Tram may hit road bump after reaching train station

Luxembourg's tram may hit a snag extending beyond the capital city's train station, which it will start servicing in two weeks' time.

The new stretch will connect the Kirchberg business and administrative district to the railway station, and plans are to then extend the line to the Howald and Cloche d'Or business centre south of the city.

But talks with the Olos Fund, which holds land along the planned route, have reached a stalemate and may yet force the government to opt for a single-line rather than the originally planned double tracks on a planned bridge between Howald and the Ban de Gasperich.

“Depending on the outcome of the land purchase agreements, we might need to opt for a half-bridge instead of a full structure initially planned, which would allow us only to lay a single line for the tram,” André von der Marck, CEO of LuxTram told the French edition of the Luxemburger Wort in an interview. 

“We are not involved in the conflict and will only be able to lay the rails after the preparatory work is completed [which is the responsibility of the National Roads Administration],” he said.

Yet von der Marck did not envisage issues with the future towards Findel airport, despite the pandemic-related delay of the Airport City project that foresees the construction of a multi-storey Park&Ride facility.

“Airport accessibility remains a crucial issue,” von der Marck said, adding that the first stage of that plan will consist of building a bridge between Kirchberg and Findel.

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