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List of trolleybus systems in France

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A Limoges trolleybus at the Montjovis stop in Limoges
Irisbus Cristalis in Limoges
Bombardier TVR in Nancy
Map of all trolleybus systems, past and present, in France and in the former territories under French administration

This is a list of trolleybus systems in France by region. It includes all trolleybus systems, past and present. Bold text indicates a system that is still operating.

Alsace

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
Gleislose Bahn Mühlhausen Mulhouse 9 Oct 1908 14 July 1918 See also Trolleybus de Mulhouse (in French) for the first system, German denomination Gleislose Bahn Mühlhausen for the first system, because Mulhouse was part of German Empire until 1918.
5 Jul 1946 1968
  Strasbourg 27 May 1939 31 Mar 1962  

Aquitaine

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Bordeaux May 1940 1954  

Burgundy

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Dijon 7 Jan 1950 30 Mar 1966  

Brittany

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Brest 29 July 1947 1970  
  Saint-Malo 1906 5 Jun 1907 Electrobus designed by Louis Lombard-Gérin made by Compagnie de Traction par Trolley Automoteur, and run by Société des Tracteurs Breton.[1][2]
10 Jul 1948 30 Sep 1959

Centre-Val de Loire

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Tours 5 Oct 1947 29 Jun 1968 See also Trolleybuses in Tours.

 Franche-Comté

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Belfort 4 Jul 1952 1 Aug 1972  

Upper Normandy

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Le Havre 1 Aug 1947 28 Dec 1970  
  Rouen 2 Jan 1933 26 Jun 1970  

Île-de-France

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Fontainebleau 12 Jun 1901 30 Aug 1913 Louis Lombard-Gérin, first commercial trolleybus route.[1]
  Paris 2 Aug 1900 12 Nov 1900 at Vincennes, Lombard-Gérin.[1]
1912 1914 at Saint-Mandé. Mercedes-Stoll. Also Jan 1922 demonstration.
  ♦ Vitry-sur-Seine 7 Apr 1925 8 Jul 1935  
  ♦ Porte de Champerret – Bezons / Argenteuil 8 Jan 1943 31 Mar 1962  
  ♦ Porte de Choisy – Choisy-le-Roi and Porte d'Italie – Thiais 16 Jan 1950 31 Mar 1966  

Languedoc-Roussillon

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Nîmes – Remoulins 10 Jul 1924 31 Dec 1927  
  Perpignan 21 Sep 1952 Jun 1968  

Limousin

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Limoges 14 Jul 1943   See also Trolleybuses in Limoges.

Lorraine

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Forbach 19 May 1951 1 Nov 1969  
  Metz 14 Sep 1947 30 Apr 1966  
  Nancy 27 Sep 1982   See Trolleybuses in Nancy. Dual-mode (trolley/diesel) operation until about 2000.[a]

Midi-Pyrénées

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Montauban Jan 1903 1904 Lombard-Gerin. [1]

Pays de la Loire

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Le Mans 13 Nov 1947 1969  

Picardy

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Amiens 1946 Feb 1963  

Poitou-Charentes

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Poitiers 9 Aug 1943 3 Mar 1965  

Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Aubagne – Cuges-les-Pins 19 Sep 1927 20 Jul 1958  
  Marseille 13 Jun 1903 1 Sep 1905 First system, Lombard-Gerin, connected Allauch and La Rose.[1]
26 Apr 1942 25 Jun 2004 [6] Second system included an interurban line to Aix-en-Provence.
  Nice 30 Apr 1942 12 Sep 1970  
  Toulon 7 May 1949 19 Feb 1973  

Rhône-Alpes

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Name of system Location Date (from) Date (to) Notes
  Chambéry 6 Oct 1930 Jun 1940  
  Grenoble 1 Aug 1947 24 Jun 1999  
  Lyon 1 September 1905 10 September 1906 First system, Schiemann, located at Charbonnières-les-Bains.
4 Sep 1935 – See also Trolleybuses in Lyon.
  Modane - Lanslebourg 20 Aug 1923 Jun 1940  
  Moûtiers – Salins (-les-Thermes) 15 Apr 1930 Mar 1965  
  Saint-Étienne 1 Jan 1942   System included an interurban line to Firminy.
See also Trolleybuses in Saint-Étienne.
  • Note: The TVR, or GLT, system in Caen and the Translohr system in Clermont-Ferrand are not listed, as they not commonly considered to be trolleybus systems,[4][5] since their vehicles use pantographs to collect current and therefore are not able to operate away from the surface guideway while remaining in electric mode. The GLT vehicles in Nancy, by comparison, are able to do so, as they use trolley poles to collect current, so the Nancy system is considered to be a trolleybus system.[4]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ TVR opened 28 Jan 2001,[3] replacing dual-mode bus operation, and closed on 12 March 2023. TVR, Transport sur Voie Réservée, is the Guided Light Transit system, using a centre guide rail and marketed as "Trams sur pneus" (trams on tyres). In Nancy, TVR surface guidance only covered a portion of the route, and the vehicles were able to operate away from the guide rail in electric mode, using trolley poles, and thus the system was trolleybus,[4] despite the Nancy operator's marketing it as the tram. TVR systems elsewhere used pantographs, and consequently were not commonly regarded as trolleybus systems.[4][5]

Sources

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Books and periodicals

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  • Bruce, Ashley. Lombard-Gerin and Inventing the Trolleybus Trolleybooks, 2017, ISBN 978-0-904235-25-8.
  • Murray, Alan (2000). World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia. Reading, Berkshire, UK: Trolleybooks. ISBN 0-904235-18-1.
  • Trolleybus Magazine, various issues. National Trolleybus Association (UK). Bimonthly. ISSN 0266-7452.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Bruce, Ashley R. Lombard-Gerin and Inventing the Trolleybus. (2017) Trolleybooks (UK). ISBN 978-0-904235-25-8.
  2. ^ Prentice, John R. Prentice. "Tramway Information". www.tramwayinfo.com. Prentice. Retrieved 24 September 2020.
  3. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 237 (May–June 2001), p. 67.
  4. ^ a b c d Webb, Mary (ed.) (2009). "World Urban Tram and Light Rail Systems" and "World Urban Trolleybus Systems" (lists). Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2009-2010. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2903-6.
  5. ^ a b Box, Roland, ed. (March–April 2000). "Is it a Bus? Is it a Tram?". Trolleybus Magazine. No. 230. National Trolleybus Association. p. 26. ISSN 0266-7452.
  6. ^ Trolleybus Magazine No. 258 (Nov.-Dec. 2004), p. 137.

Further reading

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  • De Coster, Roland; Hamal, Thierry; and Stas, Dominique (eds.) (1997). TRAM 2000 - Flash 1997: France. Brussels, Belgium: TRAM 2000 asbl.
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