Caen: Encyclopedia II - Caen - Transport

Caen - Transport

Caen has one of the first type and controversial tramway on tyres - in actual fact a guided busway based on Bombardier Transportation's Guided Light Transit technology - and a very efficient network of city buses, operated under the name Twisto. Faced with the caennais' anger against the project, the municipality had to pursue the project with only 23% of the population in favour of the new form of transport. Caen city centre's road layout was deeply changed and to this date the formely traffic jamless centre's problems are still unresolved.

Caen-Carpiquet Airport is the biggest airport in lower Normandy passenger-wise, and offers commuting possibilities to the whole of Europe. flight are operated by Brit Air and Chal Air Aviation. Most passenger flights are via Lyon while summer flights are direct.

Caen is well linked to the rest of France by motorways to Paris (A 13), Brittany (A 84) and soon to Le Mans (A 28). The city is encircled by the N 814 périphérique which was completed in the late 1990s. The N 13 connects Caen to Cherbourg and Caen to Paris. The A13/N814 ring road (périphérique) boasts an impressive viaduct called Le viaduc de Calix which goes over the River Orne and Le Canal de Caen à la mer to permit cargo ships and ferries to dock in Caen's canal harbour. Ferries to have docked were the Quiberon and the Duc de Normandie.

Although a fraction of what it used to be remains, Caen had once boasted an extensive rail and tram network. Until 1936 La Compagnie des Tramways Electriques de Caen operated all over Caen from 1895. Caen also had several main and branchlines linking it to all parts of Normandy with lines to Paris, Vire, Flers, Cabourg, Houlgate, Deauville, Saint-Lô, Bayeux and Cherbourg. Now only the electrified line of Paris-Cherbourg, Caen-Le Mans and the Caen-Rennes subsist with a minimal services.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Transport", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki