Tunis Light Metro

{{Multiple issues|{{more citations needed|date=May 2021}}{{more footnotes|date=May 2021}}}}

{{Infobox Public transit

| name = Tunis Light Metro
{{lang|ar|المترو الخفيف لمدينة تونس}}

| image = {{Photomontage

| photo1a = RameCitadisMetroLegerTunisJuin2012.jpg

| photo2a = Tunismetro1.jpg

| size = 250

| spacing = 2

| color = transparent

| border = 0

}}

| locale = Tunis, Tunisia

| transit_type = Light rail

| began_operation = 1985

| system_length = {{convert|45.2|km|mi|1|abbr=on}}

| lines = 6

| stations = 80 (2021)

| ridership =

| annual_ridership =

| track_gauge = {{Track gauge|sg|allk=on}}

| operator = Société des transports de Tunis

| el = Overhead lines, 750 V DC

| map = 300px

| map_name = System map with commuter rail connections

| map_state =

| alt =

| caption = From top: Alstom Citadis of Lines 5-6; TW 6000 of Lines 1-4

| owner =

| area served =

| line_number =

| start =

| end =

| chief_executive =

| website =

| character =

| vehicles = 173 (134 Siemens and 39 Alstom Citadis)

| native_name =

}}

The Tunis Light Metro ({{langx|fr|Tunis métro léger}}, meaning Tunis light rail, {{langx|aeb|المترو الخفيف لمدينة تونس}}, el-metrū el-khfīf li-mdīnat tūnis) is the light rail network serving the Tunis metropolitan area. It began operation in 1985.{{cite journal |last1=Troin |first1=Jean-François |title=Quand les « marges » territoriales, sociales et économiques bougent. Le rôle du métro et des tramways dans les métropoles maghrébines : quelques pistes de recherche |url=https://journals.openedition.org/emam/1078 |journal=Les Cahiers d'Emam |language=fr |doi=10.4000/emam.1078 |date=31 December 2015|issue=27 |doi-access=free }}

Tunis' light rail system has its track at a surface level generally with its rail bed, but at key intersections, the system goes underground to avoid congestion or has the right of way. Together with the TGM commuter rail line, it is managed by the parastatal transport authority Société des transports de Tunis (Transtu).

While some African cities once had traditional electric tram systems, all but the Alexandria Tram were discontinued. The Tunis modern light rail system was originally unique in Africa, but there are now modern trams in Algeria and Morocco, as well.

History

File:Tram, Tunis (17080615990).jpg in 1994]]

Tunis had an older electric tram system that, like in many cities, eventually was dismantled. With the post-war growth of the metropolitan area and the traffic congestion that followed, the need for a commuter transportation system became evident. The city eventually decided to link the suburbs to the city centre with a modern network of light rail. Preliminary studies were undertaken in 1974.{{Cite web|url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tunisialightrail/|title = Tunis Light Rail Development}} The system was delivered as a turnkey operation by a consortium led by Siemens.[http://www.urbanrail.net/af/tunis/tunis.htm Urbanrail.net information page] The Société du métro léger de Tunis (SMLT) was founded in 1981 to manage the operation.

Public transport is overseen by Tunisia’s Ministry of Transport, with constituent bodies operating the various modes. The Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Tunisiens (SNCFT) has continued development of the heavy rail standard and metre gauge routes, initiated under French control, with the {{Track gauge|1435 mm}} operation centred on Tunis.

Tunis is set on low-lying land around several lakes just inland from the Mediterranean Sea coast. The heart of the city, the Medina, has a street pattern that long pre-dates the industrial era or motorised transport. In 2003, the city’s road and rail public transport modes came together under the jurisdiction of the Société des Transports de Tunis, operating under the Transtu name.

Accounting for almost three-quarters of revenue (2006), the company operates 217 bus routes over {{Cvt|6882|km}} with a fleet of 1,114 vehicles. As with most other large cities, road congestion is a feature of Tunis, although the challenge for public transport is as much about increasing the capacity of their already well-used services as it is about stemming the rise in car use.[https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tunisialightrail/ : Tunis Light Rail]

Construction on Line 1 started in 1981, and passenger services commenced in 1985.{{Cite web|url=https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tunisialightrail/|title = Tunis Light Rail Development}} In 1989, Line 2 became operational, with Lines 3 and 4 following the next year. Line 5 became operative in 1992, while in the same year, Line 3 was extended to its current length. In 1997, the extension of Line 4 was inaugurated, and further construction for an extension to La Manouba began in 2007. The Société des transports de Tunis took over management in 2003; it was formed by joining the SMLT and the Société nationale de transports (SNT, founded in 1963) that was responsible for the TGM railway. A new Line 6 was planned to link Tunis with El Mourouj and its construction began in 2005. This new line was completed in 2009. New Alstom Citadis trams to supplement the earlier Siemens trams were introduced in 2007.{{Cite web|url=https://www.transtu.tn/fr/historique/transport-collectif.html|title = Transtu}}

Network

class=wikitable
colspan=6\| {{big\| Tunis Metro}}
colspan=2\| Line ! Length ! Stations ! Opened ! Equipment
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#84C8EB;"\|Tunis Metro Line 1 \| 5.5 km \| 11 \| 1985 \| Siemens
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#489224;"\|Tunis Metro Line 2 \| 6.3 km \| 12 \| 1989 \| Siemens
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#003399;"\|Tunis Metro Line 3 \| 6.5 km \| 13 \| 1990 \| Siemens
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#FFCF06;"\|Tunis Metro Line 4 \| 10 km \| 20 \| 1990 \| Siemens
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#E5442E;"\|Tunis Metro Line 5 \| 7.1 km \| 14 \| 1992 \| Alstom Citadis
style="text-align:center;" \| 25px \| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#4F3E90;"\|Tunis Metro Line 6 \| 6.8 km \| 18 \| 2008 \| Alstom Citadis

class=wikitable

colspan=6| {{big| Tunis Metro}}

colspan=2| Line

! Length

! Stations

! Opened

! Equipment

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#84C8EB;"|Tunis Metro Line 1

| 5.5 km

| 11

| 1985

| Siemens

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#489224;"|Tunis Metro Line 2

| 6.3 km

| 12

| 1989

| Siemens

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#003399;"|Tunis Metro Line 3

| 6.5 km

| 13

| 1990

| Siemens

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#FFCF06;"|Tunis Metro Line 4

| 10 km

| 20

| 1990

| Siemens

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#E5442E;"|Tunis Metro Line 5

| 7.1 km

| 14

| 1992

| Alstom Citadis

style="text-align:center;"

| 25px

| style="color:#FFFFFF;background-color:#4F3E90;"|Tunis Metro Line 6

| 6.8 km

| 18

| 2008

| Alstom Citadis

File:Tunis Rapid Transit Map.png

= Line 1 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 1

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #84C8EB

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Place de Barcelone~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Alioua~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Mohamed-Manachou~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~13-Août~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Mohamed Ali~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~El Kabaria

uBHF\~~Ibn Sina

uBHF\~~El Ouardia

uBHF\~~Cité Ennour

uBHF\~~Abou El Kacem Echebbi

uKBHFe\~~Ben Arous

}}

;Place de Barcelone – Ben Arous

Opened: 1985
Number of stations: 11

Line 1 is the oldest and it is the shortest line compared to the 5 other lines. It has 11 stations.

Work on line 1, which began in 1981, was completed with the commissioning of the line (towards Ben Arous) in 1985.

The connection between bus lines and line 1 at the El Ouardia station was put in place a year later, in 1986.

= Line 2 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 2

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #489224

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Place de la République~~ ~~15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Nelson Mandela

uBHF\~~Mohamed-V

uBHF\~~Rue de Palestine

uBHF\~~Les Jardins

uBHF\~~Cité el Khadra

uBHF\~~La Jeunesse

uBHF\~~Cité sportive

uBHF\~~10-Décembre-1984

uBHF\~~Cité des sciences

uBHF\~~L'indépendance

uKBHFe\~~Ariana

}}

;Place de la République – Ariana

Opened: 1989
Number of stations: 12

Line 2 is the oldest and it is the shortest line after Line 1. It has 12 stations. Construction on Line 2 started in 1981 and passenger services commenced in 1989.

= Line 3 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 3

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #003399

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Tunis Marine~~ ~~{{rint|Tram|}} 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Farhat-Hached~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Place de Barcelone~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~Place de la République

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab el Khadhra~~ ~~15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Laassal~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Saadoun~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Meftah Sâadallah~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Rommana~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Campus~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~14-Janvier 2011~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Les Jasmins~~ ~~15px

uKBHFe\~~Ibn Khaldoun

}}

;Tunis Marine – Ibn Khaldoun

Opened: 1990
Number of stations: 14

Line 3 is composed of 14 stations and passenger services commenced in 1990. In 2017, the Tunis Transport Company announced the removal of the Habib-Thameur station following a fire that destroyed the ticket sales point.{{cite web|url=https://www.shemsfm.net/amp/fr/actualites_tunisie-news_news-nationales/181248/transtu-suppression-de-la-station-de-metro-habib-thameur|title=TRANSTU: removal of the Habib Thameur metro station|accessdate=8 May 2021}}

The station of Tunis Marine has also a line of TGM. It's the only station that is both a Metro station and a TGM station.

= Line 4 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 4

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #FFCF06

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Place de Barcelone~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Place de la République~~ ~~15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab el Khadhra~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Lassal~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Saadoun~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~Bouchoucha

uBHF\~~Essaidia

uBHF\~~Bardo

uBHF\~~Essaidia

uBHF\~~Khaznadar

uBHF\~~L'Artisanat

uBHF\~~Den Den

uBHF\~~Manouba

uBHF\~~Slimane-Kahia

uBHF\~~Moncef-Bey

uBHF\~~Aboubaker El Razi

uBHF\~~Le Pôle technologique

uBHF\~~Ksar El Warda

uBHF\~~Le Campus

uKBHFe\~~Kheireddine

}}

;Place de Barcelone – Kheireddine

Opened: 1990
Number of stations: 20

Line 4 is the longest compared to the other 5 lines. It has 20 stations and passenger services commenced in 1990.

= Line 5 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 5

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #E5442E

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Place de Barcelone~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Place de la République~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab el Khadra~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Laassal~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Saadoun~~ ~~15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Meftah Sâadallah~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Rommana~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Campus~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~14-Janvier 2011~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Les Jasmins~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~Ettahrir

uBHF\~~Omrane supérieur

uBHF\~~Ettadhamen

uKBHFe\~~Intilaka

}}

;Place de Barcelone – Intilaka

Opened: 1992
Number of stations: 14

Line 5 has 14 stations since 2017 after a fire that burned the Habib-Thameur station.

The line links important locations such as the campus of the University of El Manar and Bab Saadoun.

= Line 6 =

{{Routemap|collapse=y

|title = Line 6

|title-color = white

|title-bg = #4F3E90

|collapsed = {{{collapse|}}}

|map =

uKBHFa\~~ ~~Tunis Marine~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Farhat Hached~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Place de Barcelone~~ ~~15px 15px 15px 15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Bab Alioua~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Mohamed-Manachou~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~13-Août~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~ ~~Mohamed-Ali~~ ~~15px

uBHF\~~Tahar-Haddad

uBHF\~~Ghazeli

uBHF\~~Cité municipale

uBHF\~~Ennesri

uBHF\~~El Montazah

uBHF\~~El Mourouj 2

uBHF\~~El Mourouj 1

uBHF\~~Environnement

uBHF\~~El Mourouj 3

uBHF\~~Martyrs

uKBHFe\~~El Mourouj 4

}}

;Place de Barcelone – Intilaka

Opened: 2008
Number of stations: 18

Line 6 has 18 stations and is the longest line after line 4. On 12 November 2008, the new line 6 (6.8 kilometers long and initially serving eleven stations between Place de Barcelona and El Mourouj 4) came into service after work on the line had started in 2005. Like line 3, line 6 has a TGM line in Tunis Marine station.

Infrastructure

File:Voie metro leger Bardo.JPG.]]

With the city set for continuing population growth, preliminary studies for light rail, the Métro Léger, began in 1974. A Siemens-led consortium won the contract to create the 1,435mm, overhead supply surface network. Line 1, Tunis Marine (also the city terminus for the TGM) to Ben Arous in the south, opened in 1985.[https://www.railway-technology.com/projects/tunisialightrail/ : Infrastructure]

= Tram vehicles =

{{Listen

| filename = Tunis Metro - 2015-04-07.flac

| title = Audio Recording, 7 April 2015

| type =

| description = We hear the arrival of tram unit M236, coupled with another, on Tunis Metro route 4, southbound, at Station 'Place de la République'. The units stand while passengers alight and board, doors hiss closed, and then the trams depart.

}}

By 2006, 136 articulated passenger trams were in operation. They were built by Siemens and delivered between 1984 and 1997. These trams were derived from the TW 6000 originally developed for Hanover Stadtbahn. The bi-directional trams are powered via a 750 V DC overhead wire and run on a {{RailGauge|1435mm}} track. The trams have a green livery with white and blue lines. Each tram consists of two units each of which has:

bogies typ Bo-2-2-Bo
electric motors 2 x 240 kW
weight of 40.3 tonnes
length of 30 meters
width of 2.47 meters
access from low and high platforms

In 2004, an agreement between the French and Tunisian governments led to the order of 30 new Alstom Citadis trams. Each tram consists of two units 64 metres in length and can hold 208 people standing and 58 sitting places. The first such trams started to operate on 17 September 2007.{{Cite news| language=French| url=http://www.lapresse.tn/index.php?opt=15&categ=1&news=56810| author=Hella Lahbib| title=Un tramway nommé plaisir| publisher=La Presse de Tunisie| date=2007-09-18}} 16 more trams were ordered from Alstom in July 2010.{{Cite web|url=http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/single-view/view/10/tunis-orders-more-trams.html

|date=22 July 2010

|accessdate=2010-07-23

|title=Tunis orders more trams

|publisher=Railway Gazette International}}