LUXEMBOURG: Luxtram light rail route T1 has been extended southeast to Lycée Bouneweg, following a formal inauguration by Minister of Mobility François Bausch and the city’s mayor Lydie Polfer on September 11.
The 1·4 km extension from Gare Centrale takes the line to a total length of 8·5 km. It follows Rue d’Alsace south before turning east onto a rebuilt and widened Pont Jean-Pierre Buchler spanning the station’s southern approach. The route then curves south to reach an intermediate stop at Dernier Sol at the start of Boulevard de Kyiv, a new roadway forming the axis of an urban regeneration project. Reserved track continues south from here to Lycée Bouneweg, where there is a bus interchange.
The new section of route is equipped with 750 V DC overhead electrification, with trams reverting to overhead power at Gare Centrale after using CAF’s ACR onboard energy storage to traverse the 3·6 km catenary-free city centre section, recharging the supercapacitors at stops along the route.
The Luxtram fleet of CAF Urbos 3 trams has been increased to 33 following the completion of deliveries of 12 more vehicles in 2021. Around 20 trams are deployed in service each day, an increase of six over the previous requirement.
Further extensions are under construction at either end of the route, and both are expected to open by 2024. Work is expected to start in October on a further 4·9 km southwest from Lycée Bouneweg to the Cloche d’Or development zone; this will serve the CFL station at Howald opened in 2017, and a park-and-ride facility at the Stadion terminus. At the northern end of the route, a 3·9 km extension is already under construction from Luxexpo to Findel airport; this will include a viaduct over the A1 motorway and will serve a park-and-ride hub at Héienhaff.
Meanwhile, Luxtram has been commissioned to undertake preliminary studies for a tram route on Avenue de la Porte-Neuve as part of the 2035 national mobility plan published in August. This projects an increased demand for public transport of almost 40% over the next decade, and envisages that the expanded light rail network will eventually be carrying 300 000 passengers per day.
