An energy outage stopped several tram lines in eastern Lyon early on Tuesday 10 November, including the Rhônexpress airport link. According to Lyon Capitale, the T7 and the Rhônexpress were not running, the T3 was only running on part of its route, and services were expected back around midday.
What happened
Lyon Capitale reports that a panne d’énergie (a power failure affecting the tram network) began at around 6.30am on Tuesday 10 November. It hit several lines in the Est lyonnais, the eastern part of the Lyon metropolitan area.
Two lines stopped completely:
- T7, the tram line between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and OL Vallée.
- Rhônexpress, the dedicated tram service between the gare de Lyon Part-Dieu (Lyon’s main railway station) and Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport.
The T3 was also disrupted. Lyon Capitale says it was only running between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and the Gare Part-Dieu Villette stop. Stations beyond La Soie, as far as Meyzieu ZI, had no tram service.
The information came from the Sytral, the public body that organises public transport in the Lyon area. According to the Sytral, the T7 and the Rhônexpress were expected to restart at around 12pm. A return to normal service on the T3 was also expected at midday.
What it means for you
If you live or work in the eastern suburbs, or need to get to the airport, the disruption mainly affects your Tuesday morning journeys.
Travelling to or from Lyon-Saint-Exupéry airport. The Rhônexpress was not running from Part-Dieu to the airport on Tuesday morning, and the source gives no replacement service for this line. If you had a flight on Tuesday morning or around midday, you needed another way to reach the airport, and should have allowed extra time even after the expected noon restart.
Using the T3 towards Meyzieu. Trams were only running between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and Gare Part-Dieu Villette. For the stations further east, up to Meyzieu ZI, the operator put on bus relais (replacement buses) between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and Meyzieu ZI. If you normally board or leave the T3 east of La Soie, you would have had to change between tram and bus at La Soie.
Using the T7. The T7 between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and OL Vallée was not running at all. The source does not mention any replacement buses for this line, so passengers going towards OL Vallée had to find another route.
Metro line C is still closed. Lyon Capitale also reminds readers that métro C is still not running. The closure follows the discovery of an anomalie sur les voies (a fault on the tracks) on 2 November. According to Lyon Capitale, detailed inspections are under way. This is a separate problem from Tuesday’s power failure, but if you usually combine metro C with these tram lines, your journey may be harder than usual.
Before you travel, check the latest information from the network, because the noon restart was an estimate rather than a confirmed time.
What to watch next
The main thing to watch is whether the T7, the Rhônexpress and the full T3 route reopen around midday, as the Sytral expected. Until then, replacement buses only cover the T3 between Vaulx-en-Velin La Soie and Meyzieu ZI.
Separately, keep an eye on news about metro C. The line has been closed since the track fault was found on 2 November, and Lyon Capitale reports that inspections are continuing. The source gives no reopening date.
Source: Lyon Capitale
Sources
- Lyon Capitale: Plusieurs tramways et le Rhônexpress à l'arrêt à Lyon ce mardi matin après une panne, accessed 10 November 2026
Lyon, for internationals
One email a week: what changed for internationals in Lyon, the week's news from France, and one guide worth reading. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
Comments 1