[7] By 1946, the public transportation system in Bordeaux had 38 tram lines with a total length of 200 kilometres (120 mi), carrying 160,000 passengers per day.

[citation needed] As in other French cities at the time the mayor, Jacques Chaban-Delmas (first elected in 1947), embraced anti-tram arguments and decided to terminate the operation of the tramway.

He found the tramway to be old-fashioned compared to the bus and its attachment to set tracks on the ground hindered the increasing flow of cars.

[citation needed] By the 1970s the failure of the "all car" transport policy had become obvious, but Chaban was not prepared to backtrack.

A grandiose automated underground railway scheme using the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) system was promoted; it even received the backing of a majority of the city's councillors, but fell victim in the end not just to the fierce opposition of the local transport users' association TRANSCUB but to the hard reality of the fine sandy nature of the city's soil.

[citation needed] Bordeaux had to wait until 1995 and the election of Alain Juppé as mayor – as well as the total strangulation of the city by its transport problems – before the situation was tackled.

Construction and testing continued through 2001 to 2003, and the first section of the tramway opened on 21 December 2003 in the presence of President Jacques Chirac, and the mayor of Bordeaux, Alain Juppé.

The system was 24.3 kilometres (15.1 mi) in length, served 53 tram stops, and cost 690 million euros to build.

There were some legal delays, with the déclaration d'utilité publique for line D and the extension of line C to Gare de Blanquefort tram stop being cancelled by the Bordeaux Administrative Tribunal on 23 October 2014 before being reinstated by the Administrative Court of Appeal of Bordeaux on 21 July 2015.

The routes serve a total of 130 tram stops, counting the nine stops on the section of track shared by lines C and D, and the three interchange points in the city centre (Hotel de Ville, Porte de Bourgogne and Quinconces) once only.

It then crosses the Garonne river on the Pont de pierre bridge and runs east to Buttinière.

Here the line divides into two branches again, one running north-east to La Gardette Bassens Carbon-Blanc and the other south-east to Floirac Dravemont.

The line is double track throughout, with the exception of the approach to and terminal platform at Le Haillan Rostand and Mérignac-Aéroport, which takes the form of a single-track stub.

Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Here the line divides into two branches, one running north to Pessac Centre and the other west to France Alouette.

Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Services run less frequently in the early morning, late evenings, weekends and public holidays.

[26] A particular feature of the new Bordeaux tram network is its ground-level power supply system which is used in the city centre to avoid overhead wires spoiling the view of buildings.

[citation needed] Trams operate on all lines from around 4.30am until midnight, seven days a week with later service on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays until around 1.30am.

[27][28] The French government reports no electrocutions or electrification accidents on any tramway in France from as early as 2003[29] until as recently as December 31, 2022.