View source for Ilévia

[[File:Metro tram Lille.svg|right|thumb|Map of Lille's metro and tramway lines]]
'''Ilévia''' is the [[public transport]] operator for the [[Métropole Européenne de Lille|Lille Métropole]], the [[metropolitan area]] surrounding the city of [[Lille]] in northern [[France]]. It operates a mixed system, comprising [[bus]]es, [[tram]]s and a driverless [[light metro]] system. The company is a [[subsidiary]] of [[Keolis]], the largest private sector French transport group. Keolis is itself 70% owned by [[SNCF]] and 30% owned by [[Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec]]. In January 2019, the company changed from its former name 'Transpole' to 'ilévia'.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.zoomsurlille.fr/actualites/a-partir-du-28-janvier-2019-transpole-deviendra-ilevia |title=A partir du 28 janvier 2019, Transpole deviendra ilévia - Zoom Sur Lille |website=www.zoomsurlille.fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929082202/http://www.zoomsurlille.fr/actualites/a-partir-du-28-janvier-2019-transpole-deviendra-ilevia |archive-date=2019-09-29}} </ref>
==Metro==
[[File:Lille VAL 208.jpg|thumb|right|A train of type Val-208 on the Lille Metro]]
{{Main|Lille Metro}}
The Lille Metro is a [[Véhicule Automatique Léger|VAL]] system (''véhicule automatique léger'' = light automated vehicle), which opened on May 16, 1983, the first automatic metro line in the world. It has two lines, with a total length of {{convert|45|km|mi|abbr=on}}, and 60 stations. All stations have doors between the platform and the train.<ref name=somltrav>{{cite web | title = Travel & Transport | url = http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport | publisher = La mairie de Lille | accessdate = 2008-02-18 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131220539/http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-01-31}}</ref>
Line 1 is {{convert|13.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} long, of which {{convert|8.5|km|mi|abbr=on}} are underground, with 18 stations. The line links [[Loos, Nord|Loos]], to the south-west of Lille, with [[Villeneuve d'Ascq]], to the south-east, via central Lille and the [[Gare de Lille-Flandres]]. Line 2 is {{convert|32|km|mi|abbr=on}} long with 43 stations. It links [[Lomme]], to the west of Lille, to the [[Belgium|Belgian]] border, via central Lille, the Gare de Lille-Flandres, [[Roubaix]] and [[Tourcoing]].
==Tramway==
[[File:Le tramway à Marcq-en-Baroeul 13.jpg|thumb|right|One of the tram cars, at Marcq-en-Baroeul on the Roubaix line]]
{{Main|Lille tramway}}
The tram system consists of two interurban tram lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of [[Roubaix]] and [[Tourcoing]], and has 45 stops. It is [[metre gauge]] electrified at 750 [[volts]] [[Direct current|DC]]. The system is often called the Mongy, after [[Alfred Mongy]], the engineer who created it. It was built in 1909 at the same time as the [[boulevard]]s linking Lille to its two neighbours, and the lines run on [[reserved track]] within the boulevards for most of their length.<ref name=somltrav>{{cite web | title = Travel & Transport | url = http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport | publisher = La mairie de Lille | accessdate = 2008-02-18 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131220539/http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-01-31}}</ref><ref name=wpfr>Based on a translation of the article ''[[:fr:Ilevia|Ilevia]]'' from the French Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.</ref><ref name=wpde>Based on a translation of the article ''[[:de:Ilevia|ilevia]]'' from the German Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.</ref>
While most urban lines in Lille were abandoned after 1950, the Mongy remained in service as the backbone of the public transport network of the TCC, the predecessor of Ilévia. Whilst the expansion of the Metro initially threatened the trams, they were kept in service. The system was renovated between 1991 and 1994, and new low-floor trams were provided.<ref name=somltrav>{{cite web | title = Travel & Transport | url = http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport | publisher = La mairie de Lille | accessdate = 2008-02-18 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131220539/http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-01-31}}</ref><ref name="wpfr"/><ref name="wpde"/>
==Buses==
Ilévia also operates 68 urban bus routes, eight of which run into Belgium.<ref name=somltrav>{{cite web | title = Travel & Transport | url = http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport | publisher = La mairie de Lille | accessdate = 2008-02-18 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20080131220539/http://www.mairie-lille.fr/sections/site-en/Lille_pratique/travel-transport <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2008-01-31}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.transpole.fr/ Transpole web site (in French)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130703105805/http://uk.transpole.fr/ Transpole web site (limited English section)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111216050411/http://www.transpole.fr/upload/plan.pdf Route diagram of all Transpole services]
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Companies based in Hauts-de-France]]
[[Category:Public transport operators in France]]
[[Category:Transport in Lille]]