“Many promised it, many dreamed it, we did it.” It is with an air of triumph and alongside the mayor of Lyon that the president of the Metropolis today inaugurated the river shuttle project on the Saône.
On this Wednesday, June 19, under the scorching sun, the representatives of Lyon and its metropolis boarded the previously named Vaporetto, for a 35-minute journey from Confluence to Vaise Industrie. Over 6.2 km, by June 2025, four stops will be set up: the first near the Confluence Dock, the second at the Saint-Vincent quay, one at the Saint-Antoine quay, and the last in Vaise.
To answer to “this challenge of offering 532,000 TCL subscribers opportunities to travel differently”, 4.8 million euros per year were invested for the cost of the service, and 4.2 million euros per boat: if the service will begin with two thermal boats in June 2025, they will be replaced by two electric carriers in October 2025, and finally the fleet will be made up of four boats in 2026.
“The last riverboat was in operation on the Saône in 1913. More than a century later, this project constitutes an essential first step.begins Bruno Bernard, completed by Grégory Doucet: “It’s important that the people of Lyon can reconnect with their waterways, like with the Entre Rhône et Saône festival.”. In the sights, the development of this service on the Rhône also, but “not on this mandate” : for the moment, the service will have a frequency of one boat every 30 minutes initially and eventually during off-peak hours, and eventually every 15 minutes during peak hours.
“These boats will be an integral part of the TCL network, and will become a new line. Bruno Bernard is satisfied, before returning to the sun on deck, to sail towards new horizons.
