Two existing railways – to Odder and Grenå – have been replaced by the electric light rail, supporting the municipality’s efforts to improve sustainable energy use in the transport sector. The vision is to expand the light rail network to cover all East Jutland.

SUSTAINABILITY
The light rail is carbon neutral as long as the electricity in the grid stems from sustainable sources. The trams themselves also produce electricity by using brake energy regeneration.

The light rail system furthermore provides environmental benefits for the local area compared to fossil fuel driven busses, not emitting any pollutants or NOx. Moreover, the light rail trains also reduce the noise with 50% compared to the traditional trains to Odder and Grenå.

Sustainability has also been in focus when designing the traffic and service building: Besides its energy efficiency, plants on its roof help controlling water streams, as the surplus water is drained in a water tank and used to clean the trams.

FINANCING & OWNERSHIP
The budget for Aarhus light rail is 3,5 billion DKK (app. 470 million EUR). Aarhus Municipality, the state of Denmark and the Central Denmark Region have each contributed with 966 million DKK (app. 130 million EUR), 930 million DKK (app. 125 million EUR) and 199 million DKK (app. 27 million EUR) respectively.

Aarhus Light Rail is now equally owned by Aarhus Municipality and the Central Denmark Region.

FACTS:

• One light rail replaces 2-3 buses
• Each train can accommodate 84-108 seated and 132-148 standing passengers
• Top speed: 100 km/h
• The first stage of the light rail system includes 110 km
• The light rail system comprises 51 stations - 31 of which already existed beforehand
• The project is estimated to reduce CO2 emissions by 7.300 tons annually