“A pavé monogrammé CTELB.” Does that spark your curiosity? That’s our key to the Vestiges de l’ancien tramway de Lille. Here we stand before a subtle reminder of Lille’s extensive tramway history.
The Vestiges de l’ancien tramway de Lille whispers stories of a time when trams crisscrossed the city. Imagine Lille in the late 19th century. The city boasted over 20 tram lines. These lines allowed locals to travel easily between neighborhoods. Today, only two lines remain active.
To truly grasp Lille’s tramway journey, you need to understand something. It wasn’t just one network but two distinct systems operating side by side. The first, a dense urban network, has completely vanished. The second connected Lille center to towns north of the city. Think Roubaix, Tourcoing, and others. This second network still runs via the Grand Boulevard, known as “mini-tunnels.”
These two networks differed significantly. The urban network had a track gauge of 1.44 meters. The suburban lines used a narrower gauge of 1 meter. The urban trams shared streets with other traffic. The Grand Boulevard route enjoyed its own dedicated lane. This separation allowed it to survive the automobile boom of the 1950s.
The Compagnie des Tramways du Nord inaugurated the first two lines on June 7, 1874. Thirty cars pulled by 200 horses served these lines. Line A ran from Lille Flandres station to Porte de Béthune via Rue Nationale. Line B took Rue Notre-Dame, now Rue Gambetta. The urban lines would eventually be labeled with letters A through X.
Early steam locomotives attempted to replace horses. But they were costly. Horses got exhausted. Cars were overcrowded, and traffic moved slowly.
The New Yorker John Stephenson invented the tramway in 1832. He built the first horse-drawn line between Manhattan and Harlem.
In 1901, the company changed its name. It became Tramways Électriques de Lille et sa Banlieue. Electrification of the lines finished in 1904.
The Grand Boulevard opened in December 1909. It connected Lille to Roubaix and Tourcoing. Alfred Mongy created this modern network. It was nicknamed “Mongy” after him. The Lille-Roubaix trip now took only 25 minutes instead of an hour. These lines are still active today.
In 1929, the urban network saw a record 40,634,000 passengers. The network reached its peak in the number of lines.
After World War II, trams regained importance. Ridership hit a new high of 74 million passengers in 1946.
The rise of car traffic in 1966 proved fatal for urban trams. They were gradually replaced by buses. The last tram ran on January 29. A bus replaced it the next day.
Here at the Vestiges de l’ancien tramway de Lille, you can almost hear the clatter and feel the rumble. Lille’s tramway history is a story of innovation, adaptation, and ultimately, change. It’s a reminder that even the most familiar aspects of our urban landscape are constantly evolving. Remember to look down. You might just find another piece of Lille’s tramway past beneath your feet.