First opened in 1974, it currently consists of four lines, serving 42 stations and comprising 34.4 kilometres (21.4 mi) of route.

This is the result of an unrealised project to run the metro into the suburbs on existing railway lines.

An extension to Line B saw two stations, Oullins Centre and Saint-Genis-Laval–Hôpital Lyon Sud open on 20 October 2023.

[6] The line was constructed using various methods; the incline rising through a deep tunnel, the portion on the flat at Croix-Rousse using cut-and-cover while the section beyond Hénon runs on the surface.

The line was extended to Gare de Vénissieux on 11 December 1992,[6] when it switched to driverless operation.

It is operated on behalf of SYTRAL Mobilités - the Syndicat mixte des transports pour le Rhône et l'agglomération lyonnaise (Rhône department and Lyon metropolitan transport syndicate), a Syndicat Mixte.

Twelve variants were initially proposed; two options, running from either Bellecour or Hôtel de Ville to Alaï, were selected for further study and could potentially have been opened around 2030.