Tram network extension on the Cote d’Azur

The tram network extension on the Cote d’Azur will be operational by 2013.

Like everything on the Cote d’Azur, the transport network on this stretch of idyllic French coastline is amongst the best in France and even Europe. Although in a commitment to maintain its position as having an enviable transport network, the Cote d’Azur has a master transport plan in operation for the next 20 years.

As part of a tram network planned by the Nice Cote d’Azur master transport scheme that is planned to be finished by 2030, an extension of Line 1 of the tram network from Pont Michael to Trinite via the Ariane district is scheduled to be operational in the spring of 2013.

This 4.3 kilometre extension is to include nine stations and is estimated that it will increase the number of travellers using the network by 5,000 a day so the overall number of people using line 1 daily will be 105,000.

The new extension will provide greater service for the Pasteur district of the French Riviera, which has been described as being a “sensitive urban area” that will also make the new facilities at the Pasteur Teaching Hospital more accessible.

Although the extension of line 1 will not come without a hefty price tag and the total cost of the project is 23.9 million euros.

For the first time ever, the Nice Cote d’Azur has received a significant European loan of more than 3 million euros to help fund the extension of the tram network within the area.

The multi-million euro project will be subsidised by the Government, the Alpes Maritimes Departemental Council, the Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur Region and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).