Lyon’s Tram Line T6 Extension Officially Launched
Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, February 15, 2026 – The extended Tram Line T6 in Lyon officially commenced service yesterday, February 14, 2026. This significant infrastructure project now provides a direct 20-minute link between the East Hospitals and the Lyon-Tech La Doua – INSA Lyon Campus. The extension adds 5.4 kilometers of new track and 10 new stations, completing the inner ring tram line on the North-East axis of the metropolitan area.
Key Ambitions of the T6 Extension
The T6 extension addresses four major objectives aimed at enhancing urban mobility and quality of life in Lyon:
- Improved Public Transport Offer: The line now serves four key urban centers: East Hospitals, Place Jules Grandclément, the Gratte-ciel district, and the Lyon-Tech La Doua – INSA Lyon Campus.
- Urban Space Regeneration: The project includes the redevelopment of public spaces along the new route, featuring cycle paths, pedestrian walkways, landscaping, and urban furniture.
- Enhanced Network Connectivity: The T6 extension integrates with existing major transport lines, including metros A, B, and D, trams T1, T3, T4, and Rhônexpress, as well as bus lines TB11 and C23, and the future TB12 line.
- Promotion of Intermodality: By encouraging active mobility options like cycling, walking, and carpooling, the extension offers an effective alternative to private car use.
Transforming the City with Tramway Integration
The arrival of the T6 tramway is part of a broader urban strategy to better connect major points of interest in Eastern Lyon, including East Hospitals, the National Popular Theater (TNP), Villeurbanne City Hall, and the La Doua campus. This new route supports the development of the traversed cities and is part of a comprehensive project led by Métropole de Lyon and the City of Villeurbanne, aiming to create a more sustainable and pleasant living environment integrated with the TCL network’s strong lines.
In line with the Local Urbanism and Habitat Plan (PLU-H), the T6 serves major centralities (Gerland/Debourg, Mermoz in Lyon, and Grandclément, Villeurbanne city center), activity hubs (East Hospitals), and university centers (ENS Lyon, Lyon-Tech La Doua – INSA Lyon Campus).
Beyond a mere public transport system, the tramway project has allowed for a complete rethinking of public space, from one side of the street to the other, with the development of sidewalks, separate lanes for cars and bicycles, and landscaped areas. The creation or preservation of tree alignments, the development of urban spaces at various points along the route, and the installation of new street furniture are all part of this global renewal.
Sustainable Innovations and Environmental Focus
The project incorporates several environmental innovations. Infiltration trenches for rainwater have been installed under the rails, covering 8 hectares (55% of the T6 route). This method allows rainwater to naturally infiltrate the soil, recharging groundwater and reducing the risk of sewage network overflow. This also helps prevent pollution of groundwater and rivers while reducing water treatment costs.
This initiative received substantial financial support of €2,386,300 from the Rhône Méditerranée Corse Water Agency as part of its “Save Water 2019 – 2024” program.
SYTRAL Mobilités has also prioritized the return of biodiversity. 500 trees, selected for their resilience to dry conditions and heat, have been planted to create “cool islands” and address climate change challenges. For fauna, specific plant species favorable to biodiversity, including insects, have been chosen, along with installations of shelters for birds, bats, and lizards.
Redesigned Stations for Enhanced Comfort and Accessibility
The design of the new tram stations has been updated to offer improved passenger comfort and accessibility. Platforms are framed by trees and carefully landscaped. Enhanced signage, including large totems, and tactile guiding strips for people with reduced mobility have been implemented. Each station’s design is unique, adapted to its specific configuration and the topography of the traversed neighborhoods, preserving existing trees, building entrances, and circulation paths. Two stations, Kimmerling and Grandclément, feature pergolas with climbing plants to provide shade for users.
The stations integrate urban planning codes on a case-by-case basis to harmonize with their surroundings. For example, the Grandclément station uses furniture consistent with the new square. In the Gratte-Ciel sector, the architectural and heritage enhancement area (AVAP) is respected with minimalist shelters and no totems. This varied design creates rhythm along the route while maintaining overall harmony.
To honor the industrial heritage of the La Filature district, the Roger Planchon station reuses architectural elements such as metal beams and posts from old factories, and features a specific color treatment for its furniture. This station also emphasizes greenery with a pergola, trees, and flowerbeds to reinforce biodiversity and combat urban heat islands.
At the Gare de Villeurbanne station, artist Io Burgard’s work, “Stations fluides,” adorns the shelters. Her aquatic paintings evoke the Rize, an underground river that supported the area’s industrial and urban development, connecting with the flow of travelers and the site’s railway past.
New Bus Services for Comprehensive Coverage
With the launch of the T6 extension, SYTRAL Mobilités has also reorganized bus routes to ensure efficient, adapted, and coherent public transport. This co-constructed reorganization aims to strengthen the TCL network, improve network readability, facilitate transfers, optimize travel times, and provide fine-grained service to traversed neighborhoods and major economic zones.
- Line C27 (Saxe Gambetta <> Vaulx-en-Velin La Grappinière): This new direct link between Lyon’s 7th arrondissement and central Vaulx-en-Velin offers a 7-minute frequency during peak hours and extended service until 1 AM. It reinforces the section between Saxe-Gambetta and Laurent Bonnevay, connecting to Metro A, TB11 at Laurent Bonnevay, and Metros B and D at Saxe-Gambetta.
- Line C9 (Bellecour <> East Hospitals): Redesigned to serve the Ferrandière district, strengthen service on Lacassagne Avenue, and provide a direct link between Montchat and Part Dieu with two new stops.
- Line C26 (INSA Einstein <> Grange Blanche): Completely rethought to offer a new North-South structural link complementary to T6, with an 8-minute frequency during peak hours. It connects to numerous major lines (Metros A and D; trams T1, T2, T4, T5, and T6, and trambuses TB11 and TB12), improving local service to southern Buers and Montchat, and strengthening service to major hubs like Laurent Bonnevay, the PIXEL Pole (with a new stop), Château Gaillard residence, and Médipôle.
- Line 69 (Manufacture des Tabacs): Its northern section has been modified to offer a direct link between the heart of the Buers district and Villeurbanne city center (Gratte-Ciel and Flachet), and a new service to the Cité Internationale and Transbordeur, its new terminus. Frequency is reinforced to 5 minutes during peak hours, and service is extended until 1 AM.
Advanced Techniques for a Responsible Construction Site
The project utilized advanced construction techniques, including the “LAC shots” (Aerial Contact Lines) method for deploying power cables, and aluminothermic welding for rails, ensuring lightness, mobility, speed, and quality. The rails themselves are “low carbon,” made from 97% recycled scrap and rails, preventing 1.84 tons of CO2 equivalent per ton of rail produced. A new model of sleepers made from “low carbon” concrete has also been developed, saving over 14,000 km of truck travel.
Excavated soil from local construction sites was recovered, fertilized, and reused for public space development, reducing the project’s carbon footprint and promoting a circular economy. 85% of the planting pits on T6 are filled with fertilized soil.
SYTRAL Mobilités also fostered professional integration by recruiting local teams, with the T6 tramway extension providing 80,000 hours of work for people distant from employment, including the hiring of companions in professional integration.
For the T6 launch, 23 new drivers were recruited, and over 350 TCL agents (drivers, line agents, regulators) were trained on this new section and its specificities: driving in a pedestrian area in Villeurbanne city center, on a single track on Rue Billon (alternating traffic managed by railway signaling), and in other railway signaling maneuvering zones (Gare de Villeurbanne and La Doua).
Source: https://sytral-mobilites.fr/fr/actualites/le-prolongement-de-la-ligne-t6-entre-en-service_-n.html
