Poma 2000

Poma 2000
Poma 2000
Overview
Locale	Laon
Transit type	People mover
Number of lines	1
Number of stations	3
Daily ridership	2500
Operation
Began operation	4 February 1989
Ended operation	27 August 2016
Number of vehicles	4
Technical
System length	1.5 km (0.9 mi)

The Poma 2000 in Laon, France, was an automated guideway transit, a cable-driven people mover which ran between the railway station and the city hall. The system was 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long with a maximum gradient of 13% and an elevation change of 100 metres (330 ft).

History

The system opened in 1989, replacing a former tram line (1899–1971), that used a rack for braking but not propulsion. There were three stations. The cars ran on rubber tyres on a metallic track at a 2.5 min headway. Four vehicles were used by the system, and each of them could carry 33 passengers at a maximum speed of 35 km/h (22 mph). The maximum capacity was 900 passengers/hour, and most recent ridership before its closure was about 1500 passengers/day.^[1]

The system ran every day from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. from Monday to Saturday and every day in Summer. A complete journey on the line from Gare to Hôtel de Ville took 3.5 min.

Citing €19 million maintenance costs and rising local taxes, the Agglomeration Community of Pays de Laon ended the service on 27 August 2016.^[1]^[2]

Route

References

^ ^a ^b Haydock, David (February 2017). "Laon's Poma 2000 closes". Today's Railways Europe. No. 254. Platform 5 Publishing Ltd. p. 16.
^ "The end of the POMA 2000 Laon". Funimag. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2016.