Rapid transit Geneva trams enjoy renaissance
was the largest tram network in Europe. However, by 1960, like other systems in Europe, it had entered a period of decline and had dwindled to just one line.
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During the 1990s support for trams in the city was revived and now 50 years on from its lowest ebb the network is currently enjoying a renaissance as the key element in the comprehensive new transport system run by Geneva Public Transport. While the network is being expanded, the number of lines has been consolidated to four from seven in an effort to simplify and speed up operations. As a result lines 12 and 15 both cover a single route, as does Line 14 for half of its route, sharing the other half with Line 18. The downside of this arrangement is that while all services go through the city centre, some central destinations like Cornavin railway station cannot be
entire project at 25m.” Virtually the entire Eaux-Vives and Annemasse section will run in tunnel. The existing station at Eaux-Vives is now closed and will be rebuilt underground, while Chêne-Bourg station has been reopened to serve existing rail passengers who are being redirected to a spur of the light rail line between the city centre and Moillesulaz and a replacement bus service between Annemasse and Eaux-Vives. The single- track line has already been torn up, and work has started on building a double-
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ENEVA’s tram system has endured a chequered history. It opened in 1862 and by 1920 it
reached directly from all parts of the network. However, it does provide a fast, frequent service with interchanges at the central locations of Bel-Air, Plainpalais and Cornavin. Line 14 currently terminates at the Bernex park-and-ride facility, which opened at the end of 2011. Plans to build an extension to Bernex-Vailly have been repeatedly delayed due to funding issues from the canton and local opposition. Originally scheduled for completion at the end of 2012 with commissioning a year later, it was postponed to the end of 2014 with construction due to start in January this year, but has now been delayed indefinitely.
At the other end of the line, the terminus of Line 14 was changed from Cern to Meyrin-Gravière in December 2012 with Cern now served from Cornavin by Line 18. Plans to extend the tram line over the border to Saint- Genis-Pouilly in France have been approved by the Swiss authorities and are now being discussed by the French.
track cut-and-cover tunnel. Side supporting walls are being built and capped with a concrete roof, allowing the tunnel to be dug out to its full depth underneath. At ground level, the aim is to create a promenade for pedestrians and a cycle track, which Da Trindade describes as a “green path.” “With this technique - making the
concrete walls, installing the roof and digging the tunnel underneath - the land can be given back to its previous users in one year. Otherwise it would take 18 months,” he says.
If successful, the service could begin in 2016.
This is not the only cross-border
project in the pipeline. Proposals have been put forward to extend Line 15 at both ends, from its northern terminus at Place des Nations to Le Grand- Saconnex, which lies beyond Geneva airport, with further extensions to Ferney-Voltaire in France possible. At the southern end a proposal exists to extend the service in 2018 to the French border town of St-Julien- en-Genevois. A bilateral cooperation agreement for the project was signed at the end of last year and this extension would create a very useful link to the important industrial area of Lancy- Pont Rouge. There is also a plan to extend Line 12
from Moillesulaz on the French border towards Annemasse. The other terminus of Line 12 is at Palettes, where Line 15 also terminates, so there may well be scope for yet more changes in the network as other projects are realised.
Work on the section between the
Trois-Chênes quarter and the border with France began at the end of March and Da Trindade says French Rail Network (RFF) is expected to start work on its 2km section by the end of next year.
One of the biggest challenges facing
the project is the requirement to divide construction work into small lots, especially where main arterial roads are involved, which have to be partially closed. “There are eight phases of construction for the Carouge-Bachet
IRJ May 2013
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