Line 1 (Lille Metro)

Line 1 of the Lille Metro is one of two lines serving the Lille metropolitan area in northern France. Spanning the cities of Villeneuve-d'Ascq and Lille, it connects Quatre Cantons – Stade Pierre-Mauroy in the east to CHU – Eurasanté in the west.

Conceived in the 1960s as part of Lille's decentralization efforts, Line 1 was inaugurated on April 25, 1983, initially linking Quatre Cantons to République. The line reached its current extent on May 2, 1984, with the extension to CHU – Eurasanté (then CHR B-Calmette). It holds the distinction of being the world's first metro line to implement the Véhicule Automatique Léger (VAL) technology, developed at the University of Lille in the 1970s—originally dubbed "Villeneuve-d'Ascq – Lille" (VAL). Since its debut, the line has proven immensely popular, handling 165,000 daily trips by 2013.

Stretching 12.5 kilometers (7.8 miles), with 9 kilometers (5.6 miles) underground, Line 1 comprises 18 stations. Initially equipped with VAL 206 trains, these were largely replaced by VAL 208 models starting in 2008. On November 17, 2024—after nearly 41 years of service with the original VAL automation—Line 1 transitioned to Alstom's modern Urbalis Fluence system, now exclusively operating VAL 208 trains as part of an ongoing modernization effort.