From 21 february 1875 until 5 september 1964 there existed a tramway network in the city of Luxemburg (for that, see my website about the history of the tram in Luxemburg. In the last years of the existence people looked at this tramway as old fashioned and were eager to close the line. And so in 1964 everybody was happy that the old times were closed and a new future with cars and motor buses was opened.
But as time grew, the many cars caused much congestion, and on the connection between the railway station and the city center there were so many noisy busses that in the course of the years new plans were made to make a new tram line.
After many years of plans and new plans, at last a definitive plan was made to create a new tramline. It should run from the railway station in one direction via the city center and the Pont Adolphe (the large red bridge just north of the city center) to Luxexpo on the Kirchberg plateau. And from the same starting point, another branch should run from the railway station in southern direction via Bonnevoie and Howald to Gaasperich where a new area will be built with offices. And something more, there are plans in near future to extend the line from Luxexpo to the Findel Airport east of the city.
On 10 december 2017 the first part was opened (the red line on the map). It ran only from the Pont Adolphe to Luxexpo. Near Pont Adolphe a funiculaire was opened to make a connection to the railway line 10, where on the same date a new railway station Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg was opened. Just east of the eastern end of the line a new tram depot was opened where the trams will be maintained.
A year later, in december 2018, the line was extended from the Pfafendall halt over the red bridge to Stareplatz/Etoile in the north of the city center. And two years after that, on 13 december 2020 the line was extended from Etoile to the central railway station.
A special thing of the tramline is the fact that the city of Luxemburg was not pleased with the high catenary hanging in the city. Therefore there was decided to make a tram with batteries in it. By means of these batteries the tram can ride for the route in the city center without catenary. In the first year this was only a ride of several hundred meters without electricity of the catenary. But after opening of the line in the city center, the long ride from pont Adolphe to the main railway station is on power of the batteries. When riding on the other parts of the line with a catenary available, the batteries will be charged.
For the new line trams were ordered at CAF in Spain. At first there are only 9 trams, but as the line was lengthened more trams have been ordered, so that now the total number is 33 carriages. Below you can find some data about the new trams.
| Number of trams | 33 |
| Year built | 2017 (9x), 2017 (12x), 2018 (12x) |
| Length | 45 m |
| With | 2,65 m |
| Factory | CAF (Spain) |
| Weight | 64 tonnes |
| Capacity | 450 passengers |
Below is one foto of the tram. Do you want to see more fotos?
