Trévoux-Lyon High Level Service Bus: the managed operational phase
While traveling in the Val de Saône, Laurent Wauquiez announced the launch of the operational phase for the High Level Service Bus Lyon – Trévoux for full commissioning in 2027. The cost of the project amounts to 160 million euros.
Laurent WAUQUIEZ, President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, accompanied by Frédéric AGUILERA, Deputy Vice-President for Transport, announced, this Wednesday April 6 during a trip to the Val de Saône, the launch from June of the operational phase for the Lyon – Trévoux High Level Service Bus (BHNS). He announced that the link will be put into service between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027 and the first stations will be open from 2025.The future Lyon – Trévoux link is the first link of the Lyon RER that we want to set up in the Region. We must provide our territory with mobility solutions that match the dynamism of our region. “, declares the president of the Region.
Consultation with residents
In the coming days, the Region will consult with the inhabitants. A presentation bus will begin a tour of the territories concerned to present the project and the route while offering residents the opportunity to give their opinion. From June, the project will enter an operational phase with the designation of a project manager. This first step will enable this project to be launched, the cost of which amounts to 160 million euros. Next June, part of the land will be acquired by the Region from SNCF Réseau for 3 million euros.
By 2023, all public orders and contracts will be established. Work should start in 2023. As the work progresses, the first stations will be able to be opened. The first stations could open as early as 2025 and the entire route will be operational between the end of 2026 and the beginning of 2027.
Less than an hour from Trévoux to the center of Lyon
This High-Level Service Bus will make it possible to connect Trévoux and the center of Lyon in less than an hour, with a bus every 15 minutes during peak hours. It will save an average of 30 minutes compared to
current travel times. Up to 10,000 people will use the BHLS every day, which will reduce car traffic, traffic jams and pollution.
After many years of studies on a railway solution, this last hypothesis was abandoned. Already, during the mandate of Jean-Jack Queyranne, the railway project was considered unrealistic because of the investment and operating costs, for the service of a sector that is altogether not very dense.
The Region has therefore been piloting this BHLS project since 2018 and is responsible for its project management, in conjunction with local players: the Department of Ain, the Lyon Metropolis, the Dombes Saône Vallée Community of Municipalities, SYTRAL, SMT AML and SNCF Network.
Hydrogen
The Region has also opted for “green” Hydrogen buses that are more respectful of the environment and less noisy. Eleven buses with a capacity of 110 passengers will be deployed. The project was rewarded with the “passenger transport service” prize from “Hydrogenies 2022” at the National Assembly on March 15th. Moreover, the project will also be based on the recycling of land since the first 18 kilometers of its route will be on the old Trévoux – Sathonay railway line, which is no longer used. In addition, a greenway will be built along the route.
” I am very determined. This project, the inhabitants are waiting for it, the territory in need. We are talking about a link that will improve the lives of 10,000 inhabitants every day and the quality of life throughout the Val de Saône. It is a project that we are building in consultation with local actors and inhabitants so that it responds specifically to their needs. We are talking about a high-level service bus with a great regularity, a sustained frequency and a project that will be a model of clean mobility with Hydrogen buses.” insisted Laurent Wauquiez.