FRANCE
The unusual TVR guided trolleybus system in the French city of Nancy closed on Sunday 12 March, in preparation for the conversion of the route to conventional trolleybus operation.
The double-articulated TVR vehicles used on the city’s T1 route were able to operate in guided mode using a single guide-rail, which ensured all axles followed the same path and helped minimise space required on corners, as well as in driven mode, where it functioned as a standard bi-articulated trolleybus. The buses were also fitted with diesel engines for diversions and depot journeys, the depot being neither on a guide-rail nor overhead line equipped route.
In the intervening period, two standard bus routes replace the TVRs until works to modernise the infrastructure have been completed. It had been proposed to replace the system with a conventional tramway, but the steep gradients which led to the choice of the TVR system, which began operation in 2000, meant trolleybuses were selected instead. A local vote was organised to decide on the colour to be worn by the new vehicles.
