Aarhus Letbane
The Aarhus Letbane (Aarhus light rail) is a light rail system in the city of Aarhus, Denmark. It is operated by the company Midttrafik. The first line opened in December 2017, but the system is under continuous development and expansion. Service on the intercity section Odder to Lisbjergskolen opened on August 25, 2018. A third intercity line to Grenå opened on 30 April 2019. More lines are being planned.
| Aarhus Letbane | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Status | Operational. More lines under planning | ||
| Owner | Aarhus Municipality (50 %) Central Denmark Region (50 %) | ||
| Locale | Central Denmark Region | ||
| Stations | 51 | ||
| Website | Midtrafik Letbane (operator) Aarhus Letbane (construction project) | ||
| Service | |||
| Type | Light rail | ||
| Services | 2 operational, 4 planned | ||
| Operator(s) | Midttrafik | ||
| History | |||
| Opened | 21 December 2017 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 110 km (68 mi) | ||
| Number of tracks | 2 (Aarhus H–Lystrup via Lisbjerg) 1 (otherwise) | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | 750 V DC OHLE | ||
| Operating speed | 100 km/h (62 mph) | ||
| |||
On 8 May 2012, the Danish Parliament approved the construction of the first line; work to build Phase 1 commenced during September 2013. It was originally planned to open in August 2016, but this was delayed, in part due to legislative issues in relation to railway safety.
Two types of rolling stock have been operated over the first line, conventional trams which are slower and restricted to only running along some parts of the route and hybrid tram-trains that can be operated on the conventional heavy rail network, the latter being used for the long-distance services.
The Aarhus Letbane was the only operational light rail system in Denmark until the Odense Letbane opened on 28 May 2022. Denmark's third Light Rail project, the Greater Copenhagen Light Rail, is currently under construction.