The Aarhus Light Rail (Danish: Aarhus Letbane) is a light rail system with interurban characteristics serving the city of Aarhus and the surrounding region in Central Jutland, Denmark. It is operated by the local transport operator Midttrafik.[5] The first line opened in December 2017, service on the intercity sectionOdder to Lisbjergskolen in August 25, 2018,[5] and a third intercity line to Grenaa opened on 30 April 2019. More lines are being planned.
On 8 May 2012, the Danish Parliament approved the construction of the first line; work to build Phase 1 commenced during September 2013.[6] It was originally planned to open in August 2016, but this was delayed, in part due to legislative issues in relation to railway safety.
As of 2025, the system is composed of two converted railway branchlines: the Grenaa line running 69km (43mi) north to Grenaa railway station and the Odder line, running 26.5km (16.5mi) to Odder railway station combined with a 12km (7.5mi) urban tram section from Aarhus Central Station to Lystrup. Due to these mixed characteristics, two types of rolling stock were considered from the start, 70km/h (43mph) vehicles for the urban section, and 100km/h (62mph) vehicles for the regional routes.[6] Ultimately both types were supplied by the rail manufacturer Stadler.[7]
From its opening and until the opening of the Odense light rail in May 2022,[8][9] the Aarhus light rail was the only operational light rail or tram system in Denmark.[1][a] Denmark's third Light Rail project, the Greater Copenhagen Light Rail, opened its first section on 26 October 2025[10][11] with the rest of the first line currently under construction.[12] There were discussions for a light rail project in Aalborg, Denmark's fourth largest city, but as of 2026 those plans were abandoned and a Bus Rapid Transit line, which was inaugurated in 2023, was built instead (article in Danish-language Wikipedia).[13][14][15]
History
Background
The development of a light rail system around Aarhus, the second biggest city in Denmark, was originally proposed as early as 2006.[16] In response to rising interest in the concept, during January 2009, the Danish Parliament granted an allocation of DKK 500million ($85million) to support the light rail project as part of a wider green transport package.[16]
During October 2010, work commenced upon several studies.[16] According to transport authority Midttrafik, who later operated the completed network, the Aarhus light rail programme had drawn considerable inspiration from tram-train operations on the tram network in Kassel, Germany. In addition, consultancy firms COWI A/S and SYSTRA contributed their own studies and technical support for the project, including an initial feasibility study and development of tender documentation.[6] The project's Environmental Impact Assessment report was produced by C. F. Moller; it was estimated that establishing the light rail network would result in annual energy savings of 47 gigawatts and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 73 tonnes (161,000lb) during each year of operation.[16]
Various different approaches for the network were being considered at one stage, including the full electrification of the route, the procurement of a combination of 750 V DC trams and electro-diesel tram-trains. It was recognised that, if the option of full electrification was to be exercised, a catenary-free system may be chosen for the harbour-side element of Phase 1.[6] By late 2012, it had already been decided that Germany's BOStrab light rail regulations would be applied to the tentative network, while Lloyd's Register was appointed to serve as the independent safety assessor. By mid-2012, construction activity was scheduled to begin during June 2013, while the light rail network's opening was planned to occur during August 2016.[6]
On 8 May 2012, the Danish Parliament gave its approval for the construction of the Aarhus light rail line, which would be the first such modern line in Denmark, and granted the legal powers to proceed with the initiative.[6] As a consequence, the Aarhus Letbane joint venture between the local municipality, the Ministry of Transport and the Midtjylland region was formally established to promote and further the project during August 2012.[16] The construction of Phase 1 has been estimated to have cost DKK 2.4billion ($408million); financing was provided by the City of Aarhus (47.2 percent), the Danish central government (47 percent) and the Central Denmark Region (5.8 per cent). Additionally, the European Investment Bank provided DKK 14.2million to the initiative as part of the European Commission’s European Local Energy Assistance programme (ELENA).[16][17]
The competitive tendering process for the network's construction was launched shortly after the formation of the joint venture.[6] The contracts for the construction of Aarhus light rail line were awarded in three separate packages; these included a negotiated design-and-build contract that covered both the railway systems and rolling stock, valued at between €150 million and €180 million, along with a pair of lower value contracts to build the related civil works for the line.[6] During July 2014, a German-Italian consortium, comprising Stadler Rail and Ansaldo STS, was awarded the contract for the construction and outfitting of Phase 1 of the Aarhus light rail. Stadler supplied the rolling stock for the line while Ansaldo STS provided the associated infrastructure, such as the tracks, signalling systems, control centre, and maintenance facility.[16][18]
Phase 1
Light rail construction around Lisbjerg, 2016Light rail bridge over the Egaa valley (between Klokhøjen and Humelhuse stations), 2015
Phase 1 is a 12km (7.5mi) double-track tramway running from Aarhus Central Station, via Skejby and Lisbjerg to Lystrup.[6] The line forms a loop spanning across Aarhus' city centre, linking into the existing regional railways running to Odder in the south and Grenaa in the northeast; to facilitate such operations, the existing Odder Line railway from Aarhus to Odder and Grenaa Line railway to Grenaa were modified to accommodate light rail services.[6][16] The two existing local lines have been electrified and adapted in other ways to Phase 1, but their alignment was retained. Furthermore, the existing mainline rail station at Aarhus, along with existing park and ride facilities near major stops along the route were refurbished.[16]
Various pieces of infrastructure and civil works were performed during the construction phase of the project.[16] During October 2014, work commenced on the boring of a pair of tunnels to carry the tramway between Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital in Nørrebrogade.[dubious–discuss] In the following year, both the Randers Way and Nørrebro Street had to be reduced in width in order to allocate space between the lanes for the installation of the new double-track line.[16] In total, eight bridges had to be constructed during Phase 1; of these, the bridge over the Egaa valley, possessing a length of 347 metres (1,138ft), is the largest bridge to be built in the programme.[16] Overall, Phase 1 is to have a total of 110 kilometres (68mi) long and serve 51 stops once upon completion.[19]
The opening of Phase 1 was originally scheduled to occur on 23 September 2017;[20] however, the event was cancelled only a few hours before the event as a result of missing security clearances from the Danish government authority.[21] Accordingly, the opening date was pushed back to the following month,[22] before being further delayed thereafter. It was said that both the government and the city were inexperienced with tramway operation, since no tramways existed in Denmark between 1972 and 2017, resulting in problems in interpreting the rules. Especially for the reused lines, it was unclear whether they could be grandfathered or must obey rules for new lines. On 20 December 2017, it was announced that approval for the new lines had finally been issued, allowing for services on the central tram section to commence during the following day.[1][23] Traffic on the Odderbanen and to Lisbjergskolen was delayed more and started on 25 August 2018. Traffic to Grenaa opened on 30 April 2019.[24]
Future
Even prior to work commencing on Phase 1, several expansion plans had already been mooted.[6] During January 2018, it was publicly stated that options for the construction of two new branches, from Lisbjerg to Hinnerup (8km (5.0mi)) and from Aarhus to Brabrand (11km (6.8mi)), were in the detailed planning phase.[25][26][27][28]
Rolling stock
From an early stage in the project, it became clear that two different types of rolling stock would be required; to service the city center areas, conventional trams capable of up to 70km/h (43mph) were recommended, while trams capable of a maximum speed of 100km/h (62mph) would be necessary to conduct the longer distance routes.[6][7] Accordingly, contracts have been signed with Swiss rolling stock manufacturer Stadler for the delivery of two types of trams for the network:[29][30]
Stadler Tango: 12 vehicles, max speed 100km/h (62mph), used between Grenaa and Aarhus H station
Stadler Variobahn: 14 vehicles, max speed 80km/h (50mph), used between Odder and Lystrup
Future
On 2 December 2025, Aarhus Letbane entered an agreement with Stadler for the supply of 8 Citylink trams in order to increase service frequency. The trams will have four segments and a capacity of 152 seated passengers and 180 standees, an increase of 80 over the current Stadler Tango trams. The trams are expected in 2029 and will be equipped with an onboard battery pack in order to enable operation in the event of overhead line icing.[31][32]
In June of 2024, and again in April of 2025, the local Århus Stiftstidende newspaper released the official passenger numbers for all stations on Aarhus Letbane for the first quarter of the respective year:[36][37]
Individual station's passenger numbers for January, February and March of 2024 and 2025 [36][37]
In February of 2023, Århus Stiftstidende released the official passenger numbers for all stations on Aarhus Letbane, except Trustrup.[38] These numbers are the daily average of passengers boarding at each respective station on weekdays from the 15th of August 2022 to the 18th of December 2022. See below for each station's passenger numbers.
Aarhus Light Rail average ridership per weekday by station, August – December 2022[38]
12Due to an unusually large difference between the preliminary and adjusted passenger numbers for the 2nd quarter of 2025, Midttrafik have been asked to check that the adjusted passenger number, as shown in the table, is correct.[35]
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25.05%
10.87%
