Things people say about the TVR
Was it a tram, a bus or a sports car? Gently checked.
MythThis is the TVR sports car.
FactTVR stands for Transport sur Voie Réservée, French for “transport on a reserved track”. It was a tram on rubber tyres. French government report, 2010
MythBombardier invented it.
FactThe TVR was not invented by Bombardier. The idea came from the Belgian firm La Brugeoise et Nivelles, which Bombardier bought. French government report, 2010
MythIt ran on rails like a tram.
FactIt was built to run in two ways: guided by a single central rail, or driven on the road like a bus. French government report, 2010 Each axle had a frame at the front and the back, ending in a grooved roller that ran along the central rail, pressed down by air and steel springs with a force of about 70 kN. French government report, 2003
MythWhen it lost its guidance, it came off like a derailed tram.
FactA loss of guidance was not like a tram leaving its rails: the TVR stayed steady on its rubber tyres and kept all its braking. It could not simply be steered away, though, because the pressure of the guide roller stopped the steering from working. French government report, 2003
MythLots of cities bought one.
FactOnly 50 TVRs were ever sold, all of them to Nancy and Caen, and production stopped. French government report, 2010
MythNobody liked riding it.
FactDespite all this, the 2003 experts found that people in both Nancy and Caen liked their tram on tyres. French government report, 2003
MythNancy replaced it with a tram.
FactNancy had planned to turn the line into a steel-wheeled tramway: the plan was set out in December 2018, but the metropolitan council voted to suspend it on 11 February 2021. Railway Gazette Nancy’s Line 1 reopened on Saturday 5 April 2025 with all-electric trolleybuses. Métropole du Grand Nancy
MythIt was all-electric.
FactIt also had two kinds of power: electric and diesel. French government report, 2003 In both cities the vehicles carried a generator set, so they could move under their own power away from the wires. French government report, 2010