Rouen was integrated into the French Kingdom after Philip II of France annexed Normandy in 1204, and it continued as one of the largest cities in the kingdom under the Ancien Régime.
It prospered during the 19th century, with the traditional trades of textiles and Rouen manufactory (faïence) alongside the newer chemical and papermaking industries.
The navigable Seine, emptying at Rouen, had been Parisians' route to the sea ever since the Middle Ages.
Napoleon Bonaparte said "Rouen, Le Havre forment une même ville dont la Seine est la grand-rue" ("Rouen and Le Havre form a single town of which the Seine is the High Street").
Rouen and Orléans were the first large cities to be connected by rail to Paris, on 3 May 1843.
After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 – 1871, the economy of the First Industrial Revolution under the Second Empire, and the ever-growing population, obliged the Rouen city authorities to rethink the travel facilities both within the city centre and between it and the expanding suburbs.

Urban services — always horse-drawn, either carriages or omnibuses on the most profitable routes — were not enough to satisfy the needs of a town that already numbered, with its suburbs, more than 170,000 people.
From 1873 to 1875 the city fathers commissioned a study into building railways connecting the most populous areas of Rouen.
A decree was signed on 5 May 1876, committing to a publicly owned standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)) network, and to horse-drawn carriages.
Nine lines stretching 27,500 m (90,200 ft), or 1,370 chains were decreed:
The town was authorised to tender construction and operation to one or more contractors.
It quickly chose the only serious candidate, Gustav Palmer Harding, a British citizen.
He was the continental representative of Merryweather & Sons, builders of steam tram engines.
This decision knitted the close railway links between the city and Great Britain that remained for nearly half a century.
Naturally, Mr Harding wanted to promote his company's machines, so he long made his views known to the municipal authorities.
Finally convinced, they authorised him to use steam power from Maromme (Line 1), entering service on 29 December 1877.
Merryweather & Sons, whose depot was on the Avenue du Mont-Riboudet, provided the tram units.
Small and light — 4.7 tonnes (4.6 long tons; 5.2 short tons) — these reversible locomotives had two coupled axles, fully covered by a wooden body.
They looked the same as a normal carriage so as not to frighten the horses.
These steam carriages had enclosed lower decks; the upper decks were roofed but had open sides.

The first steam trams of Léon Francq's design soon appeared on the Maromme line and coexisted with the horse-drawn tramways that served the city centre.
Rouen was integrated into the French Kingdom after Philip II of France annexed Normandy in 1204, and it continued as one of the largest cities in the kingdom under the Ancien Régime. It prospered during the 19th century, with the traditional trades of textiles and Rouen manufactory (faïence) alongside the newer chemical and papermaking industries. The navigable Seine, emptying at Rouen, had been Parisians' route to the sea ever since the Middle Ages. Napoleon Bonaparte said "Rouen, Le Havre forment une même ville dont la Seine est la grand-rue" ("Rouen and Le Havre form a single town of which the Seine is the High Street"). Rouen and Orléans were the first large cities to be connected by rail to Paris, on 3 May 1843. After the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 – 1871, the economy of the First Industrial Revolution under the Second Empire, and the ever-growing population, obliged the Rouen city authorities to rethink the travel facilities both within the city centre and between it and the expanding suburbs.
Urban services — always horse-drawn, either carriages or omnibuses on the most profitable routes — were not enough to satisfy the needs of a town that already numbered, with its suburbs, more than 170,000 people. From 1873 to 1875 the city fathers commissioned a study into building railways connecting the most populous areas of Rouen. A decree was signed on 5 May 1876, committing to a publicly owned standard gauge (1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in)) network, and to horse-drawn carriages. Nine lines stretching 27,500 m (90,200 ft), or 1,370 chains were decreed:
The town was authorised to tender construction and operation to one or more contractors. It quickly chose the only serious candidate, Gustav Palmer Harding, a British citizen. He was the continental representative of Merryweather & Sons, builders of steam tram engines. This decision knitted the close railway links between the city and Great Britain that remained for nearly half a century. Naturally, Mr Harding wanted to promote his company's machines, so he long made his views known to the municipal authorities. Finally convinced, they authorised him to use steam power from Maromme (Line 1), entering service on 29 December 1877. Merryweather & Sons, whose depot was on the Avenue du Mont-Riboudet, provided the tram units. Small and light — 4.7 tonnes (4.6 long tons; 5.2 short tons) — these reversible locomotives had two coupled axles, fully covered by a wooden body. They looked the same as a normal carriage so as not to frighten the horses. These steam carriages had enclosed lower decks; the upper decks were roofed but had open sides.
The first steam trams of Léon Francq's design soon appeared on the Maromme line and coexisted with the horse-drawn tramways that served the city centre.
Trams in Rouen