Not Linked

Last week, the Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the tram extension from Place de l'Etoile up to the Centre Hospitalier, adding a new stop near the former Batiself site. The surrounding area, which still hosts several businesses, has seen some shop leases terminated for the end of this year. Local traders are concerned.[1]

Minister for Mobility Yuriko Backes has firmly rejected suggestions that the tram expansion is responsible for these closures. She pointed out that similar concerns surfaced when the retailer Roller announced its nationwide closure, even though the extension law had not yet been passed at the time. The implication: shops close for commercial reasons, not because a tram is coming.[1]

Backes confirmed the next development phase will include a new bus station and a Park and Ride facility in Merl. The municipalities of Strassen and Luxembourg City are both involved in ongoing discussions alongside property owners in the affected area. The National Roads Administration is tasked with building the Merl Park and Ride.[1]

Four Hectares

The vast parcel of almost four hectares, currently owned by Belgian investment fund Boomerang sarl, is key to the tram project. Whether the state will purchase the land required for the tram extension remains to be decided. Backes stressed that negotiations are ongoing and no final agreement has been reached. It is also not yet clear what the future holds for the wider site, including the possibility of housing developments.[1]

Yesterday, Finance Minister Gilles Roth said the tram extension law does not include the purchase of the Batiself land, and that the state is not obliged to acquire the entire property even if the tram crosses it. Today, the Mobility Minister says negotiations are ongoing and no final agreement has been reached. Both ministers, from different portfolios, are carefully managing expectations around a nearly four-hectare site that someone will have to develop, and someone will have to pay for.[1]

The shops on Route d'Arlon may or may not be closing because of the tram. The minister says not. The leases say otherwise. The tram says nothing. It just keeps extending, one unanimous vote at a time.[1]