By Pauline Lecouve
Published on April 26, 2026 at 7:00
If you’ve ever taken the tramway in Tours (Indre-et-Loire) at least once, you’ve probably heard them. Between certain stops, musical motifs sung by a woman are played in the urban train cars. Why? Actu Tours conducted its own investigation and provides the answers in this new section called “The Tours Question.”
Contacted by Actu Tours, Fil Bleu explains that the musical snippets heard by tram passengers during their journey are “sound signatures” conceived during the artistic project for the opening of the first tram line in the city of Tours.
What are these musical snippets that can be heard at certain tram stops in Tours?
Inaugurated in 2013, the Tours tramway was designed as a truly moving work of art, with the contribution of renowned artists, including Daniel Buren. It was Buren who designed the black and white lines that make the Tours tramway so recognizable.
Sound landmarks to signify a change in neighborhood
Regarding the sound environment, Louis Dandrel, a famous sound designer who was unfortunately deceased in January 2021, was in charge of the project. To learn more, Actu Tours contacted the company RCP Design Global, responsible for the artistic project of the first tram line.
The goal was to go beyond the usual audio announcements made at stations for visually impaired passengers, by creating sound references at each neighborhood change.
It was sound designer Louis Dandrel who composed the musical motifs still heard today, with a soprano singer hired to lend her voice to the task. The aim was to echo the jazz heritage of the city of Tours.
For the past 13 years, these musical motifs, composed of a few notes, have become recognizable markers for residents who regularly take the tramway, to the point of knowing them by heart.
A tramway full of little secrets
“People have embraced these auditory references. I’ve heard schoolgirls singing the motif while riding the tram,” says Annie Dorange, who knows all the tramway’s secrets.
Did you know that you can easily identify each tram car thanks to a small detail located in plain sight? Find out the answer next Saturday in “The Tours Question.”
If you have any questions about Tours or the metropolis, email us at [email protected], and we will try to answer them in “The Tours Question.”
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