“We are repairing the mistakes of the past”: first welding of the extension of the tram line to the Sud de France station in Montpellier
|The first weld of an extension project that will include 300. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART
The first rails of the extension of tram line 1 to the Gare Sud de France were welded this Thursday morning on the new bridge that overhangs the A709. A symbolic step for a project that should be completed in the second half of next year.
"When you have a new station and no public transport service, you are the laughing stock of France. Today we are repairing the mistakes of the past." Julie Frêche, the vice-president of the Métropole in charge of mobility, did not mince her words this Thursday against the previous majority led by Philippe Saurel. The elected official intervened on the new bridge over the A709 during the first symbolic welding of the extension of tram line 1 which will serve the Sud de France station opened since 2018.
“We were mocked a lot”
In this Cambacérès district in full transformation, the railway equipment is until now accessible by car or via the shuttle bus set up from Odysseum. “It is a historic day. It marks the dynamic of a voluntarism abandoned for too long. We were mocked a lot. It is time to repair the affront" added Michaël Delafosse.
Built by Vinci, on schedule, the bridge that made this junction possible is now wide enough for trams, buses (bus-tram line 2 "in a second phase"), cyclists and pedestrians, including students from the nearby Mendès-France high school.
The two stations in 20 minutes
According to the Métropole, The extension of the line, costing 50 million euros, will connect the two SNCF stations in twenty minutes. It is scheduled to open “for the second half of 2025”. For Michaël Delafosse, this infrastructure must also be considered as an accelerator for the development of this district. “It is the attractiveness of the area that is at stake. We are preparing a district mainly focused on economic activity”.