Rennes is situated in Bretagne (Brittany) in the west of France. The city has only 215,000 inhabitants (500,000 in the metropolitan area; and some 50,000 students).

After Lille and Toulouse, Rennes is the third French city to introduce a VAL metro system (short for Véhicule automatique léger). The first line is a north-south route through the city centre. Construction work began in 1997. In mid-2000 track laying had begun and the first of 16 Matra trains were delivered in late-2000. After one week of "discovery service" the metro started operating regularly on 16 March 2002.

Most of its route is underground - just below street level from J.F.Kennedy to Villejean Université, then on a viaduct at Pontchaillou, after that in a deep tunnel through the city centre (via Gares - Central Station) as far as Clemenceau, again just below street level as far as Le Blosne and then on a viaduct towards its southern terminus La Poterie where the maintenance yard for the trains is located. The line has a total length of 9 km (1 km on the surface), 15 stations (2 on viaduct - Pontchaillou and La Poterie), with an average station distance of 611 m. The metro is totally accessible for people in wheelchairs.

The metro line was constructed by Société d'Économie Mixte des Transports Collectifs de l'Agglomération Rennaise (SEMTCAR) and is integrated into the STAR transport system.

Photos © Jean-Raphaël Legallais

16 March 2002 - J.F. Kennedy - La Poterie

In the future the first line may be extended at both ends.

A second line will cross the city from northeast to southwest intersecting with the first line at Gares and Sainte Anne. Construction may start in 2013 for completion in 2018.

Proposed station names are from southwest to northeast:
1. Mermoz, 2. La Courrouze, 3. Cleunay, 4. Mabilais, 5. Puits Mauger, 6. Gares: transfer to métro a, 7. Saint-Germain - Pasteur, 8. Sainte-Anne: transfer to métro a, 9. Jules-Ferry, 10. Fougères or Gros Chêne for campus universitaire Rennes I, 11. Europe or Le Gast, 12. Châteaubriand, 13. Beaulieu Université for campus universitaire Rennes I, 14. Longs-Champs: centre commercial Nord-Est, zone d'entreprises Rennes Atalante Nord-Est, 15. Champs-Blancs

 Books

NEW: Christoph Groneck: METROS IN FRANKREICH / METROS IN FRANCE. Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Toulouse, Rennes, Rouen & Laon. - Aug. 2006, Robert Schwandl Verlag, ISBN 3 936573 13 1 (More info)

Jean Normand: Le Val de Rennes: Un combat pour la ville. - 167 p., 28 Feb 2002, Apogée; ISBN 2843981123

Philippe Chapleau, Jean-Michel Niester: Métro de Rennes métropole: Chronique d'un chantier. - 63 p. (20 Feb 2002), Ouest-France (Patrimoine), ISBN 2737330017

Michel Philiponneau: Le VAL à Rennes . - 1995, Nature et Bretagne, ISBN : 2852570211

More metro books >>>

Operating 5:20 - 0:40 Mon-Sat, 7:30 - 0:40 Sun

Daytime frequency 3-5 min, rush hours 2-3 min, early morning and late evening 7-10 min.

Travelling time from one end to the other is 16 minutes.

- Fares (2010)

The Rennes Métro is fully integrated into the existing bus tariff system:

Single (1 hour) - EUR 1.20
10 Trips - EUR 11.10
Day Ticket - EUR 3.50

Weekly Pass - EUR 12.10

STAR - Site des Transports en Commun de l'Agglomération Rennaise