Luxembourg's colourful trams, particularly during weekday rush hours, have become a staple of daily commuting. Work is currently underway on a second tram line on Kirchberg, raising questions about progress and whether the project remains on schedule.
Construction of the new tram line on Kirchberg began over eighteen months ago. This extension will take the tram from the Red Bridge, along Boulevard Konrad Adenauer, through to Luxexpo. The project is being completed in several stages. The first phase, currently underway, covers just over 2km and will connect the European institutions to the European School.
According to Helge Dorstewitz, Managing Director of Luxtram, the project remains on track: “At the moment, we are preparing the platforms so that we can lay the first rails later this year. Track installation will begin in the lower section, around the Coque area.”
The Kirchberg extension will include two new stops: “Commission européenne” and “Ecole européenne”. These are set to open at the end of August next year, in time for the start of the European School's academic year. The first phase of the extension comes at a cost of €106 million. As for the second segment, which will link the European School to Luxexpo, no definitive timeline has been announced yet.
“We plan to put this section into service at the same time as the opening of the new Lycée Michel Lucius, which will be built in the Kuebebierg district,” Dorstewitz added.
The new secondary school is expected to open in 2030, welcoming its first students that year. Luxtram has not yet disclosed the projected costs for this second section. However, the expansion is pressing, as demand for tram services continues to grow. Last year, the tram transported around 35 million passengers.
“Between Monday and Friday, we now have almost always over 120,000 passengers per day, with peaks reaching 125,000,” Dorstewitz noted.
Demand is likely to increase further once the new line is operational. Meanwhile, this summer, parliament gave the green light for the tram extension from Place de l'Étoile to the Centre Hospitalier. Work on this link is scheduled to begin in 2029.
