Line A of the Toulouse metro, inaugurated in 1993 after five years of work , crosses the city in the North-East / South-West direction (Basso-Cambo to Balma - Gramont). The second, line B, was inaugurated in June 2007, and connects Borderouge to Ramonville. The third and latest, line C, is currently under construction. Construction sites over 30 years old and stations that conceal incredible secrets and crazy anecdotes!
1 - Two air stations out of 38
If only the Jean-Jaurès station allows connections between the two lines (A and B), Jolimont and Basso-Cambo (line A) are also the only two elevated stations of the Toulouse metro. Indeed, the entirety of line B is underground, while line A has four viaduct portions and two elevated stations.
2 - From a car park to the Palais de Justice station
Before being today's aisles Today, the Jules-Guesde aisles, which include the Palais de Justice station, have changed a lot since the last century! After having been a huge car park, they accommodated two flyovers (1970), then a 2x2 lane tunnel (1993), which ended up being filled in in 2012 to accommodate the tramway.
< h2 class="title">3 - Ramonville, isolated station on line B
Ramonville, the only station on line B located outside of Toulouse, is located in the town of Ramonville-Saint-Agne. And for good reason ! It has one of the most famous concert halls in France: Le Bikini, located on the banks of the Canal du Midi. Created in June 1983 in Toulouse, the building was destroyed on September 21, 2001 following the explosion of the AZF factory and was therefore rebuilt in Ramonville in 2007 thanks to funding (up to 30%) from the Midi-Pyrénées region. .
4 - Fontaine-Lestang was a castle
The Fontaine-Lestang station, one of the least used by Toulouse residents, owes its name to a castle demolished in the 1950s which was located in the current district of the Reynerie.
5 - A ghost station never finished
Just behind the Rectorate of the Toulouse academy (at 75 Rue Saint-Roch, 31400 Toulouse), there is a so-called “ghost” station. This abandoned entrance should have welcomed travelers to the Niel station, located on line B between the Empalot and Saint-Agne – SNCF stations. Without being in service, it is now useful for firefighter access and can thus increase the counter to 38 stations (if we count it).
6 - Pictograms under the station names
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Have you noticed that each metro station has its own pictogram? And yet they are there and allow the cognitively disabled, the visually impaired and foreigners to find their way and orient themselves more easily. Inaugurated on Wednesday, November 22, 2017, they are therefore located in the basements and above each station entrance panel.
Bellefontaine has a fountain, La Roseraie has a rose, Mermoz has his plane (related to the aviator Jean Mermoz), Patte d'oie to a goose, Esquirol has a squirrel because it is common in Ariège and the Tarn, the surname Esquirol means "squirrel" in Occitan, Palais de Justice has its scales, this symbol symbolizing justice...
7 - The Toulouse metro speaks (also) Occitan
< p>Pays d'Oc and Occitan capital, the metro also and inevitably speaks Occitan. Since 2011, all the names of the metro stations are actually stated in our local patois by the voice of Muriel Batbie Castell, Occitan solo singer and voice-over. The opportunity to (re)discover this language of yesteryear!
8 - Works of art decorate the city's basements h2>
To make art accessible to all, 39 works by different artists appear in the 38 stations of the Toulouse metro: one in each station except at Barrière-de-Paris where two works have been installed. As they pass by, users can see the exterior steel sculpture by Bernar Venet (French visual artist) and a bronze watchtower by Stéphane Pancreac'h (French painter).
To read also: The largest contemporary art gallery is located within 27km of the Toulouse metro
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9 - A metro not the fastest in the world!
Fully automatic, the trains run on tires, they can each accommodate 150 to 200 people and reach a top speed of 60 km/h, unlike the Guangzhou metro in China which can go up to 160 km/h or that of London which can reach 100 km/h.
10 - Toulouse residents, fans of this underground public transport< /h2>
The metro, fully equipped with mobile network and Internet, is attracting more and more Toulouse residents (and tourists). 118 million took it in 2019. Note that the most popular stations were (in 2016): Jean-Jaurès (22,418,791 validations), Arènes (5,994,848), Marengo - SNCF (4,855,562), Capitole (4,765,379) and Balma - Gramont (4,682,568).
Line C which will connect Colomiers to Labège in 20 minutes by 2028 should explode the number of travelers...
Also read: Dozo, the new 100% Japanese "izakaya" which opened opened above a Toulouse institution