The extension of the Luxembourg tram to Findel airport and the Cloche d’Or, seen here in an artist’s rendering, is expected to cost €214m MDDI

The extension of the Luxembourg tram to Findel airport and the Cloche d’Or, seen here in an artist’s rendering, is expected to cost €214m MDDI

This comes in addition to the €345m voted in July 2014 for the construction of the first section between Luxexpo and Luxembourg City train station.

The new funding for the extension is expected to be adopted before spring 2018 to ensure completion before the end of 2021.

Once finished, the entire tram network will span 16 kilometres, including the additional 3.9 kilometres to the airport and 4.9 from the station to the future national stadium in the south.

The extension is 100% state funded, while the cost of the first stages of the tram network were shared two thirds by the state and one third by the City of Luxembourg. A fleet of 32 trams will run along the network of 24 stations once it fully opens.

According to government papers, the extension to the Cloche d’Or alone should cost €114.9m, while the Findel airport extension is estimated at €99.1 m.

There have been calls in Luxembourg to extend the network even further, to incorporate Mamer, Leudelange and Cessange via Hollerich, and other parts of Kirchberg. Sustainable development minister François Bausch said this subject would form part of his electoral programme for the 2018 legislative elections.