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The first generation of trams in Luxembourg ran from 1875 to 1964, before they were withdrawn from service and the tramways removed. A second generation of trams began operational service on 10 December 2017, along a new route that will, by early 2025, run from Luxembourg Airport to the Cloche d'Or business district, in Gasperich, serving the new national stadium, via Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg and Luxembourg railway stations. Additional lines are planned for the network both within Luxembourg City, as well as extending to Strassen and Esch-sur-Alzette.

Trams have been free of charge since 29 February 2020, when all public transport in Luxembourg (buses, trams and trains) were made free at the point of use.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]

Contemporary and future usage

T1

Luxembourg is in the process of reintroducing trams to its transport infrastructure. Construction work began on a new tram depot on the edge of the Grünewald Forest and the Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City in January 2015,^[5] with the first tracks of the T1 tramline being laid in July 2016.^[6] The tramline, when fully operational, will have 24 stations connected by 16 km (9.9 mi) of tracks and have a capacity of 10,000 passengers per hour in each direction.^[7] Trams provided by the Spanish company CAF^[8] began trials on the first phase of the route in July 2017.

On 10 December 2017, the first phase of the route opened with trams running from the depot, along Avenue John F. Kennedy, past the European district, the location of many EU institutions, before terminating at the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge. Here, a new funicular railway was opened on the same date allowing passengers to descend to Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg railway station for access to national and international heavy rail services running through the Pfaffenthal valley.^[9]^[10]^[11]

The second phase opened on 27 July 2018; it extended tram services across the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge to Place de l'Étoile in the Limpertsberg quarter.^[12]^[13]

Opening on 13 December 2020, the third phase saw the line extend into the historical Ville Haute quarter, across the Adolphe Bridge, along the Avenue de la Liberté, before terminating at Luxembourg railway station for interchanges between national and international heavy rail services.^[14] Work to widen and reinforce the Adolphe Bridge, first opened in 1903, to accommodate the tramway was completed in July 2017, with a new cycle and pedestrian lane suspended beneath the existing bridge.^[15]

The fourth phase, opening in September 2022, extended the line from the central station to Bonnevoie.^[16]^[17]

On 7 July 2024, the fifth phase extended the line southwestwards from Bonnevoie, via Howald railway station to the business district in Cloche d'Or, Gasperich, before terminating at Luxembourg's new national stadium.^[18]

The final phase of the route, estimated to be completed by early 2025, will extend the line eastwards from the tram depot on the edge of Kirchberg to Senningerberg before terminating at Luxembourg Airport.^[17]^[19]

Future lines

In October 2020, the Minister for Sustainable Development and Infrastructure, François Bausch, presented detailed plans, of an initiative first announced in June 2018, for a future tramline, extending off the T1 line, alongside the A4 motorway to the north of Luxembourg's second most populous city, Esch-sur-Alzette, by 2028, and to the Belval quarter of the city, including the University of Luxembourg Belval campus, by 2035.^[20]^[21]^[22] Trams would be expected to reach speeds of up to 100 km/h (62 mph) when travelling through rural sections of the route.^[20] In conjunction, plans were announced to expand the network, with the creation of additional lines connected to T1 within, and in proximity to, Luxembourg City, serving amongst other areas, the planned Laangfur residential district in Kirchberg, via Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, and also via a revamped Place de l'Étoile interchange and Route d'Arlon, Strassen.^[20]^[23]^[24]

Rolling stock

Twenty-one Spanish CAF Urbos100 trams were delivered in 2017,^[25] with a further twelve ordered in 2018.^[26] They are 45 m (147 ft 8 in) long, 2.65 m (8 ft 8 in) wide, 3.6 m (11 ft 10 in) high, with 75 seats^[25] and able to carry up to 422 passengers at a top speed of 70 km/h (43 mph). To cope with a 3.6 km (2.2 mi) gap in the 750V DC catenary between "Rout Bréck - Pafendall" tram stop in Kirchberg (about 160 m (520 ft) east of Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge) and the central railway station, the trams use CAF's ACR system.^[27]

Historical usage and museum

Luxembourg's first horse-drawn tram line began operations in 1875 running through Luxembourg City along a 10 km (6.2 mi) line. Electrification followed in 1908. The original track followed a route from Luxembourg railway station through the city centre to Limpertsberg. It was extended to various parts of the city until 1930 when the network covered 31 km (19 mi). Several lines were closed at the beginning of the 1960s as buses replaced the trams. The last tram ran on the line to Beggen on 5 September 1964.^[28] The country's other tram network Tramways Intercommunaux du Canton d'Esch served Esch-sur-Alzette and its surroundings from 1927 to 1956.^[29]

A number of historic trams can be seen at Luxembourg City's tram and bus museum located on Rue de Bouillon in Hollerich. In particular, the museum exhibits two electric trams, two tram coaches, and a replica of a horse tram. There are also numerous models and photographs.^[30]