Tram and light rail systems are available in 392 cities around the world, with more than half of them in Europe. 108 new cities opened their first line, of which 70 are from Europe, according to UITP latest report in this market.
The report highlights that Germany and Central Europe make up half of all patronage, while the rest is split between South Eastern Europe, France, Poland, the Benelux countries (Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg), Western Mediterranean, Nordic/Baltic and the British Isles.
Between 2015 and 2018, LRT infrastructure in Europe grew by 3.9% from 8943 km to 9296 km, with a ridership growth of 6.9%, from 9.74 billion to 10.4 billion passengers.
Due to the strong ridership growth, the demand growth is 50% higher than the supply growth, UITP says.
The strongest ridership growth, of 17.5%, was recorded in the British Isles, while Poland registered a 1.5% increase.
At European level, Budapest has the busiest LRT network, with 411 million passengers, and Berlin has the longest network – of 193 km.
The association says that “these exciting developments and achievements are marking a new level of success for trams and light rail in Europe.”
According to UITP, the light rail systems will continue to obtain support from decision-makers and the travelling public in Europe, as it has the advantage of being environmentally friendly and the cities face congestion, air quality and GHG emission challenges. Much attention and resources will go into the maintenance, modernisation and replacement of assets to keep ageing systems attractive and fit for operational purpose.
Share on:
