FRANCE: Revenue services started on Montpellier tram Route 5 on December 20.
The 14·2 km line serves 27 stops. Part of the route is shared with routes 1 and 4, but there are two newly-built sections. There is 4·5 km of new alignment running north from Saint-Éloi on Route 1 to Clapiers, and 6·6 km from Gambetta-Saint-Denis on routes 3 and 4 to Grés de Montpellier in the southwest.
Built at a cost of €440m, Route 5 is expected to carry around 80 000 passengers a day. Services are initially running at every 12 min, although the headways are scheduled to decrease to every 10 min from February 2026 and to every 7·5 min from September as new rolling stock is delivered.
CAF is supplying 60 seven-section Urbos trams to operator TaM, 22 of which are destined for use on Route 5.
In Montpellier, each tram route has its own visual identity with colours and other visual cues. The Route 5 design by Barthélémy Toguo features plant and animal figures on a white base, symbolising the tramway linking nature and people. The line serves several parks and green spaces, as well as the Zoo de Montpellier.
- Learn more: Read our feature article about the ongoing expansion of French tramways in the April 2025 issue of Railway Gazette International.
