What are the transport in France?

Question

What are the transport in France?

Answer 1

Roads everywhere (narrow local roads, bigger nationals and also highways).

Train network connecting everything, and an airport every 200 kms or so...

What else do you need ?

In the biggest cities (like more than 200 000 inhabitants) there is a subway and/or a tramway, buses, taxis....

Answer 2

Shorter answer :

Train. The network covers all of France, and with the high speed train you travel faster across France on train than by plane (total travel time). It's good, on time or with only minor delays.

Car - lots of good roads, a good network of motorways and secondary roads, but toll roads (motorways) and high petrol prices makes it very expensive if you go on a long trip.

Plane - One main airline (Air France) and many cheap ones. But you have to go to deserted airports sometimes. Still, can be the best if you do a cross section travel (most of the big rail network tends to go to Paris, crosswise across France can demand some changes).  

Coaches - you do have coaches running, but this is an average service. If you can afford it train is best.

If you are in transport of heavy loads you have the choice between trucks, train, plane, and waterways. The canal system allows barges to go from one river to the other.

In the cities : all the big cities have a thick network of buses, and for the biggest ones they have undeground trains. The most developped one is in Paris where you have a station five minutes walk away from any point in most of Paris.

Answer 3

L'autobus :)

Answer 4

France has a system of large, navigable rivers, such as the Loire, la Seine and le Rhône that criss cross the country and have long been essential for trade and travel.

The first important human improvements were the Roman roads linking major settlements and providing quick passage for marching armies. These routes these roads followed are copied today by many 'N' class roads.

Throughout the Middle Ages improvements were sparse and mediocre and transport became slow and cumbersome. The early modern period saw great improvements. There was a proliferation of canals connecting rivers (like the Canal du Midi). It also saw great changes in oceanic shipping. Rather than expensive galleys, wind powered ships that were far faster and had far more cargo space became popular on the coastal trade. Transatlantic shipping with the New World turned cities such as Nantes, Bordeaux, Cherbourg and Le Havre into major ports of international importance.

[edit] Railways

Main article: French railway history

Even in France, where, because of water transport, railways were of lesser importance than in other nations, railways were still an extremely important area of economic development. Despite already having a well developed water transport system, by 1875 railways were carrying four times as much cargo as canals and rivers combined.

French railways started later, and developed more slowly than those in other nations. While the first railway built in France was in operation in 1832, not long after the first line had opened in Britain, French progress failed to keep pace over the next decade.

After the war of 1870 the French rail system was overhauled and made far more efficient. By 1914 the French rail system was a match for Germany's and played a crucial part in France's victory in the First World War.

In the 1930s Léon Blum's socialist government nationalised the French rail system, along with many other industries, and the transport system was successful in World War II.

After the war the French railway system began a slow movement to electric trains. Eventually TGV high speed trains were introduced providing extremely quick links between France's urban centers.

[edit] Railway

There is a total of 31,939 km (31,840 km are operated by French national company) of railway in France.[1]

31,840 km 1,435 mm (4 ft 8½ in)

99 km 1m narrow gauge (1998)

Trains, unlike road traffic, drive on the left (except in Alsace-Moselle). Metro and tramway services are not considered trains and thus generally follow road traffic in driving on the right (except the metro of Lyon).

France has railway links with all adjacent countries, with the exception of Andorra. The connection with Spain involves a break-of-gauge.

See also: SNCF, TGV, high-speed rail, French railway history, Chemins de Fer de Provence, Channel Tunnel.

[edit] Métros

There are a number of rapid transit services operating in France.

Paris Métro, operated by the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens) and the RER

Laon, Poma 2000

Lille, VAL (Véhicule Automatique Léger, "Light Automatic Vehicle"), operated by Transpole.

Lyon Metro

Marseille, operated by the RTM (Régie des Transports de Marseille)

Rennes Metro, VAL

Toulouse, VAL

[edit] Tramways and light railways

See also: Trams in Europe

Despite the closure of most of France's tram systems in previous decades, a rapidly growing number of France's major cities boast new tram or light rail networks, including Paris, Lyon, Montpellier, St Etienne, Strasbourg and Nantes (Nantes has the largest French network). Recently the tram has seen a huge revival with many experiments such as ground level power supply in Bordeaux (to avoid the need for overhead wires) or trolleybuses masquerading as trams in Nancy (to provide a quick fix for traffic congestion).

This mode of transport started disappearing in France at the end of the 1930s. Only Lille, Marseille and Saint-Etienne have never abandoned their tram systems. Since the 1980s, several cities have re-introduced it.

The following French towns and cities run light rail or tram systems:

Bordeaux, since 2003

Caen, since 2002, 'trams on tyres' guided bus system featuring a single guidance rail while running on tyres (partially separate tracks)

Grenoble, since 1987

Île-de-France (Paris metropolitan area)

T1 between Saint Denis and Noisy-le-Sec, since 1992

T2 between La Defense and Issy Plaine, since 1997

T3, on the south edge of the city of Paris, between Boulevard Victor and Porte d'Ivry, since 2006

T4, a tram-train between Bondy and Aulnay-sous-Bois RER stations, run by the SNCF, since 2006

Lille — Roubaix — Tourcoing

Lyon, since 2001

Montpellier, since 2000

Mulhouse, since 2006

Nancy, since 2000, 'trams on tyres' guided bus system featuring a single guidance rail while running on tyres (partially separate tracks)

Nantes, since 1985

Orléans, since 2000

Rouen, since 1994

Saint-Etienne

Strasbourg, since 1994

Valenciennes, since 2006

Light rail and tram systems are under construction in the following locations in France:

Angers

Le Mans

Marseille - closed since 2004 for modernization and expansion, will reopen in 2007 [1] [2]

Nice

Systems are planned in these locations:

Brest

Le Havre

Le Mans

Reims

Toulon

Tours

Fort-de-France

[edit] Roads

There is a total of 893,300 km of roads in the country, including 10 300 km of Motorways and 30 500 km of Route Nationales (1998 est.). Most motorways in France are toll and operated by private companies such as the Société des Autoroutes de Paris Normandie (SAPN).

All French roads have tarmac surfacing.

See also

List of motorways in France

Paris's ring road, the Périphérique

[edit] Waterways / canals

There are 14,932 km of waterways in France, of which 6,969 km are heavily travelled

See also:

List of rivers of France

List of canals in France

[edit] Sea

France possesses an extensive merchant marine, including 55 ships of size 1,000 GRT and above. The country also maintains a captive register for French-owned ships in Iles Kerguelen (French Southern and Antarctic Lands).

France also possesses a number of seaports and harbours, including the following: Bayonne, Bordeaux, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Brest, Calais, Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Fos-sur-Mer, La Rochelle-La Pallice, Le Havre, Lorient, Marseille, Nantes, Nice, Paris, Port-la-Nouvelle, Port-Vendres, Roscoff, Rouen, Saint-Nazaire, Saint-Malo, Sète, Strasbourg, Toulon.

[edit] Air travel

There are approximately 478 airports in France (1999 est.) (see List of French Airports) and by a 2005 estimate, there are three heliports. Of the airports, 288 have paved runways, with the remaining 199 being unpaved.

Among the airspace governance authorities active in France, one is Aéroports de Paris, which has authority over the Paris region, managing 14 airports including Charles de Gaulle International Airport and Orly Airport.[2] The former, located in Roissy en France near Paris, is one of Europe's principal aviation centers and is also France's main international airport.

The main airline in France is Air France.