Karlsruhe tram extension : On May 27. 2006, the German City of Karlsruhe opened a new 3.1 km double track tramline into the north of the city called Straßenbahn Nordstadt/Heide. After the withdrawal of the US Army in 1995, the city began with a new urban development of this area. The Verkehrsbetriebe Karlsruhe (VBK) decided to replace the bus by a tram system and connect the 10 000 new inhabitants direct to the tram network. The extension is 100% segregated with grassed track to reduce noise and vibration. It has 6 stops which provide level entrance into the vehicles,

B+R facilities and door to door bus interchanges makes the new line reliable and gives easy access to all passengers. By shorten the travelling time into the city centre by nearly 10 minutes, VBK expect high patronage and considerable changes in the modal shift.

Together with the inauguration of the new tram line several urban tram and bus lines were adjusted with the objective of avoiding parallel traffic and improving the punctuality and reliability of the whole network.

29 May 2006