The City Council in Aarhus has decided to begin the planning and construction of a Light Rail Transit (LRT) in the Aarhus area. The project is important to the city, because it will help prevent future congestion problems and at the same time establish a public transport system that is viable from an environmental perspective.
Aarhus light rail includes a number of possible stages through Aarhus city centre and suburbs as well as stages linking several main East Jutland towns to Aarhus. Major studies were undertaken for the project starting from October 2010 and the parliament approved the construction of the project in May 2012.
The first stage of the light rail transit will include the two existing rail connections north and south of the city as well as an expansion including 12 kilometres of new LRT-track in and around Aarhus. The new tracks will connect a new urban development area to key locations in the centre of Aarhus. The first light rail project in Denmark, Aarhus Letbane, has been under construction since 2013 and when completed, will introduce tram-train system in Aarhus, the country’s second biggest city. Scheduled for completion in 2016, the first phase of the light rail project will involve approximately 110km of light rail line serving 51 stops in the Aarhus area.
The Danish State and the Region are contributing to the project. A large majority of the Danish parliament, Folketinget, decided to earmark EUR 85 milion for the light rail transit project as part of its green transport package.
Stage 1 will use 32 existing stops and add 19 new stops along the route. The Aarhus station and park and ride facilities near major stops along the route will be refurbished. Length of the new light rail platforms will be approximately 140m.
The light railway is a huge investment requiring a large number of passengers to replace private car use in an economically viable manner. The transition to more public transport is one of the preconditions for reaching the ambitious climate goals.
Also, Rural areas are being transformed into new suburbs in the ambitious project in Lisbjerg, the first of several new urban areas around Aarhus. While suburbs in Denmark are usually dominated by single-family houses scattered over a large area, thus preventing efficient utilisation of intensive public transport, Lisbjerg will be a densely built-up urban area linked to Aarhus’s city centre via this light rail project, according to Aarhus City Hall.
by Elena Ilie
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