FRANCE: Lyon transport authority Sytral Mobilités and operator Keolis inaugurated a 2·4 km extension of metro Line B from Gare d’Oullins to Saint-Genis-Laval Hôpital Lyon Sud on October 20.
The fully underground southwestern extension serves one intermediate station at Oullins Centre. The journey time is 3 min. Construction has taken seven years and tunnelling was carried out using a TBM.
The extension is expected to add 50 000 passengers to the line, 25 000 at each station. The local bus network was also reorganised in response to the opening.
The €391m project was jointly funded by the central government, Sytral Mobilités, Métropole de Lyon and the Rhône département.
The automated Line B is operated by Alstom MPL 16 two-car rubber-tyred trainsets. From September 2024, most trains are expected to run as pairs of two-car sets. Peak headway will be kept at the current 2 min 11 sec.
- Lyon tram line T10 received its Déclaration d’Utilité Publique on October 24, enabling work to start. The 6·7 km light rail line would provide an east-west connection across the south of the city from Gerland on metro Line B to Vénissieux on Line D.
