Lausanne Metro
The Lausanne Metro system is an urban rail transport system in Lausanne, Switzerland, which operates both driverless rapid transit services on a grade-separated route and more traditional light rail services. Around a quarter of the system has been used for urban rail transport since 1877, when the route between the city centre and Ouchy opened as Switzerland's first public funicular railway. The network is owned by two distinct companies and operated by a third.
Of the two operating lines, the first is a limited-capacity light rail route, while the second is a fully automated metro which opened on 27 October 2008. When this opened, Lausanne replaced Rennes as the smallest city in the world to have a full metro system. A third line is now planned, based on the same rubber-tyred metro technology.
History
Former Lausanne-Ouchy line
The Lausanne-Ouchy railway, the precursor to the M2 line of the Lausanne Metro, was inaugurated in 1877 as a funicular. In 1959 the first overhaul took place by transforming the funicular into a rack railway under the name "métro". At that time, Flon and Gare CFF stations were demolished and replaced by concrete underground equivalents. The line was however always nicknamed "La Ficelle" (The String) by its users due to its funicular past and circulation above ground in the greenery for more than half of its run.
