CITIZENS in the German port of Hamburg were due to make submissions by May 15 on priority measures to be put in place for the city’s planned light rail network. The formal consultation paves the way for award of a contract for detailed design of the first route.
The city is planning to build a network of around 40 km, of which the first line will account for 12 km. This will run from the Hauptbahnhof to Steilshoop by way of Steindamm and Hindenburgerstrasse. It will also serve the City Nord development zone, near the planned depot site in the S-Bahn triangle northe of Hebebrandstrasse. Journey time to Steilshoop is estimated at 25min, compared to 32min by bus.
The second light rail line will link Hbf to Niendorf Markt, reinstating the former tram route 2 closed in 1978. The third main route will run from Altona to the Luftwerft terminus near the airport, connecting with the U-Bahn at Kellinghusenstrasse. Two orbital lines are also envisaged to complete the network. One will run from Steilshoop to the S-Bahn station at Rahlstedt via Farmsen. The other would run from Luftwerft to Osdorfer Born via Lokstedt, Stellingen and Lurup. n
