Tram-TrainTram-Train5, a v e n u e d u C o q75009 Paris FRANCETel : +33 (0)1 40 16 61 00Fax : +33 (0)1 40 16 61 04systra@systra.com

Reference studies

Sept. 2007

The tram-train concept is based on the use of existing railway lines by urban tramways, in order

to connect suburban centres to town centres, with no transfer.

Since 1995, SYSTRA has been at the forefront of researchwork into the tram-train concept in France.

For our company, it has proved a perfect application for its skills in transport planning and

engineering in both urban and rail transport.Our in-depth research resulted in the publication

in 1997, under the aegis of GART, of the text book «Quand le tramway sort de la ville»1.

SYSTRA was thus at the root of many peri-urban projects, for example, in Nantes, Lyons and Mulhouse, where the

service along the Thur valley is currently one of the most advanced tram-train projects in France.

Overseas, SYSTRA is placing great hope on this efficient and relatively inexpensive concept, both in developed

and in emerging countries.

Tram-train project - Reunion Island é

• Development of the peri-urban tramway(2005-2006): Assistance to the owner, thePublic Transport Division of SNCF, appointedby the French Association of Public TransportAuthorities (GART) to create partnerships between peri-urban rail projects and invitetenders for a new standard of rolling stock, thefirst order being for the Nantes-Châteaubriantand West Lyons Area projects.

• RFF reference documentation on the tram-train infrastructures (2003-2004): the objectivewas to work out, gather and validate a numberof design standards and maintenance prin-ciples to be used on the future tram-train linesof the RFF network, to be commissioned from2006 onwards.

• Guide d’aménagement des intersections voiesferrées / voies routières dans le cadre des pro-jets tram-train2 (2001/02): This guidebook,which was produced jointly with the organisa-tions involved (Direction des Transports Ter-restres, GART, RFF, SNCF, CERTU) makes availableto designers a method of defining develop-ment solutions tailored to the sites' specificcharacteristics. It provides a vital tool for dia-logue between managers of road and railinfrastructures.

• CROSSRAIL (2001): European Commissionproject designed to integrate local and regio-nal rail, including cross border issues. The mainaim was to define the potential market forEuropean tram-train stock.

1 «When the tramway leaves town»2 «Guide for the development of intersections between railway

tracks and roads in the context of tram-train projects»

the carrying out, the operation and the main-tenance of the tram train line.

In this context, SYSTRA won the mission oftechnical assistance to the owner from theReunion Region in order to assist the latter inthe private partner selection process. This pro-cess should last 18 months, from the analysisof candidacies to the partnership contractsignature, passing through the conduct of acompetitive dialogue.

AlsaceMulhouseMulhouse was the first urban area to considerinterconnecting its light rail network with rail-way lines, from the very beginning.Back in 1997, SYSTRA was put in charge of thefeasibility study for an interconnecting tram-way network. In 2000, SYSTRA drew up the application forformal State planning approval for the peri-urban and rural section of the network whichserves the Thur valley, north of the Mulhouseurban area.SYSTRA was project manager of the urbantramway system commissioned in May 2007and, in this quality, assured an interface with theproject management of the peri-urban section.

Strasbourg SYSTRA’s 1997 survey highlighted the poten-tial for a tram-train service offered by theStrasbourg railway system. A service on thelines connecting the Bruche valley and theroad circling the base of the Vosges massif tothe centre of Strasbourg seems very promisingand offers a means of achieving four objec-tives:• improving the service to Enzheim airport,• markedly improving the service in the Stras-bourg suburbs,• reducing traffic congestion around Stras-bourg by providing an efficient and reliablealternative to the inhabitants of the Bruchevalley and of the lower Vosges,• supporting the development of the mainlocal centres of activity in the lower Vosges bycreating quality connections throughout theday.The need to conduct an in-depth demandstudy led SYSTRA to develop innovativetransport models specifically designed to ana-lyse, among other aspects, the transfer anddistribution around the tram-train system, ofjourneys by other modes whether on foot, bybicycle (10%), car (50%) or bus.This work served to highlight the effects ofcreating semi-direct routes and to appraise theattractiveness of stations on the joint section.

• «Entre villes et régions»3 : convergences fortram-train (1999).

•«Quand le tramway sort de la ville» (1997).

• First studies in 1995, on behalf of the FrenchMinistry of Transport (DTT) and of SNCF, of thetechnical conditions for operating «hybrid»tramways on railway lines.

Reunion IslandThe need to limit the impacts of pollution andto curve down road traffic on the ReunionIsland led the Regional Council to put up atram train project serving the northwest of theisland. SYSTRA was a member, from the end of2005 to the start of 2007, of the project mana-gement team for the tram train of the Reu-nion Island, and has contributed to the com-pletion of the basic design of the first phase ofthe project. This first phase, 40 km long, ofwhich 10 km are in tunnel, will link the city ofSaint-Paul to the airport of Gillot (Sainte-Marie). SYSTRA was particularly in charge ofthe project management, of the managementof low voltage equipments (ticketing, video-surveillance, operating systems, passengerinformation systems, central control offices,sound system), of the rolling stock, of the ope-rating and maintenance centre and of thesecurity file which should take into accountproject specificities (tram train, relatively highspeed, urban and interurban sequences, levelcrossings, freight transport issue in city centre).The contract of the consortium was cancelledin March 2007 because of changes in thecontractual building of the operation, theReunion Region deciding to resort to a part-nership contract for the financing, the design,

Projects inFrance projects& cross-border

é Tram-train Avanto - © Siemens/digitalform

çç Régio CITADIS

ç Cross-border tram-train - Geneva

3 «From Towns to Regions»4 Dossiers de Prise en Considération par l’Etat - DPC

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Val de LoireTours• Appraisal of the potential of the Tours rail-way system in the context of a global study bythe Communauté d’Agglomérations TOURSPLUS for the development of its urbantransport plan6.

Rhône-AlpesRhône-Alpes RegionDefinition of the new regional tram-train roll-ing stock to be used on the various peri-urbanprojects in Lyons, St-Etienne and Grenoble(2003-2004).

Lyons• Preliminary study for improving suburbanservices in the West of Lyons and along theLyons-Mâcon line (1997).• Feasibility study for operating an inter-connecting tramway between Perrache andGivors (2001).• Study for the re-opening of the Sathonay-Trévoux line to passenger traffic (2006).

GenevaFunctional and comparative survey on theorganisation of public transport in the Genevaregion (French border and canton of Vaud)

(2002): this was conducted in the context of theregional public transport development plan7

led by the Région Rhône-Alpes and the Cantonof Geneva. The study began with a review ofthe current organisation of public transport in

the area and of future transport requirements(to 2020), and put forward plans for multimo-dal and cross-border services. The aim was togive direction to the planning of the passen-ger transport system in the medium and longterm. The project was also designed to informthe French partners’ appraisal of the relevanceof the CEVA Swiss project for a railway linkbetween Cornavin-Eaux Vives-Annemasse.

Grenoble• Study of improvements to the Grenoble-Vizille railway service on the putting forwardand comparing various proposals for moderni-sation in terms of infrastructure and rollingstock (rail or tram-train).• Design of one of the peri-urban services inthe Grenoble region (1998).

Saint-Etienne• Preliminary review of the potential of theurban railway corridors, with a view to improv-ing urban services (1997).• Several technical studies on the feasibility ofinterconnecting the urban tramway runningon metric gauge track with the Firminy railwayline (2000/02). The work included integrationdesign, feasibility of integrated or separateoperation; comparative study of investmentcosts. These studies allowed for a thoroughappraisal of the requirements associated withinterconnection and provided crucial informa-tion to the decision on the choice of extensionto the urban railway.

Provence- Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Languedoc- RoussillonMarseillesIn the context of development of the MarseillesRER as defined by the CPER8 for 2000-2006,SYSTRA worked with SETEC and AREP on a

Greater Paris regionNorth Tangent Line In the perspective of a railway solution ondedicated line using a light and fast vehicle,called the TLN variant (Tangentielle LégèreNord – Light North Tangent Line), SYSTRA wasresponsible for listing and studying the exist-ing tram-train rolling stock likely to be adap-ted to match the specifications of the targetstock (2003-2004).

«Petite Ceinture»5

SYSTRA conducted several studies on the ParisPetite Ceinture, covering overall feasibility ofimplementing a light rail system and on thetechnical issues with regard to fixed installa-tions and operation.

Aulnay-Bondy Basic design for transforming level crossingsinto crossroads and of the system for manag-ing tram-train right-of-way.

Geneva-canton of Vaud-French border basin: éall types of migrations towards Geneva in 2020

The first French tram-train - the «Ligne des Coquetiers» (T4)

5 Paris Inner railway circle line6 Plan de Déplacements Urbains (PDU)7 Développement des Transports Publics Régionaux - DTPR8 Master contract between the State and a Region,

for a five year period

Tram-Train

study of the access strategy to the railway network in the Huveaune valley (Marseilles-Aubagne). This included, among other aspects,providing effective solutions to improve trans-fer from all modes to existing stations, or planned connections (park-and-ride, publictransport interchange points). These proposalsencompassed technical aspects (design, servi-ces, etc.) as well as institutional issues (schemepromotion, financing, pricing, etc.), all ofwhich are important in such ventures.

Nice-Côte d’Azur • Comprehensive study to define an invest-ment strategy for the coastal railway line inthe Alpes Maritimes, designed to provide thebest railway services in the long term and toschedule the resultant investment costs.• Appraisal of the feasibility in terms ofdemand and economic and financial viabilityof the development of three lines: a coastalline between Cannes and Nice, reopening ofthe line between Cannes and Grasse andmodernisation of the Nice-Breil line.• Technical and economic study of the tram-train interconnection with the Nice-Drap andCannes-Grasse railway lines.

NîmesIn 2001, SYSTRA completed a study of the possibility of recovering train paths on theNîmes railway system to set up an urban / peri-urban railway network. The work was under-taken on behalf of the public works services ofthe Gard département9, in the context of cons-truction of the future Nîmes-Montpellier TGVring line.

MontpellierTechnical study of the feasibility of using rail-way infrastructures for peri-urban services(1998).

Western FranceBordeauxStudy of a transport system in the west of Bordeaux urban area, using the existing rail-way tracks of the Ring line and the Médoc line,with a view to the commissioning of thesecond phase of the tramway (2003-2004).

Basque regionFeasibility study of a tram-train along theBasque coast between Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz - Hendaye with a possible extension toSan Sebastian, Spain (1999).

PortugalCoimbraSYSTRA completed a feasibility study on transforming the Coimbra-Serpins secondaryperi-urban railway line into a light metro line(1999/2000).

The scheme comprises a T-shaped networkwith a main section between Coimbra B-Serpins (urban and peri-urban line over 30 km)and a purely urban section between BotaAbaixo-Hospital over 3.5 km.

The study served to investigate thoroughlythe problems arising from the track gauge,vis-a-vis Iberian gauge or standard gauge.The lower cost of the standard gauge and thegreater choice in regard to future rollingstock replacement weighed in favour of thestandard gauge. The existing track, to beused solely by the tram-train, will be comple-tely renewed and rebuilt to the standardgauge.

La Rochelle - RochefortCompletion of a multi-modal study to defineand compare various public transport solutionsas an alternative to the planned motorwaysection between Fontenay Le Comte-Rochefort(A 831 motorway). After assessing the existingsituation, the survey defined several supplyscenarii integrating different options for inter-modal transport and local and peri-urban services.

Nantes• Study on behalf of the Nantes MetropolitanAuthority into the feasibility of connectinglines 1 and 2 of the Nantes tramway across theriver Erdre by making use of the existing Jone-lière rail bridge. Functional analysis of diffe-rent scenarii aimed at combining investmentfrom several different projects which werelikely to use the bridge and which involvedvarious different owners (connecting tramwaylines 1 and 2, re-opening the Nantes-Château-briant railway line as a tram-train service, pro-viding a rail link to the proposed Notre Dame

des Landes airport and maintaining the exist-ing freight service) (2005).• Technical assistance to the owner, the Paysde la Loire Regional Authority, to manage theNantes-Châteaubriant tram-train project untilits commissioning (2005 - Present).

Rouen• Preliminary study on behalf of SIVOM, onthe requirements for the extension of themetrobus onto the railway line to Grand-Couronne, and, later, Elbeuf (1995/96).• Feasibility study and application for formalState planning approval for the extension ofthe metrobus to Grand-Couronne (1996/97).• Study into the creation of a tram-train net-work linking Yvetot, Rouen and Elbeuf, carriedout on behalf of the Joint Syndicate for Terri-torial Planning and the Regional Council forUpper Normandy. The study was part of anoverall review aimed at enhancing the rail net-work and included an analysis of the construc-tion of a new suburban station (2004).

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ItalyLivorno-Pisa-LuccaIn the context of projects completed throughSYSTRA-SpA on behalf of the town councils of Livorno, Pisa and Lucca, SYSTRA investigatedthe possibility of creating interconnecting tram-way lines between the three town centres.

Study of migrations within Coimbra urban area é

Internationalprojects