Luxembourg, Grand Est Mobilise for Cross-Border Mobility

During a press conference on Wednesday 28 June 2023, the Luxembourg Minister for Mobility and Public Works, François Bausch, and the President of the Grand Est Regional Council, Franck Leroy, presented the current projects and future plans to improve cross-border mobility between France and Luxembourg.

Luxembourg's 2035 national mobility plan (PNM) is a global concept aiming to manage 40% more trips compared to 2017 by moving towards a logic of anticipating instead of “catching up with” future mobility demand. In order to anticipate this demand, the Luxembourg Ministry of Mobility and Public Works has deemed it necessary to study the movement of people rather than that of vehicles.

The PNM is divided into three axes: determine the number of people travelling and their needs; strengthen the modes of transport best suited to the context; mobilise the four actors of mobility, namely the Luxembourg State, municipalities, employers and citizens.

According to the ministry, the 2035 PNM emphasises sustainability, opting for public transport, cycling and walking, in order to solve mobility problems. It also advocates greater use of carpooling to further reduce the number of vehicles on the roads.

Regarding cross-border mobility between Luxembourg and France, both countries have defined a series of measures, retained in the Paris Agreement, aiming to improve cross-border mobility, for the implementation of several projects.

In France, Franco-Luxembourgish co-financing (50%-50%) is planned for projects to allow enhanced cross-border service. Luxembourg has committed €230 million (€110+€110 million for rail and €10 million for road) thus bringing the Franco-Luxembourg budget reserved for projects co-financed in France to €460 million.

In the Grand Duchy, the Luxembourg State is financing 100% of projects ensuring the safe arrival of French trains in Luxembourg.

Concerning the cross-border rail mobility offer between the two countries, the development of this is defined by the memorandum of understanding and plans to eventually run up to ten trains per peak hour and per direction, including eight TERs, one TGV and one freight train. A first development phase aims to run passenger trains with a length of up to 240 metres, instead of trains of 80 or 160 metres. To strengthen the composition of the trains, the French side reportedly needs to build a new maintenance centre in Montigny-lès-Metz allowing the maintenance of these trains and developed access to the French rail network. €110 million will be needed for entry into service in 2026, excluding the acquisition of rolling stock and its European Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS) equipment, 100% financed by the region (€118 million). Work to extend the platforms of seven stations in the Grand Est to 250 metres is currently underway, carried out to accommodate these new trains (€16 million in total). A second development phase will enable the running of two additional TERs, after completion of the infrastructure improvements on the French side.

These measures aim to facilitate a substantial increase in power by multiplying the hourly capacity by 2.5 compared to before the launch of the projects of the aforementioned agreement (13,500 seats in 2025, then 22,500 seats in 2030, compared to 9,000 seats currently).

The Paris agreement also provides for the establishment of P+R car parks resulting from Franco-Luxembourg cross-border cooperation and for the increase of parking supply to facilitate the use of public transport by road and rail (three P+R park and ride facilities, under construction or completed, are concerned: Thionville Metzange, Longwy station and Thionville station).

Minister Bausch went on to present the major rail projects underway in Luxembourg, in particular the extension of Luxembourg Railway Station and the construction of the new Luxembourg-Bettembourg line.

Minister Bausch also highlighted the project to upgrade the A3 motorway to two triple lanes, with an additional widening of the emergency lane. Works began in 2022 and completion is scheduled for 2030. The project will prioritise public road transport and carpooling.

The President of the Grand Est Regional Council, Franck Leroy, recalled that the region would become the manager of the A31 motorway (in the part not conceded) and expressed his wish to study the creation of a lane dedicated to public transport and carpooling in continuity with the arrangements made on the Luxembourg side. Works to widen the motorway north of Thionville and the Thionville bypass will be staggered between 2027 and 2035, depending on the development scenarios adopted. He also presented the project to create a mobility infrastructure plan for the Lorraine territory over the period 2030-2050, as well as an exploratory mission on the financing of these major infrastructures.

This mission aims to update the vision of the equipment, the current and projected services of the Lorraine territory by 2030-2050 in terms of transport infrastructure for mobility, to examine the opportunity for new projects regarding these needs and to highlight the financing mechanisms necessary to achieve the objectives set.