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Marseille is the largest city in southeastern France (800,000 inhabitants, 1.2 million in the metropolitan area). It is an important harbour by the Mediterranean Sea.

The metro network consists of two rubber-tyred lines (pneu - like Lyon and some Paris lines), with a total length of 21.8 km (18.1 underground).

Line M1 (12.9 km) - From a point halfway between Saint Just and Malpassé to Frais Vallon the line runs in the middle of a highway, after a short tunnel it continues on a viaduct to the terminus at La Rose. The rest of the line is underground.

Line M2 (8.9 km) - This line ends on a viaduct at both sides, Bourgainville and Ste. Margarite - Dromel, the rest is underground.

Stations usually have a very functional design, some are decorated thematically (for example, St. Charles - Railway Station shows a TGV high speed train on one side and a 19th century steam train on the other; Noailles shows old model trains, trams and trolleybuses; Notre-Dame du Mont has huge vegetables painted on the walls showing the way to the nearby market).

There are two transfer stations - at Castellane both lines cross perpendicularly with a short walk and an escalator between Lines 1 and 2. St. Charles (Central rail station) appears to be of the cross-platform interchange type, but there is an island platform for Line 1 on the inner tracks, and two side platforms for Line 2 on the outer tracks, which means that passengers have to run up and down the stairs in any of the possible transfer options! Apart from this inconvenience stations have no elevators although most stations have escalators.

Information panels are good and easy to read. On the trains stations are not announced, neither acoustically nor on a panel. There is an arrow showing which side to get off, but usually it's not illuminated before the train gets into the station.

Tram

Marseille was one of only few French cities to maintain part of its former tram network, a single line which was shown on metro maps as line 68, a standard tram running in a tunnel only from its terminus 'Noailles' (transfer to métro) to its first stop 'Bruys' along Bd. Chave. It was closed in December 2003 to be integrated into the future tram line T1 to La Blancarde and Les Caillols. The new tram has opened in stages since 2007, and currently has a total length of 11.5 km. More details here.

Photos © UrbanRail.Net

22-11-1977: M1 La Rose - St. Charles (6.3 km)
11-03-1978: M1 St. Charles - Castellane (3 km)
03-03-1984: M2 Castellane - Joliette (3.3 km)
01-02-1986: M2 Castellane - Ste.Marguerite
14-02-1987: M2 Joliette - Bourgainville (5.6 km)
05-09-1992: M1 Castellane - La Timone (1.1 km)
06-05-2010: M1 La Timone - La Fourragère (2.5 km)

 Projects

Line M2 is planned to be extended from the southern terminus eastwards to St. Loup-Pagnol with five stations.

- OPERATION

The Marseille Métro only operates from 05:00 in the morning until 23:00 in the evening, with trains every 5 minutes (every 3-4 min. during rush hours). Service is extended until 00:30 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

- FARES (2010, in Euro)

The Marseille fare system is called 'Reseau Liberté' (Freedom Network). Tickets are valid for metro, tram and buses with free transfer within one hour:

Solo (single ticket) - EUR 1.26 (payable with Carte Liberté, minimum EUR 6.30)
Carte Journée (day pass) - EUR 5.00
3-Day Ticket - EUR 10.50

Le Pilote (RTM & other transit)

Marseille Metro & Tramway (RTM)

Trams in Marseille by Christoph Groneck

Métro de Marseille at Wikipedia.fr

Christoph Groneck: Metros in France. - Aug. 2006, Robert Schwandl Verlag, ISB 3936573131

Jacques Laupiès: Marseille et son Métro 201 pages (2000) P. Tacussel ; ISBN : 2903963665