The Lille Métropole has a mixed mode public transport system, which is considered one of the most modern in the whole of France. It comprises buses, trams and a driverless metro system, all of which are operated under the Transpole name. The Lille Metro is a VAL system (véhicule automatique léger = light automated vehicle) that opened on 16 May 1983, becoming the first automatic metro line in the world. The metro system has two lines, with a total length of 45 km and 60 stations. The tram system consists of two interurban tram lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of Roubaix and Tourcoing, and has 45 stops. 68 urban bus routes cover the metropolis, 8 of which reach into Belgium.
Railways
Lille is an important crossroads in the European high-speed rail network. It lies on the Eurostar line to London (1:20 hour journey). The French TGV network also puts it only 1 hour from Paris, 35 mn from Brussels and other major centres in France such as Marseille, Lyon, and Toulouse further away. It has two railway stations, which stand next door to one another: Lille-Europe station (Gare de Lille-Europe), which primarily serves high-speed trains and international services (Eurostar), and Lille-Flandres station (Gare de Lille-Flandres), which primarily serves lower speed regional trains and regional Belgian railways.
Highways
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No fewer than five autoroutes pass by Lille, the densest confluence of highways in France after Paris:
* Autoroute A27 : Lille – Tournai – Brussels / Liège – Germany
* Autoroute A23 : Lille – Valenciennes
* Autoroute A1 : Lille – Arras – Paris / Reims – Lyon / Orléans / Le Havre
* Autoroute A25 : Lille – Dunkirk – Calais – England / North Belgium
* Autoroute A22 : Lille – Antwerp – Netherlands
A sixth one – the proposed
