- Fare and where to buy tickets
- Metro lines
- Working hours
- History
- Peculiarities
France invariably attracts many tourists from all over the world, almost every city is proud of its numerous attractions; one of these cities is Lyon. If you decide to visit this metropolis, see its picturesque old districts and visit numerous city museums, then you will surely often use the services of the Lyon metro: the stations of this transport system can be called one of the most touristic places in the city.
True, the Lyon metro is not too different from many other European metro systems - but this is one of its main advantages. This is a real European metro, convenient and safe, in demand by both tourists and citizens. With its help, you can easily get to the architectural and historical sights of the city that interest you. And if it suddenly happens that your target is far from metro stations, you will still easily reach it: the city transport system is well developed here, various types of public transport complement each other perfectly. And the metro is definitely one of the most convenient and fastest forms of transport in Lyon.
Fare and where to buy tickets
It is not at all difficult to obtain a travel document - you can do it at a tram stop or in the metro. The corresponding terminals are installed in these places. There are more than four hundred of them in the city. You can also buy a ticket at the sales office. There are, however, much less of them than terminals. There are only four offices in the city. In particular, one of them is located at the bus station. On weekdays, offices open at half past seven in the morning and work until seven in the evening. On Saturday, their working day is much shorter: it lasts from nine in the morning to six in the evening.
It should be noted that there is no special metro ticket. The Lyon travel document is valid immediately for all types of transport. It allows you to make any transplant you need - within the time period you paid. When changing from one vehicle to another, do not forget to punch your travel document. This action is not required only when you change from one metro line to another.
The cheapest ticket costs just under two euros. Its validity period is one hour. But for a return trip, you need to buy another ticket, even if the validity of the first one has not yet expired.
A two-hour pass costs three euros. The same is the price of the so-called "evening" ticket, which can be used only after seven in the evening. But on the other hand, the "evening" pass is valid until late at night, that is, until the hour when the movement of public transport stops.
For five and a half euros, you can buy a travel card that will be valid for a day. For about sixteen euros, you can buy a block of passes, consisting of ten tickets.
There is a special tourist card that allows you not only to use public transport, but also to visit museums. With this card, you can go to any of the twenty-two museums in the city for free. Also, the card gives the tourist the opportunity to take advantage of more than thirty special offers. The card, which is valid for one day, costs twenty-two euros. For a teenager, this price is lower - eighteen euros. For a small child, such a card can be purchased for thirteen euros. The card, valid for two days, costs thirty-two euros. A teenager can buy it for twenty-six euros, for a child it will cost seventeen euros. If you are interested in a tourist card that is valid for three days, you can purchase it for forty-two euros. If a teenager travels with you, the card will cost thirty-four euros for him. Its price for a child is twenty-three euros.
Metro lines
The Lyon metro system consists of four lines with forty-four stations. The total length of the network is just over thirty-two kilometers. Roughly eighty percent of the transportation system is underground. Lines are designated by the first four letters of the Latin alphabet.
In the diagram, the branches are colored in four different colors:
- pink;
- blue;
- orange;
- green.
The pink line leads from the railway station to the historic part of the city, which is why tourists often use it. It also connects the historic districts of the city with its eastern quarters. The line crosses the bed of the Rhone. There are fourteen stations on it. The average distance between the two stations is seven hundred and fifteen meters. The length of the line is just over nine kilometers.
The blue line runs along the riverbed. It leads from north to south. On this line there is an interchange hub connecting the line with the station of high-speed electric trains. There are ten stations on the branch. The average distance between stations is seven hundred and seventy-five meters. The length of the line is about seven and a half kilometers.
A short Orange Line connects the northern districts of the city with its center. Its length is less than two and a half kilometers. It has only five stations. The average distance between the two stations is six hundred and thirteen meters.
The green line is the longest of the four. She is also the deepest of them. The branch starts in the northwestern part of the city and leads to the southeast. Its paths pass under two river channels. The line is fully automated (trains run without drivers). There are fifteen stations on it, its length is twelve and a half kilometers. The average distance between stations is about nine hundred meters.
Escalators in the Lyon metro are not installed everywhere. All stations of the Green Line are equipped with them, as well as two interchange hubs located on other lines.
Funiculars are also part of the Lyon metro system. There are two of them, they are installed on the river bank, on a hill towering in the western part of the city.
Working hours
The movement of trains in the Lyon metro begins at about five in the morning and continues until half past one in the morning. An exception is one of the terminal stations of the Orange Line: it closes at nine o'clock in the evening.
The time interval separating the trains is different on all lines. On the Pink Line it is from three to six minutes, on the Blue Line it is about seven and a half minutes, on the Orange Line it is as much as eleven minutes, on the Green Line it is from six to nine minutes. However, after nine o'clock in the evening, these differences disappear: the time interval between trains on all branches becomes equal to eleven minutes.
History
The Lyon Metro opened at the end of the 70s of the XX century. It was then that the Pink, Blue and Orange lines were put into operation. Green appeared much later - in the early 90s.
Peculiarities
The Lyon metro uses left-hand traffic - this is one of the main differences between this metro and similar transport systems in other French cities. The reason is that there were once plans to connect the metro and the commuter train system. These plans have not yet been implemented and are unlikely to ever be implemented.
One of the distinguishing features of the Lyon metro trains is the combined tire-rail system.
Official website: www.tcl.fr
Lyon metro
