France’s largest trolleybus network continues to undergo extensive modernisation. The increased use of catenary-free route sections in battery mode is being taken into account by the procurement of additional articulated battery trolleybuses of the type lighTram®19 DC from the Swiss manufacturer Hess AG in Bellach.
The original order of 127 vehicles from September 2023 has been increased to 141 vehicles, the first of which already arrived in Lyon and has been on the road for test runs since January 2025. A further 57 lighTram®19 DC are due to follow this year, with the remaining vehicles due to arrive in 2026. The entire framework agreement with Hess includes options for up to 100 additional vehicles for Sytral Mobilitès in Lyon.
As reported, the new vehicles will enable various new routes and lines to be added, significantly expanding electric operations. These include a new line C23 to reinforce line C3 between the Cordeliers and Grandclément stops from June 2025 and the merging of the existing lines C4 and C5 to form an extended line C5. Further sections will follow, and from 2026, the new vehicles will also be used on the new BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) standard BHNS line 1 between Part-Dieu and Sept Chemins on dedicated lanes with 19 redesigned stops. BHNS stands for Bus à Haut Niveau de Service, the French term for BRT.
All Irisbus Cristalis of the types ETB12 and ETB18 from 2001-2010 are gradually being phased out, with the last of the former 69 12-metre trolleybuses having disappeared from regular service by the end of 2024 while delivery of the previous series of 34 HESS battery articulated trolleybuses was completed; the buses have been operating for some time already. The majority of the 55 Cristalis ETB 18 articulated trolleybuses built for Lyon are still in service today.
We reported on the trolleybus in Lyon here:
https://www.urban-transport-magazine.com/en/first-hess-lightram-19-in-service-lyon-significantly-expands-its-trolleybus-system/
