Over the past 25 years or so, the south-west French metropolis of Bordeaux has focused on building and expanding a modern low-floor tram system, which has reached a considerable length of 80 kilometres.
The expansion process had slowed down and basically came to a stop in the recent past, partly driven by the fact that the current city centre routes of the new tram have already reached their capacity limits at certain times. In order to improve daily operations, the focus has been on the predominant use of long, seven-section trams, and in September 2025 the route network is due to be reorganised by introducing two additional lines on the existing route network. There will then be six lines A to F.
Electric mobility in public transport on the roads has so far only existed to a very limited extent in Bordeaux, for example in the form of a few minibuses in the city centre. To supplement the tram network, the municipality decided to build the first BRT bus line, commonly referred to in France as Bus à Haut Niveau de Service (BHNS). Since 1 June 2014, the new line G has been running between Bordeaux Gare Saint-Jean and Saint-Aubin de Médoc, covering 21 km and expected to carry 50,000 passengers per day in the medium term, with 5-6 minute headways during rush hour. The line has 50% reserved lanes in the urban area.
After initially using diesel articulated buses, the switch to electric buses is now beginning: VDL is delivering the first articulated buses of its new Citea LF-181 model, of which a total of 40 have been ordered. The first vehicle arrived at the depot in Bordeaux on 31 March 2025. The electric buses are equipped with a 552 kWh battery, are 18.1 metres long and offer a total capacity of 134 passengers, therof 35 seated. Further BHNS routes are to follow in the future.
In the meantime, the introduction of the metro is also being re-considered, which could offer higher capacities than the tram on certain routes. There have been considerations and plans to build a metro before, but all this was last abandoned in the 1990s in favour of the new trams. In the meantime, the high acceptance and utilisation of the tram has put such plans back on the agenda, and feasibility studies are currently on the table.
We last reported about Bordeaux’ tramway system here:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/bordeaux-the-tram-gets-to-the-airport/
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/a-fourth-tramway-line-in-bordeaux/
27.04.2025
