DESCRIPTION
Saint Etienne first tram line opened in 1882 (initial steam tram) and it was electrified in 1914. The original network was articulated in many routes connecting the city centre to Raspail, le-Soleil par Chateaucreux, La Riviere, Terrasse and Bellevue districts; another connection to Firminy was completed in years '20. At the beginning of years '30s the tram network reached its maximum extension: its total lenght was about 80 km, carring about 40 millions passengers per year. After the second world war many tram lines/routes were closed, as weel as in many other european towns; however, in years '70s Saint-Etienne, Lille and Marseille were the only French towns manteining at least one of their original tram line (and Saint-Etienne was the only town manteining a radial route passing through the city centre: Line 4 from Belleuve to Terrasse).
The former Line 4 (now line T1) was extended in 1983 (Belleuve-Solaure) and 1991 (Terrasse-Hopital Nord). A new eastern branch (from Place du Peuple to Gare TGV de Chateaucreux, initially operated as Line 5) was completed on October 2006.
The network was reorganized in 2010; it's currently articulated in 3 routes: T1 (Hopital Nord-Solaure), T2 (Terrasse-Chateaucreux) and T3 (Belleuve-Chateaucreux), sharing part of their track (Belleuve-Terrasse).