François Bausch’s objective is clear: “to bring the tram to the Cloche d’Or as quickly as possible by the end of 2023”. The Minister of Mobility presented Thursday the major works which have started to extend the tram line and create the new N3.
Since December 13, and despite the coronavirus pandemic, the tram line has been extended by an additional 2 km so that it now connects Kirchberg and the central station. Is 8 km along which, the trains serve 15 stations and five exchange poles (Luxexpo, Pfaffenthal-Kirchberg, Stäreplaz / Étoile, Hamilius and Gare-centrale). Finally the frames will take the shuttle between the ‘airport and the Cloche d’Or, is 16 km.
While waiting to one day reach the Findel in the north-east of the capital (3.9 km), construction of the line continues to the south-east (4,9 km) and its Cloche d’Or exchange hub, which adjoins the new national football stadium.
“We are not only building the tram but a new multimodal corridor, the road to Thionville will be widened and works will start. By June the Buchler Bridge will be completed and Luxtram will lay the first rails“, immediately aligns François Bauch, the Minister of Mobility.
He presented digitally, coronavirus obliges, the multiple sites implied by both the construction of the new tram section that will link the central station to the Cloche d’Or and the construction of the brand new Nationale 3 (N3) whose work has started at Bonnevoie.
The future tram route has the particularity of merging, on its first part on the Howald side, with the route of the new N3 which will link the station to the Ban de Gasperich. A new major axis to enter the City which starts at the Buchler bridge, will branch off 500 meters further at a right angle towards the railway tracks which it will then follow until the rue des Scillas.
This must be widened to accommodate the tram route but also all road traffic. Buses will continue to run on the route de Thionville, the current N3.
THE TRAM WILL CONNECT TO BONNEVOIE IN SEPTEMBER 2022
André Von Der Marck, CEO of Luxtram, assures us that the tram will reach the Cloche d’or exchange hub “during the second half of 2023 “. For the company which builds and operates the only tram line in the capital, this new “leap” represents two distinct sections.
The first section between the station and Bonnevoie for which “calls for tenders have already been launched in 2020 and contracts have been signed“. So that the first works will start”in April and we hope to lay the first rails this summer for a commissioned in September 2022“, assured André Von Der Marck.
The work of 2nd section Bonnevoie-cloche d’Or with its two major hubs of exchange of Howald and Cloche d’Or will be implemented “in the first half of 2022 for a commissioned during the second half of 2023. We will be very inventive to ensure this schedule“, he assures.
WORK ALSO STARTS AT HOWALD
The new section of the tram has no less than three exchange hubs. The one of Bonnevoie “will be ready in September 2022“, so that residents but also all passengers coming by bus near Frisange and Hesperange can switch from bus to tram, route de Thionville.
The exchange hub of Howald will be the most spectacular. “It will be built in the middle of rue des Scillas and will include a brand new station and a new platform. Work on the Y-bridge to go to Gasperich will start“, assures the minister. The Howald stop will be completely transformed. The new technical high school of the center which will be built nearby will see its construction”start shortly“.
“Later in 2028, we will have a train every 5 minutes to go from Howald to the central station or to Dommeldange or Kirchberg. Because all the projects we build create a multitude of new connections“, emphasizes François Bausch.
HESPERANGE BYPASS: VERY CLOSE TO THE GOAL
Buchler bridge, new N3, deviation of the Drosbach, sinking under the railway tracks, … as many “work that is starting or is about to start“, assures Robert Biel, the head of new works at Ponts et Chaussées who speaks of a”jigsaw puzzleOne of the last stages of which will be the transformation of Gluck roundabout at an underground crossing.
“No matter how we have to continue the planning, it is my absolute political wish because I am convinced that without it one day there will be chaos in these Howald and Gasperich districts“, asks François Bausch. He suggests that the tram route will perhaps not run as easily as expected on double tracks. Temporary solutions are already being considered while waiting for the State to get its hands on private land, still under discussion.
Minister Bausch was also blown away that the construction work of the bypass of Hesperange-Alzingen could start in 2023. “This means that we will once again bring a very high quality of life back to Hesperange, a space with quieter traffic. We have set up a working group with the municipality, as we did in Esch-sur-Alzette. To get the most out of the variant that will be built. The studies, everything is done. I am waiting to settle the final details and we will start the public tendering process“, said the minister.
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