Geneva Tram and Rail System, Switzerland

Geneva is a relatively small city located at the southern end of Lake Geneva, surrounded almost entirely by France. Like all other Swiss cities, Geneva dislikes the idea of an underground metro, preferring instead to rely on its tram and trolleybus services. However, Geneva has one of the highest car ownership levels in the world, with nearly one car to every two inhabitants. This poses serious problems, both with regards to air pollution and the fact that the greatly expanded volume of traffic has brought the city to saturation point. A Geneva transport policy of 1995 set out to reduce mobility in the region; seven years on mobility is actually up by 10%. A number of programmes have been launched to curb this increase, including extensions to the existing tram network (reopening some lines that closed many years ago), a standard gauge rail link that traverses the city in a north–south direction and an express tram service (tram rapide). It remains to be seen if these measures will be enough to arrest the congestion, especially considering Geneva's growing reputation as a major transport hub. By 2006 the high-speed TGV will reach Geneva from Paris within three hours; Switzerland itself is introducing high-speed tilting trains on the Geneva to Lausanne line, and with the growing Geneva airport attracting more and more international visitors, street level city travel does appear to be heading for terminal gridlock.

GENEVA TRAM MASTER PLAN

LINE 16 (MEYRIN - BOUCHET - CORNAVIN - BEL-AIR - RIVE - MOILLESULAZ)

The Cornavin - CERN extension, with a first stage of completion at Bouchet and subsequently at Meyrin, should be completed at the earliest in 2006 or 2007. Known as the "tram rapide", most of this 8.6km extension will be used by future tram Line 15. CERN (Conseil Europeen pour le Recherche Nucleaire) is a leading institute in which the UIK and many other countries co-operate in efforts to unravel the secrets of atoms. It employs hundreds of scientists and is most famous for being the birthplace of the Internet.

The 1m-wide gauge, double-track tramline will include 16 stops and construction costs are estimated to be CHF300 million. This project includes a 535m traffic tunnel underneath the centre of Meyrin. To be built by cut-and-cover methods, the Meyrin tunnel will segregate the trams from the car traffic at a crossroads used by 21,000 cars per day. A new depot for stabling at least 40 trams will be built at Blandonnet, near Meyrin.

TROLLEY BUS NETWORK

To complement the expansions on the tram network, the extensive trolley bus service in Geneva is also undergoing further development:

LINE 3 (GRAND-SACONNEX - 22-CANTONS (CORNAVIN) - BEL-AIR - CHAMPEL)

An extension of the line is planned for December 2003, to be served by shuttle bus. The shuttle serves the Gardiol area with stops at Champ d'Anier and Briquet.

LINE 6 (VERNIER - CHANTEPOULET (CORNAVIN) - PL. EAUX-VIVES (RIVE) - MERLE-D'AUBIGNÉ - GENÈVE-PLAGE)

The Merle d'Aubigné - Vernier itinerary will run via the Pont du Mont-Blanc; service of the Merle d'Aubigné - Genève Plage extension will begin when the Genève Plage is opened in December 2003.

LINE 10 (AÉROPORT - 22-CANTONS (CORNAVIN) - BEL-AIR - ONEX-CITÉ)

To meet demand in the Charmilles district, a deviation will be made between the Bouchet crossroads and Cornavin via route des Franchises, avenue de Chatelaine and rue de Lyon; this service depends on completion of the tram to Bouchet and therefore should be operational at the earliest by December 2006.

THE CEVA CONNECTION

Called the CEVA connection because of the three main stations involved (Cornavin, Eaux-Vives and Annemasse), this project is part of the public transport development plan that seeks to motivate a partial transfer from road to rail. The plan is for a standard gauge rail link starting from Cornavin in the north over an existing freight line to the railway yards at La Praille near Bachet-de-Pesay (terminus of existing tram Line 12). From La Praille, a new connecting 8.5km section of track, almost entirely in tunnel, will be built to reach the existing railway terminus of Eaux-Vives in south-east Geneva. The new line will follow an existing route from Eaux-Vives to the French city of Annemasse further to the east. The segment on Swiss territory will be relaid in a cut-and-cover tunnel. This will cost an estimated CHF1,000 million. 50% of it will be funded by the Swiss State. It is scheduled to open in 2009.

This new international line will be served every 30 minutes by a regional train and every hour by long-distance trains, to Lausanne and beyond. The Eaux-Vives - Annemasse section of the line is operated by the French SNCF.