Le Figaro Marseille
The President of the Republic had already announced in 2021 the financing of fifteen projects, including in particular new tram lines for France's second city.
But this Thursday, on the occasion of the holding of a public interest group (GIP) on the mobility aspect of the Marseille plan at large, the president of the metropolis Martine Vassal presented in particular to the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan and to the Secretary of State in charge of monitoring this plan, Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, six new projects for which she wishes to launch studies, for commissioning by 2035.
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The extension of the Caillols tramway to Valentine
This project to the east of Marseille aims to connect the Caillols hospital to the Valentine commercial zone - which accommodates up to 13,000 people - and to the Barasse multimodal exchange hub.
The T1 line tramway would thus be extended by a length of five to six kilometers, lined with cycle paths.
According to the document presented in particular to the city of Marseille during this meeting, the work would be carried out in two stages.
The first phase would focus on the section going to Valentine, with the aim of finalizing the studies in the first half of 2025. Then the work would focus on Barasse, which will be connected to the future metropolitan RER.
A tram from Blancarde to the beaches of Escale Borély
This tramway, approximately 5 kilometers long, would serve the beaches of southern Marseille from the city center, via Chanot Park or the famous Borély Park.
From Place du Général Ferrié, it would pass notably via Boulevard Rabatau and Avenue du Prado.
The feasibility study is underway and the metropolis hopes to complete it by the end of 2025.
A new metro stop in the south of the city
The metropolis also wishes to extend metro line 2 from the Sainte Marguerite Dromel terminus, near the Vélodrome stadium, to a new stop serving the Maison-Blanche districts and the concerted development zone of Vallon Regny, in the ninth arrondissement.
A tram between Belle de Mai and Saint-Jérôme
The State has already validated the construction of a tramway in the very popular Belle de Mai district, in the city center of Marseille, the route of which has been the subject of strong disagreements between the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan and the president of the metropolis Martine Vassal.
The latter intends to continue the path, then connecting this tramway to the northern districts of Marseille, and more precisely Saint-Jérôme which hosts a university site, via Place Burel.
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For this project, two scenarios are considered.
The first plans to pass this tramway through the city of Picon-Busserine.
The second proposes to serve another neighboring city, that of Merlan, known in particular for its important commercial area.
A tram line to Saint-Antoine
The Marseille plan in large part validated by Emmanuel Macron includes a tramway in the northern districts of Marseille which runs to the city of La Castellane.
The project presented by Martine Vassal intends to continue the route a little further, to the Saint-Antoine district, in the 15th arrondissement.
Studies are underway.
A project for Aix-en-Provence
Martine Vassal also announced that a project was being studied to set up a high-level bus service in Aix-en-Provence to the Aix-les-Milles La Duranne business zone.
“It was requested by the economic world
,” says the president of the metropolis.
Asked about these projects, the mayor of Marseille Benoît Payan claimed to have discovered them at the time of the meeting.
“I was presented with projects that I didn’t know about,”
says the councilor.
So we're going to look at them, study them.
But we must first open up the northern neighborhoods.
The new projects are for 2030 or even 2035. What interests me is improving mobility today.”
Quite annoyed by the method, the mayor's entourage informed the press that they would take several days to study the documents before expressing any reservations.