• The metropolis of Montpellier is investing 70 million euros in the tram network.

  • Because the network is aging, and it has only been slightly renovated, points out Michaël Delafosse (PS).

  • The vast project, launched on May 30, will allow the laying of new rails, but also the modernization of switches, and the installation of new coatings.

A few months ago, in the Albert-1er district, in Montpellier (Hérault), residents and shopkeepers complained of the terrible screeching of the tram.

The fault of heavy rains, which had washed the distilled grease on the rails, water-soluble for environmental reasons.

Because the network is aging.

Created in 2000 for its oldest part (line 1), it has only been slightly renovated, points out Michaël Delafosse (PS), the mayor and president of the metropolis of Montpellier.

“Maintaining the existing heritage is essential and requires significant resources.

Public policies attached to urban transport have more often put forward new projects than the maintenance or modernization of our transport heritage.

Between 2009 and 2019, only 20 million had been invested in renovating infrastructure and rolling stock”, notes the elected official, who deplores “underinvestment”.

“We are no longer in the field of comfort, but of safety”

And the consequences can be more serious than occasional squeaks.

Since 2016, the metropolis has recorded 20 rail breaks each year.

Since the beginning of 2021, four derailments have taken place, Place de l'Europe, Sabines, Pérols, and Gambetta.

The community has thus announced that an envelope of 70 million euros will be devoted to the renovation of the tram network, by 2024. “We are no longer in the field of comfort, but in that of safety.

Which, tomorrow, will improve comfort, ”says Laurent Nison, the president of Tam.

The project, launched on May 30, will consist of replacing or renovating part of the rails, the motorization of switches, switches, coatings, railway signaling equipment or sanitation systems.

Beyond improving comfort for passengers and Tam staff, this work will, indicates the metropolis of Montpellier, reduce incidents, in particular the risk of derailment, switch failures, and delays .

In addition, the community announced another envelope, of 18 million euros, to modernize the operating systems of the Tam, in particular the terminals of visual information, the video or the railway signaling.

In December 2020, it had already announced the launch of a vast call for tenders to acquire 77 new tramway trainsets, to renew and complete the aging rolling stock of lines 1, 2, 3 and 4. But, above all, also to support the launch of line 5 in 2025.

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  • Tram

  • Transportation

  • Michael Delafosse

  • Montpellier

  • Occitania

  • Languedoc Roussillon