GERMANY: An extension of Karlsruhe tram route 2 from Siemensallee to Knielingen Nord was opened on November 28, with a small ceremony at Egon-Eiermann-Allee attended by the city’s Lord Mayor Frank Mentrup and representatives from municipal transport company VBK and the local community.
The first significant growth of the Karlsruhe tram network for a decade, the extension had been under discussion since the 1980s. The 1·6 km route with four fully-accessible stops took 20 months to build at a total cost of €14m. Of this, €6·1m was contributed by the Land of Baden-Württemberg.
‘This is a very important event for Knielingen’, said Mentrup. ‘This district is now connected with the city centre by an environmentally-friendly tram line. There is a lot of commuting between Knielingen and central Karlsruhe, and we hope that the new line will significantly reduce road traffic.’
VBK operates a 10 min interval service on route 2, offering a 19 min journey time from Knielingen Nord to Europaplatz in the city centre and 30 min to the Hauptbahnhof.
