This historical tramway closed in 1957, and was replaced by trolleybuses as the main mode of public transport in Le Havre.

After authorisation was given, construction began with the first horse-drawn tramway opening on 1 February 1874 between Musée and the Barrière d’Or (Octroi de Rouen).

Le Havre was the fourth city in France to possess a tramway network after Paris, Lille and Nancy.

The tramway and trolleybus operator was faced with a large bill to extend its network further into the suburbs and so decided to replace all its overhead vehicles with motor buses on 28 December 1970.

From mid-November 2006 to the end of the March 2007,[2] a survey of inhabitants living in the Le Havre metropolitan area was conducted about a proposal to construct a new bus lane.

On 13 March 2007, the deliberations of elected representatives from CODAH lead to a consensus on a certain number of key points.

The layout of the route was designed in a 'Y' shape, with the possibility of moving the terminus of the line to the upper part of the city.

Following the various inquiries, it was apparent that residents wanted a mode of transport that was frequent, efficient, comfortable and large.

In October 2004 the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU) signed with the municipality of Le Havre the first agreement to finance the rehabilitation of these areas.

This finance agreement provides more than 340 million euros for the housing estates in the northern districts, where about 41,000 people reside.

The development extends the budget for the Grand Projet de Ville (GPV) for the demolition and rebuilding of more than 1,700 homes.

A team of 8 tramway ambassadors was put together in order to reassure and update residents and shopkeepers on the progress of the construction.

[6] In order to ensure the best circulation of traffic during the construction of the tramway lines, changes were made between June and September 2009 to the layout of the route from the Boulevard Francois I to the Chaussée Georges Pompidou.

It is more than 500 metres long, built east of the existing tunnel Jenner and entirely reserved for the new tramway.

The mairie of Le Havre was responsible for all planning work necessary: layout of the road and surrounding area; diversion of underground networks; and access to the new tunnel.

The construction of the platforms was specially designed to meet the demands of disabled people (with wheelchair access) and the visually impaired with the installation of tactile paving.

In addition, the tickets are valid to use on the entire bus network in the Le Havre metropolitan area.