The tramway is making a big comeback in Paris and in most major cities of France as an easy means of urban transportation. But it is no easy job to keep the grass between the rails looking green and lush.
Who can forget the sight of burnt and sooty grass along the railway? However, those days are over, at least if it's up to ISS. The French Landscaping department, ISS Espaces Verts, has specialized in the difficult task of making grass grow, and above all of making it last, on a concrete platform between two tram rails.
"First introduced on the Nantes tram network, turfing of railway platforms to create a green flow effect is a highly popular concept among French town planners," explains Francis Guisse, Technical Director at ISS Espaces Verts.
Hi-tech nourishment
ISS Espaces Verts has become one of the national specialists in turfing tram rails and has thrown beautiful green carpets of grass along the tramways of Paris, Mulhouse, Valenciennes, Grenoble, Le Mans and Saint-Etienne.
"The main challenge consists of making grass grow to a maximum height of 15 centimetres and improving its upright position, resistance and ability to absorb and retain water," highlights Francis Guisse. "This is what led us to study and develop ways to nourish the Paris tramway, which combine all these qualities."
ISS Espaces Verts quickly realised that to create a green lawn, on a concrete platform, which can resist pollution, traffic and drought, they needed exceptional nourishment. So they prepared a special mixture of volcanic rock, sphagnum peat, compost, river sand and vegetal soil for the Parisian tramway. The result is that the green surface lets water through in the case of intense rainfall and still retains enough to save on sprinkling.
A future market
Landscape development of tramways is an important market for ISS Espaces Verts, but they see many opportunities beyond tramways.
"We are looking into soil that is more resistant to drought and choosing plants that consume little water. The lawns we develop for these projects have resistance close to asphalt, so they could easily be used for other purposes, for instance green car parks for occasional use alongside sports stadiums or leisure centres," concludes Francis Guisse.