Meridiam celebrated the 1st anniversary of Florence’s Tramway line 3

Popular with the inhabitants of Florence, it is used by more than 36 million passengers per year and contributes to reduce by 14 000 tons, CO2 emissions in the city per year.

On July 16, 2019, in the presence of Florence’s Mayor Dario Nardella, Meridiam and its partners celebrated the first full year of operation of Florence’s line 3, which links Florence’s centre and Careggi hospital to the city’s main residential and commercial areas. This date also marks the tenth year of the commissioning of the line 1 of the Florence tramway, and the six months of the commissioning of the line 2 linking the airport to the city centre.

Clean, economical and safe, Florence’s tramway meets the municipality’s urban mobility needs. For Meridiam, which manages the company in charge of operating this tramway [1], the project illustrates its concrete commitment to sustainable development and improving the quality of life of communities.

The tramway contributes to a significant reduction in car congestion, CO2 emissions (14 000 tons per year) and particular matters by 40% (in the area of Scandicci), and consequently to a significant improvement in the city’s air quality. Thanks to this tramway, 12,500 fewer vehicles travel per day during rush hour in Florence (7am-10am). It is also connected to the first “Drive and Tramway” car park in Italy. This unique project in Italy allows everybody to park their car for low rate in a dedicated site along the A1 highway, catch the tramway and reach Florence city centre in just a few minutes.

For all those positive environmental benefits and the resulting reduction in pollution, the municipality of Florence just won the Pimby (Please In My Back Yard) Green award in 2019 for this tramway. This recognized prize was awarded by “Fise Assoambiente” [2], the association that represents all companies in the environmental sector in Italy.

The Florence tramway Line 1 and 3 (from Scandicci to Careggi Hospital) called “T1 Leonardo” serves all of the city’s main economic, residential, historical, cultural and administrative sites. Practical and fast, it is also the most economical way to get around town (€1.50 for a 90-minute trip, integrated with the bus). Reliable and safe, it has not experienced any significant incidents or technical problems since its commissioning. Much appreciated by all users and inhabitants of the city and its agglomeration[3] is already used by more than 19 million people per year. And since line 2, called “T2 Vespucci”, came into service at the beginning of 2019, more than 36 million passengers are expected to use this mode of transport each year.

Sources:

1 – Tram di Firenze shareholders : Meridiam (60.4%), Ratp (14.5%), Alstom (9.4%), Hitachi (8%), others (7.7%)
2 – Association representing companies in Italy sorting, collecting, recycling, recovering and disposing of urban and special waste, active in the urban hygiene as well as the pollution control sectors
3 – A satisfaction survey performed for the first 3 months of 2019 showed that 90 % judge the tramway optimal and excellent, and 92 % estimate the tram performs in secure conditions