Location: 415 km. south of Paris
Founded: 52 BC
Population: 140 700 (2006)

This is one of the oldest cities in France. There is an impressive historic center. While the city proper has a population of about 140 700, the metropolitan area boasts as many as 409 558 residents. The city is located in a major industrial area. It’s the hometown of Michelin, the tire manufacturer.

The city was the first to implement a conventional electric tramway system in France, which operated between 1890-1956. A need for a light rail surfaced in the 1990s and plans for a conventional dual rail tramway were approved in 1996. The city’s business lobby, dominated by Michelin, a rubber tire manufacturer, objected, and plans were scrapped. The new plan appeared in the early 2000s, this time calling for a rubber-tired tramway. In 2006 the city became the first one to implement the Translohr system.

The Translohr installation in Clermont-Ferrand is referred to locally as the Tram. The power is supplied via an overhead and a single guiding rail. Vehicles are attached to the guiding rail at all times, and are equipped with a pantograph, which calls for direct association with trams.

07.01.1890 – Conventional Electric Tramway (1000 mm) opens.
17.03.1956 – Conventional Electric Tramway closes.
13.11.2006 – Translohr opens: Champratel – CHU Gabriel Montpied
27.08.2007 – Translohr extension: CHU Gabriel Montpied – La Pardieu Gare
2013 – Translohr extension: Champratel – Les Vergnes (1,7 km., planned)
2013 – Translohr extension: Les Vergnes – Les Vergnes Gare (0,3 km., planned)

Due to multiple technical problems associated with the Translohr technology, major additional extensions, such as the previously planned second line B, are uncertain. The small 2 km. extension of the northern branch of the existing line, however, is expected in 2013.

The length of the single line A, connecting the northeast of the city with the southeast via the city center, is 14,2 km. There are 31 stations.

The entire line is on a reservation. There is no mix traffic operation with other modes - only cross non-Translohr traffic is allowed over the guiding rail. The right-of-way is mostly physically separated from the rest of the traffic. The only exception is the 250 m. section via Bd Charles de Gaulle, where traffic flow segregation is denoted by road markings only. The section of the line within the historic city center, including the city’s main square Place de Jaude, is a Translohr-pedestrian zone with guided trams operating amid pedestrian traffic. While the entire northeastern part of the line follows the street grid through largely urban areas, most of the southeastern part is built outside of the street grid through a suburban-like setting.

System map: 2011

Approximate midday headways:
Weekdays: 5-8 min.
Saturdays: 8-10 min.
Sundays: 20-30 min.

Timetables are not standardized. Schedule awareness is especially essential when using the system during early mornings or late evenings, when headways are longer.

On-time performance and service regularity are excellent.

Translohr STE 4: 26 vehicles

20 Translohr STE 4 articulated four-section (the number “4” identifies the number of sections) 100% low-floor vehicles were delivered initially for the 2006 opening of the system, but were supplemented with 6 additional vehicles later due to high rate of technical failures, and in anticipation of a short extension in 2013.

Translohr vehicles are subjected to in-field technical inspections after completion of each individual trip.