GERMANY: A project to build a tram line running north from Aachen to Alsdorf has been allocated €5·5m by federal and state governments to continue with planning.
Initially floated in 2017, a feasibility study reported positively in 2022, with follow-up research in July 2023 by Transport Technologie-Consult Karlsruhe GmbH declaring it economically viable.
Aachen Mayor Sibylle Keupen said ‘we have waited a long time for the funding approval. With the Regiotram, the daily journey will be much more relaxed and comfortable for many commuters. Now we can finally get started and take the next steps so that the city and region can move closer together thanks to the Regiotram.’
The project envisages a 20 km line running from Aachen Hauptbahnhof across the city centre, along the Krefelder Straße axis to Alsdorf and then continuing to Baesweiler, with a 6·5 km branch from Würselen to the airport at Merzbrück. Services would run at 15 min interval on each line, with eight trams per hour on the core Aachen – Würselen section.
The next stage will be design and planning approval over the next three to five years, with opening projected for 10-15 years from now. Aachen has not been served by trams since the Vaals-Brand line closed in 1974.
