the beaches of Palavas-les-Flots.

All summer long, endless lines of holidaymakers line the road to take a dip in the Mediterranean.

The problem is that the tramway is that of the metropolis of Montpellier, and that the beaches are in the agglomeration of the Pays de l'Or.

Despite good intentions, no elected representative from Montpellier has managed to advance this file, which is highly anticipated by users.

Michaël Delafosse (PS), the mayor and president of the metropolis, is in favor of it.

"If the department and the region are stakeholders in this project, we can conduct a fruitful dialogue with the agglomeration of the Pays de l'Or, and finally get out of this absurdity of a tram stopping in the middle of a circle -point, confided the elected official to 20 Minutes, a few days before his election, in 2020. I will roll up my sleeves, to try to solve this problem.

»

In the Pays de l'Or, on the other hand, the tram is not at all on the agenda.

“We have no desire to undertake studies, indicated, on February 11, Stéphan Rossignol (LR), the president of the agglomeration and mayor of Grande-Motte, reports

Midi Libre

.

Even if we wanted to and we don't, we wouldn't be able to afford the line.

Yvon Bourrel (various left), its first vice-president and mayor of Mauguio, is leaning towards studying "the possibility of using the superb body of water that is the Canal du Rhône à Sète".

The tramway to the sea is badly blocked.

The tram at the airport

It's a bit the same problem as with the tramway to the sea: Montpellier airport is located on the territory of the Pays de l'Or conurbation.

But on this point, the community seems more open to discussion.

"We are ready to engage in discussions and to co-finance studies for the link between the Sud de France station and the airport", slipped Stéphan Rossignol, on February 11.

Exchanges mentioned by Michaël Delafosse, during the first Assizes of the territory, two days earlier.

The tram at the airport, it urges, too.

If there is a shuttle that transports users from Montpellier to the platform, many still come by car.

On the side of the airport, it is confided that the service by public transport arises with force, for environmental reasons.

But also because the airport has undertaken a rise in power in recent years.

Just like its economic district.

Is the tram the ideal solution?

That, the airport does not interfere.

It is up to the public authorities, entrust his services, to decide.

Because it is expensive, the tramway: 20 to 30 million euros per kilometer.

Three are missing, to go to the airport.

The tramway at the Sud de France station

That's done.

And so much the better.

Because since its opening in 2018, Montpellier's second TGV station has been singled out for its poor connection to public transport.

Michaël Delafosse confirmed, during his wishes, in January, that line 1 of the tramway would be extended by a little more than a kilometer, from Odysseum, to reach the new station.

The new infrastructure will be commissioned in 2024.

It will require the construction of a bridge over the A709.

The community had first thought of a high-level service bus line, before discarding the idea.

"Too complex for too unsatisfactory time savings," said the mayor in January, according to

Metropolitan.

Anyway, to pass a bus, you have to build a work of art to connect the station.

So even if it means doing things, you might as well complete the network.

The extension of the tram to the Sud de France station had already been announced by Philippe Saurel (various left), the former mayor and president of the metropolis.

The inauguration was scheduled for the first quarter of 2022.

Montpellier

Montpellier: Tramway and bus controllers equipped with pedestrian cameras

Montpellier

Montpellier: The first line of trambuses will run by 2024 in the metropolis

  • Montpellier

  • Transportation

  • Tram

  • Michael Delafosse

  • Occitania

  • Languedoc Roussillon