The fact the expansion cost less per mile then the Montreal BRT line is infuriating.

As a French person, it's funny to see someone praise our infrastructure. Everyone's complaining because the T12 has major issues at launch and the low frequency has taken a toll on its popularity. 15 minutes is absolutely not enough right now, RER trains run much more frequently than this and move more people, so currently the T12 is a bottleneck for many people who were used to having the RER C line. I think the T12 is a good idea overall, but the frequency is bad. If I'm not wrong, they have issues recruiting tram drivers.

Paris and France in general, are really masters at making both good public transit and urbanism, it’s usually pretty rare to be that good at both at the same time. And everything is so cleverly designed, Tram-trains in France usually have to go through a scissor crossing to change the side they run on (left on national rail, right on street alignment), but on T12, they make use of the single track section built because of the lack of space to change side. Having to deal with constrained spaces makes European planners really good, here in North America, most of the time there is some sort laziness, because we just build in the middle of stroads with lots of space, there’s no challenge and we get the bare minimum, which most of the time looks terrible

I *looove* grassy tracks. They look so cheerful and comfy. I wish they were more prevalent here in Canada.

The Eglinton Crosstown LRT and Metrolinx should really look at Paris's Tram Trains for inspiration, especially since it utterly fails at being a subway, an LRT, and a tram train.

Hello from Epinay-sur-Orge ! Glad you’re talking of our new tram, I’ve seen the line being built since the beginning of its construction, seing it finally running is so great While it has known some difficulties in the first months after the inauguration due to a shortage of drivers, it seems to run better now, though the people who live on the ex-RER C part of the line are understandably upset to have lost their direct connection to Paris since they have to get off the tram at Epinay to continue to Paris now The other half of the line (Epinay to Evry) is most commonly appreciated, since it constitutes a brand new rail alternative to the car in the neighbourhoods it runs through Thanks again !

Reminding Canadians every week that we could have it better but simply choose not to 😥

Can you please do a video explaining why rail/light rail construction costs vary by city/country? What are the variables that make Paris lower than others for example? I’d imagine wages, union rules, resource availability and land acquisition costs would all contribute.

Low frequency is partly explained by a lack of drivers which SNCF subsidiary TransKeo tries to overcome. However it is taking more time than expected to resolve since most candidates failed during the training process 😂 And obviously forming drivers takes time but when you don’t anticipate things, this is what you get. This created quite a lot of backlash in the media since the opening…

As far as combination of Tram, Metro, Regional Trains and Suburban Trains there are not many Cities that can keep up with Paris Impressive Network

2:47 Love the Rhino on a skate board.

This feels a lot like the blue line in the twin cities. Downtown it's like a streetcar with dedicated lanes but as it gets further out it uses old freight rail lines with gates and such next to the street. It also has short tunneled and elevated sections that feel more rapid transit.

Just to add more pain to the comparison, a new tramway T3b expansion opened a few days ago, RER E expansion will open in 3 weeks, metro line 11 expansion in about 6 weeks and metro line 14 expansion in less than two months. I honestly may have forgotten others.

Love the shots of the tram running along the nice green grass. It breaks up the constant gray colour.

AFAIK Massy to Epinay still sees the occasional freight train, being a part of the "Grande Ceinture", the Paris outer belt line. Naturally with RER C and now T12 these mostly run at night, but it means that the light rail vehicles have to be compatible with the rail infra.

When they hire more drivers, T-12 should reach 6-minute Peak frequency and 12-minute Off-peak

Fantastic vidéo, difficult beginning for this line but it gets better and it was really a necessary link between massy and Evry

Public transport (transit) campaigner from the UK. Love the video. Does anyone know why Paris is able to build public transport (transit) projects cheaper than the UK, the US and Canada?

Something you might not have noticed is that in France, trams run on the right track and trains on the left. The section between Evry and Epinay sur Orge is considered as "tram" but in Epinay sur Orge the tram line merges with the southern Grande Ceinture line (orbital freight line) and that's where trams run on the left! Actually the right/left change occurs over the single-track section just before the tram enters a tight curve and passes under the Paris-Orleans train line. The same change occurs on tram line T13 between Saint-Germain en Laye and Saint-Cyr. If you take the tram in Saint-Germain en Laye the right/left track change takes place just as the tram enters the part of the line that recycles the long disused west Grande Ceinture line, namely just before the tram hits the Lisière Pereire station and you can see the weird arrangement of switches making that possible.

Interesting to see Melbourne Trams' "Attention Rhino" campaign being used in Paris.

Very informative and educational. Good job.

I love that they nicked the “Beware the Rhino” wrap from Yarra Trams!

Great video!

For comparison, only a few cities in UK have trams. Namely Edinburgh, Manchester, Nottingham and Sheffield. London does have it but only in one area. Belfast, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, maybe even Norwich and Reading should have one already. Basically any city over 250,000. Trams are clearly better in that not only do they have move capacity than a bus, but is also entirely on electric. I think that Leeds is actually working on a new tramway after the ~2002 cancellation. For comparison, Over 20 cities in France has a tramway.

I'm a regular user of the T12 and i'm a bit disapointed because the last departures are ealier than announced and they doesn't run on thé entier Line , and on Peak hours trams are often crowded. But when the RER C served the stations between Petit vaux et Massy, trains were not crowded at all times and it was very easy to get Versailles, Juvisy or Paris but the service ended earlier than the T12.

Frequency is not that much of an issue as most people would be used to it as an RER branch, but maybe an extra train that short-turns on the southern most segment where its very urban and could benefit from a bit more service if needed

2:48 😂 The rhino sign! Melbourne uses these too 😂

cant wait for the future Paris video

This reminds me of randstad rail here in the Hague, including the converted railway - rapid transit - regular trams order Love that these are becoming more popular! I just wish HTM would start running coupled trams again

Parisian tramway network are radial to serve a multitude of lines like IBX is seeking to do in the Brooklyn and Queens boroughs in New York. For those who want to push population numbers in NYC, even though Paris Metro region is denser than New York. The population doesn't make a difference to the tram-train, the service design and operation does. That T12 as well as the T4, T11 and T13 mentions at the end of the video is a lot like what NYC IBX will be doing. Another Parisian tram train line that posters should look up for its capacity and flexibility is T2. This route is 11 miles in length connected many subway lines and carries 115,000 passengers a day with no problems, looks alot like IBX as well in its predominate dedicated railroad right of way with some surface right of way running. A tram-train like this running frequently shuttling passengers between subway lines will not need a long 600' train to handle the short distance trips many passengers are making on that shared freight right of way.

It’s actually a tram-train that can do both missions and switch easily between urbain and suburbain services. It’s more a train in Lyon and Nantes. But the Rhône Express is a true tram / train service like Mulhouse.

We have a train in North America that matches this to a T. San Jose used to have express trams, but they got rid of them. However, I have an idea to get that back on track. The top speed for VTA’s light rail track is 65 mph, which is as fast as many mainline trains in North America. Like this line in Paris, it runs on the street for a few miles, has a transfer at Tamien Caltrain station, and then runs on the freeway functioning as regional rail line. Once Caltrain electrifies, it would be feasible to extend rides from Tamien to Santa Theresa with the stadler trains running express from Tamien to Santa Theresa (Single stop at Ohlone) and VTA trains running local.

You should do a video on Melbourne's tram network

it is a light rail system that operates on a graded and non-graded corridor using coupled 4 segment low floor light vehicle sets. Trams/streetcars are light rail vehicles.

The very things of this project works is why the Interborough Express works with this style tram-train for that crosstown line

*Cries in Berlin*

Headways do need to be a lot better, they just can't achieve this because they don't have enough drivers because they try to cut the costs so much and the jobs are not attractive :) Cost cutting also caused the project to be way worse than it should have been in a lot of places, such as the lone platform in Massy, the 20km/h curves to get on the bridges to cross the highway,... Overall, transit users in the area are NOT happy with the line, especially those who lost direct access to line C.

The whole design of the systems and urban ream is way ahead of anywhere else in the world.

Nice video.

Hi, love your content. You rock. I'd just like to suggest you to cover the commuter rails of India in a video. I find them fascinating because some of them move absolutely huge numbers of people and have high frequencies, yet in many cases remain overcrowded and continues to use old infrastructure. I'd love to see a video talking about your take on how improvements can be made to these railways and if anything can be applied from these railways elsewhere.

I love trams!

These would be great for the new commuter developments in West and East Lothian!

You should check out the Budapest tram system. One of the largest tram systems in the world!

Paris is what New York (and London to a lesser extent) would be like if they properly maintained their transit infrastructure, and built new ones when necessary.

Living here, we forget how spoiled we are. I'd love us to get the trams between train stations. Several have been proposed but not much more.

3:53 how are the costs kept down? Edit: This would be a great standalone video for transit systems in general.

2:47 Picture of a Rhino on a Skateboard: A tram weighs the equivalent of 30 rhinos... You'll never be a match for him! Who says the French don’t have a sense of humor?😀

Sidenote: I rewatched you GPX works video this morning and I wanted to tell you that the Société du Grand Paris has been renamed Société des Grands Projets (Society of Great Projects) while keeping the same logo and acronym. Now, the SGP has also in charge the study of the RER networks of every big City in France, according to Macron's wish so the name couldn't focus on just Paris. As for this video: Many transportation specialists and nerds hate the Tram Train idea on those formerly train routes. They think that a real metro would have been better, especially if numerous TOD zones form around the route, not to mention a tram will still be uncomfortable over long distances, mostly at high speeds. The reason for low frequencies is the lack of drivers after Covid and the strikes. The problem will remain for a year at least. T11 had a similar problem a few years ago but for a different reason. Drivers didn't want to operate on the line because the Dualis had notorious braking system issues that made it unsafe. (the same as tram trains in Nantes and Lyon). Secondly, T12 should go up to Versailles Chantiers but when? We still don't know. Ultimately the RERC loop sections in the South will completely be transfered to T12, the Western part of it has already been detached from RER C to become Transilien V Line. The Regional Authority also has a plan to implement more missions on the rest of RER C with shorter routes (in short, come back to what was in order three decades ago...) to alleviate exploitation problems on one side impacting the other side. The Dourdan and Etampes branches should be transfered to Austerlitz Station to terminate there as regular suburban trains while RER C line should be stopped at Brétigny, that's why they needed a double island platform at Les Ardoines because it will likely be the first stop from Bibliothèque François Mitterand for those new long distance suburbian routes from Austerlitz.

Paris' public transport system is unequalled (in terms of possible connections & projects) ! But we're still not ready for the Olympics somehow. 🤦‍♂️😂

You should make a video about the south wales metro/ transport in the cardiff capital region

One interesting aspect of the Paris tram system is how the tracks *don't* connect between lines. Many places where two lines meet there are no connecting tracks! I find this to be an interesting choice. I understand not running services mixed/overlapping on the same rails, but not even tracks so you can move rolling stock or works cars between lines?

Do a video on Melbourne trams pls

Also noticed that these tram-trains have very high hpantographs, like they wanted to be able to reach overhead wire high enough to run freight trains under.

The hopeful message of Paris trams is that if they unfortunately disappeared, you can build them back! And in an even better way with a general urbanist outlook.

Does the short video of Oporto's metro bridge at the end means there's a video about Metro do Porto coming? :D

And I'm gonna be the driver of one of those trams I'm so happy fr

I know Im not the only one finding good comparisons to other systems here but I think some of the things you point out can also apply well to a system in my country in the city of Aarhus. Aarhus is Denmarks 2nd largest city and has a 2 line Light rail system that has opened in stages since 2017. The system is 110km long but only around 12km is newly built, with the rest being converted from a 69km long and 28km long regional railways respectively to the north and south of the city respectively to the towns of Grenaa in the north and Odder in the south. Trams in Aarhus arent particularly frequent, and both the tram train corridors are all single tracked, but there is a proposal right now with decent support to build out strategic limited double tracking, new crossing stations, and a new depot to introduce 15 minute frequencies all the way to Odder to the south, and as far as Hornslet, almost halfway up the line to Grenaa. Though the decissions about this will be made together with a decission on the system's phase 2, a new urban line to the city's west. The phase 2 has been put together from 3 different extensions, 2 of which have already been cancelled, in part due to carcentric planning decissions and controversies around trams here. And the last phase 2 line is also at risk of being built as BRT rather than trams. But I hope for the best.

This has very Croydon Tramlink vibes to it. Looks like a great system. I wish we did more of this in London but we seem to be stuck on using just electric buses everywhere. Having formerly worked in Croydon and taking the tram from Wimbledon to Croydon many times....trams are just better (especially when they have signal priority and their own right of way). I took the Toronto streetcar recently and while the vehicles were nice, it was SO SLOW I just wanted to get off.

i'm convinced that if ottawa had this i would be very happy.

I just wished we had the same will to have this in other French metropolises ! :(

Please make one about Brussels metro and tram system 🙇

Wow I'm early, I really love these videos. Somehow I really enjoy these even with my HORRIBLE attention span and that speaks volumes

The hybrid route sounds like randstad rail route 3, 4, and 34.

You managed to get hte Skateboarding Rhino ( one of the T12 train wth a yellow wrapping explaining that a tramway weight about 30 rhinos ), nice. ( I get to see it on a regular basis as I take the train from Massy regylarly ) Small note : the tracks used by the T12 are not a former railway line ( 2:03 ), they are still used, just not for the RER C . ( there's lots of freight train that uses it as it's part of the *Grande Ceinture* that surrounds Paris. )

Do you think such a tram-train-light rail would be an option for Montreal's Train de l'est /"REM" de l'est?

Semi off topic : if you do something about the T2 and the T4, dig very hard in the history, they used to be train lines ( except for a branch of the T4 ). And in the case of the T2 the line was closed for decades before the tramway was built on it. ( while they only closed the Coquetier Line, as it was called, to rebuild the tracks and adapt the infrastructure for the T4 )

The grass track psychology would be similar to the mud track psych. I'm guessing. One' more pleasant.

I can't help but wonder what we could have achieved in Melbourne if we had of taken a serious look at Paris trams for inspiration...

In fact there is no 14 but 16 metro lines (with 3 bis and 7 bis) !

I can’t help feeling like you’d be criticising a North American tram that had single track sections, 4 tph frequency, and grade crossings. Perhaps some of your mandatory requirements for a good system aren’t so mandatory?

The T12 borrowing the Rhino saftey ad from Melbourne @5:43??

The tram-trains they use seen quite similar to the Citadis Spirit...

2:47 attention rhino. Don't speak French but I think I get the idea

Besides being incredible new, the trams actually worked pretty well in Rio de Janeiro, contrasting with the decaying trains and stopped in time metro. Could you talk about them, please?

How close is the nearest Paris tram line to the centre of the city? It looks like a nice tram system for suburban areas but not like Vienna, Prague or Zurich where there is street running in the city centres close to historical sights etc.

As much as this is an interesting concept to follow and copy for other cities, I hope Montreal does not go this route for REM de L’Est, practically downgrading Automated light metro for tram train along current freight ROW

Hello, I live near T13, the tram featured in the thumbnail! When KZfaq suggested this video to me, I have recognized right away the terminus at Saint-Germain-en-Laye. You can even see the sign to indicate the proximity to the RER A. Unfortunately, I'm not able to see your additional video about T13, as it requires me to sign-up to something, if I understand well? Anyway, as I'm used to take the tram I may as well provide some insights, on the T13 exclusively. Never taken the T12 so no comment. The frequency would gain to be increased. Currently the tramway runs every 20min, though it is 10min in morning and evening rush hours. I've heard of a lack of personnel too. Due to this, in one particular station, I've found buses to be more frequent, to take me to the city center. There is a projet of extension too. Before 2030 (I forgot the official schedule), the line will be prolonged north to the two nearby cities (Poissy and Acheres). In the particular case of T13, some railway history is needed to understand best the project. Firstly, back to the 19th century, a railway infrastructure connecting lines around Paris, called "La Grande Ceinture" (literally "The Great Belt", meaning belt like a ring around Paris) was built. While at the south and Est, the infrastructure was and is very much used, at the West of Paris, the infrastructure was not well planned and positioned thus leading to its closure at the time of the second world War (another link has been made further west). Now, I know, you may wonder why I bring it up. This is because T13 was born out of the idea to re-open abandoned railway sections but modernizing them and very importantly, adaptating it to the city today, not the town that it was in WW2. Also, please note that this was actually also the case for other tram in Paris. For example, T2 in Paris use a ancient line but was modernised and made full tramway mode; T4 is original because until 2019, it was a tram-train running on exclusively a railway infrastructure, with the infrastructure still in the national railway register. Anyway, because those anciens lines were not directed into Paris but around the core of the city, they all tend to be circular transit rather than in direction of Paris proper. Thus, finally on the subject of T13, the line was called at the time of its construction "Tangentielle Ouest" (literal traduction : Tangential West). Bear with me, I promise the suit will be interesting. So what is interesting with the T13 project is that there was actually a first reopening of the line, in 2004. It was called the TGO, for Tangentielle Ouest, as mentioned before. However this was a failure in terms of passagers, with a trafic exclusively local. The reason for this failure was that the infrastructure was re-opened... But was far from the city center of the cites it goes through. For example, it would stop 3km from the center of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Thus, it was decided to close the line two years but to drastically change the infrastructure. The line would be prolonged south, to join Saint-Cyr, which is deserved by the REC C, and trains lines N and U. North, the tram finally did make a link to the terminus of the RER A, into the city center of Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Now, it was decided to build those news infrastructures in tramway mode, which thus explains why the T13 uses Tramway-Train system. However, please note that there is actually issues with the idea: a tram-train must be bi-tension to operate in both tramway mode (which uses 750 V) and railway tension (25 kV- 50 Hertz). The uses of past railway infrastructure adds some complexity to the system. If I may speak, I think it show firstly the importance of good connections to the rest of the transport system. It also shows that you can (and should) improve your transport system, even if it failed the first time. I imagine much of what I'm saying was already covered up in the additional video I couldn't look :/ but if not then here you go! Appreciate your channel and good luck buddy!

1. Alstom develops a 90km/h low floor Citadis for the American tram/train market. 2. Paris says, "Hey! We can use that here, only better."

I was a user of the massy juvisy rer C line and this change to t12 is worse for me Because the t12 doesn't go to juvisy now and my route is longer and I need a new station change. The juvisy station was better, with more possibilities (rer D Melun, rer D Paris, rer C Austerlitz, rer D Malesherbes)

what i do not like about express trams, is that they 'ought to' have a capped speed, meaning that they reach a low max speed. What i think is better is a light suburban train that can share infrastructure with the tram but still have metro or regional rail speeds. Otherwise, the parallel bus routes may be just as practical, making the tram more of a decoration.

This reminds me of the tram trains in and around Karlsruhe in Germany.

**Cries in Milan**

jakarta/indonesia video when?

❤❤❤

Paris knows that they actually need trams. Unlike some other systems in North America that like pretending they have metros.

You need to make a vid on the Gothenburg trams! It’s huge

Dang what a coincidence, i got fined 35 euros some hours ago in a Paris tram because i forgot to validate my ticket (first time i use them)

Even though the project is good it has it's flaws... for instance this type of tram train is more complex to maintain thus the heigher incident rate than on other lines. As for the T12, frequencies are too low (the project wanted them to be higher). This is because the company that run the trains have not enough drivers... and some of the trains are late. It is expected to get better, but these issues cannot be overlooked.

4:29 A tramline terminating a few blocks from the metro actually doesn't sound so great. Is that temporary?

I just have to nitpick about this, but technically this tram-train line isn't situated in Paris per say. A more correct wording would be the "Paris's region", since where the tram is crossing through is a bunch a cities that are not in the same administrative boundaries as the city of Paris or as the Métropole du Grand Paris. It is located in the department of Essonne, of which Evry-Courcouronnes, one of the tram's station, is the chief-town.

Pheonix tram was 1.9 Billion dollars. Soo

Since so much of it is off-street, wouldn't citytrains like calgary ctrain have made more sense? Because you often criticize north american light rail systems (and including the IBX plan) for going off street but using low floor trams. Sure, the business park wouldn't look as nice but it would be worth it if it means simpler, cheaper, and possibly also faster vehicles. (For faster, I mean that LA light rail trains can hit over 65mph while Seattle only hits 55 mph, even if both systems have way too many tunnels and viaducts)

Back to the classic tram with steal wheels instead of rubber tires! 😂

1:14 *Gadgetbahn spotted*

I wish my metro sistem was as good as these😢

these trams have been around for at least a decade, they're a "new build" of an existing model lol

"Unsignalized intersection" *Shows video of intersection signalized for trams*

8:21 Are there really countries where trams have to follow the rules of the road despite not being road vehicles? 🤔 Here in Sweden trams are governed by their own legislation, and the road rules say everyone - road vehicles, pedestrians, bicyclists - must not only yield but leave the roadway clear for trams (same rule as for trains and emergency vehicles) unless road signs or signals indicate otherwise. (We only have four cities with trams, so most drivers don’t learn this rule though. 😏) BTW, interesting that the tram is run by CNCF and not the municipal transit authority. 🤔

*cries in Rome*

"Paris tram system" is a triple euphemism 1. With the exception of T3 the trams are not really in "Paris" 2. It's not a system (or network), every line is its own "network" and there are basically no connections between the lines (except T1↔T8 for some reason) 3. some of these lines are not even trams (T5, T6) ;)