On 10 March the Council of Ministers approved the extension of the tramway system by 3.4km with two new branches, to from Rout Bréck-Pafenadll to Hollerich and from the central station to Laangfur. The 1.1km Hollerich line will cost EUR 29M and should open in 2028. The 2.3km Laangfur line, costing EUR 106M, should be ready to carry passengers in summer 2027. This is the first stage of an extension to Kuebebierg. Two thirds of the funding will be provided by the state and one third by the city.
The second generation of Luxembourg trams started service on 10 December 2017 and in four phases has extended the line 16 to km (Kirchberg–Bonnevoie). 3.6km is without overhead wire using the CAF superconductor/battery system rapid Charge Accumulator. In 2024 this line will be extended further to reach Cloche d’Or in the south and Luxembourg Airport in the north. 21 CAF Urbos 100% 45m low-floor trams were delivered in 2017 and 12 more have arrived since. The new extensions just announced will require further expansion of the fleet. About 90 000 passengers/day are using the existing line. The city’s first generation tramway closed in 1964.
With a population of around 110 000 people and with a further 400 000 commuting into the city each day, the capital, Luxembourg City, suffers from some of the worst congestion in Europe. A study in 2017 suggested that drivers spent an average of 33 hours in traffic jams during 2016. These new expansions help to address these issue and, to further incentivise the use of public transport, it’s free to use.