High-speed tram will connect Luxembourg City to French border

The planned public transit service will be completed somewhere in 2035

Commuter traffic between France and Luxembourg will get much-needed support after the Grand Duchy’s Mobility Minister François Bausch announced the plan for some big developments along that axis.

A major part of this plan includes the construction of a tram line running from the centre of Luxembourg City to Esch-sur-Alzette and Belvaux (Beles) on the French border. This will allow for intermodal connection with the French public transit network eventually.

What’s impressive is that the line will be designed to accommodate a high-speed tram, which will move two-and-a-half times faster than the urban trams running in Luxembourg City. This means that it will travel at an average speed of 50 km/h and will have the ability to reach top speeds of up to 100 km/h.

New cycling lanes will run along the line, too

The speedy tram project will cost about 1 billion euros to construct, and it will include 13 stops and a total length of 17 kilometres.

According to the country’s transport ministry, it will take some time to complete and will be built in stages. The stop in Esch-sur-Alzette will be ready in 2032 and the one in Belvaux, in 2035.

That budget, however, only represents one-third of the overall pot set aside for transport infrastructure development in the south of the Grand Duchy. The rest of the money will go towards the widening of the A4 motorway, which also means that the government will continue to encourage motorized traffic as a vital part of the economy.

Soft mobility will not be ignored either. In fact, the aim is to create a new ‘express’ cycle path to connect the capital and the French border, with the goal of increasing bike journeys on it eight-fold – to 43,000 per year.