Transport minister (déi Gréng) on Monday afternoon published an open letter in which he took to task critics of plans to construct a new section of tramline linking the rond-point Schuman with the boulevard Royal via the avenue de la Porte-Neuve.
Earlier this month, Natur&Ëmwelt said that it was concerned that installation of tram tracks would result in the removal of trees and bushes that protect the Kinnekswiss meadow in the city park.
Then ADR MPs and asked a parliamentary question about the impact the new branch of the tram line would have on bird species living in the city park and what measures would be taken to protect the former fortifications during the construction of the new track. This week a former city councillor, LSAP member René Kollwelter, added his voice to the criticism.
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In his open letter, Bausch said that the new track is required as part of the national mobility plan 2035, which is being developed to respond to estimates that an additional 400,000 journeys will be made in the city and peripheral municipalities by 2035.
“We have to ensure that Luxembourg gets a stable and attractive tram network. We have to prevent the different tram lines from getting in each other's way in the centre of the city,” the minister wrote.
He said that the new 350-metre stretch of track would allow the network to run on a tight rhythm without making passengers change trams--the new track will link up via boulevard Royal and avenue Emile Reuter to a planned new line connecting the place de l’Etoile with Strassen along the route d’Arlon.
“The Luxtram team has already proven many times in the past that even on sensitive routes they have left behind a more beautiful city than it was before the tram,”
“The Luxtram team has already proven many times in the past that even on sensitive routes they have left behind a more beautiful city than it was before the tram,” Bausch said. He added that improving transport options while at the same time greening the city are not contradictory. “After the works, the avenue de la Porte-Neuve and the entrance to the city park will be left more beautiful and greener than before.”
Writing that time was of the essence Bausch added: “we invest more per capita in rail than any other country in Europe. In a world where solutions are being sought everywhere to overcome the climate and energy crisis, Luxembourg is cited and praised abroad as an exemplary example”.
Bausch warned against falling back into a “debating culture” from the last century, when disputes over the merits of the tram set the project back some 15 years. “Now 80,000 people use the tram a day, the city is more beautiful today than before the tram construction site and everyone is satisfied,” the minister concluded.