Poma 2000, Rubber-tyred people mover in Laon, France
Poma 2000 was an automated guideway transit system in Laon, a cable-driven people mover running on rubber tyres along a metallic track. Its 1.5 km line linked the railway station with the medieval upper town via three stations, climbing a 13% gradient and 100 metres in elevation. Four white and blue vehicles, each carrying 33 passengers, ran at 2.5-minute intervals.
The system opened in 1989 and replaced an older rack railway that had climbed the hill since 1899. After 27 years of service, it was shut down in 2016.
The system linked the train station area with the medieval upper town, making it easier for visitors and locals to reach the cathedral district. This connection became part of how people experienced moving between the modern lower city and the historic upper quarters.
The journey between stations took about three and a half minutes and was designed for various mobility needs. Visitors should know that the system is no longer operational and cannot be visited today.
The Poma 2000 was a prototype, the first operational line of a system Pomagalski designed in 1971 from mountain cable-car principles. Its Grenoble test loop covered over 50,000 km with three vehicles before the Laon line opened. The state funded 87.2% of the project as an experiment.
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