Poma 2000

{{Infobox Public transit

|name = Poma 2000

|image = Poma.jpg

|imagesize = 150px

|locale = Laon

|transit_type = People mover

|began_operation = 4 February 1989

|ended_operation = 27 August 2016

|system_length = {{convert|1.5|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

|lines = 1

|vehicles = 4

|stations = 3

|ridership = 2500

|track_gauge =

|reporting marks =

|operator =

|owner =

}}

The Poma 2000 in Laon, France, was an automated guideway transit, a cable-driven people mover which ran between the railway station and the city hall. The system was {{Convert|1.5|km|abbr=on}} long with a maximum gradient of 13% and an elevation change of {{Convert|100|m}}.

History

The system opened in 1989, replacing a former tram line (1899–1971), that used a rack for braking but not propulsion. There were three stations. The cars ran on rubber tyres on a metallic track at a 2.5 min headway. Four vehicles were used by the system, and each of them could carry 33 passengers at a maximum speed of {{convert|35|kph|0|abbr=on}}. The maximum capacity was 900 passengers/hour, and most recent ridership before its closure was about 1500 passengers/day.{{cite news | title = Laon's Poma 2000 closes | work = Today's Railways Europe | date = February 2017 | publisher = Platform 5 Publishing Ltd | page = 16 | first = David | last = Haydock | issue = 254}}

The system ran every day from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and every day in summer. A complete journey on the line from Gare to Hôtel de Ville took 3.5 min.

Citing €19 million maintenance costs and rising local taxes, the Agglomeration Community of Pays de Laon ended the service on 27 August 2016.{{cite web|url=http://www.funimag.com/photoblog/index.php/20160830/la-fin-du-poma-2000-de-laon/|title=The end of the POMA 2000 Laon|date=30 August 2016|publisher=Funimag|access-date=30 September 2016}}