Odense Light Rail
Caption 2A Stadler Variobahn tram at Vestre Stationsvej
OwnerOdense Municipality
Native nameOdense Letbane
Area servedOdense, Denmark
Lines1
Stations26
Annual ridership7,389,000 (2025)
Began operation28 May 2022
OperatorKeolis
Vehicles16
System length14.5 km (9.0 mi)
El750 V DC overhead
Top speed70 km/h (43 mph)

The Odense Light Rail (Danish: Odense Letbane) is a tram system in Odense, Denmark. The first phase opened on 28 May 2022.[1] The tramway starts in Tarup, in the north-western part of Odense, and travels via the central train station, University of Southern Denmark, and the new hospital before reaching its final destination in Hjallese, in the southernmost part of the city. The first line consists of 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi) of tracks and has 26 stations. Expected number of passengers is 34,000 daily. The total budget is 3.3 billion Danish krone (2017 numbers). The tramway is financed by the Odense Municipality, the Danish State, and the Region of Southern Denmark.

The planned second line consists of 7.5 kilometres (4.7 mi) of tracks with a budget of 1.9 billion Danish krone. The city council has decided to work towards establishing a second line. However, there is no construction regulation or co-financing from the Danish state as of August 2018.

History

The political process

The tramway in Odense was suggested for the first time in 2008 by the then mayor, the late Jan Boye. From then, the Odense Municipality and the Region of Southern Denmark began working on the project, which was unanimously backed up by the city council. A formal agreement between the State, the Region of Southern Denmark and Odense Municipality, dated 23 June 2014, constituted the official declaration of financial support to the tramway project by the State and the Region.[citation needed]

On 5 February 2015, the construction regulation "Law on Odense Letbane" was approved by the Danish parliament, Folketinget, after which it was possible to form a construction company, Odense Letbane P/S, to implement the project.[citation needed]

Planning

In August 2012, the competition for the design and visualization consultancy for the Odense Tramway was won by a team consisting of Niras, PLH Architects, Atelier Villes & Paysages and MBD Design. The team was to create a design coherence of the tramway line's first stage of 14.5 kilometres (9.0 mi) and be responsible for its integration of the light rail in the existing urban environment.[2]

In March 2015, Parsons Brinckerhoff won the contract for project management, and strategic and economic advice. COWI was selected as technical advisor.[3]

Construction

All utilities (pipes, cables i.e.) were moved before the actual construction work commenced. These works lasted from April 2015 to December 2017.[citation needed]

To make space for the tramway, it was necessary to relocate the roads, bike lanes, and pavements. The tramway needed eight meters width for the tramway tracks. The work began in August 2017 and construction of new roads, bike lanes, and pavements continued until spring of 2019. This work was carried out by the three Danish contractors Arkil, M.J. Eriksson, as well as Barslund. In next phase, the track work, the Spanish contracter COMSA established the tracks with foundations, drainage, and cables. COMSA collaborated with their sub-contractors, Munck (of Denmark), EFACEC (of Portugal) and IDOM (of Spain). The final part of the project, the test and trial run of the tramway, was carried out during 2019 and 2020 by the assigned operator, who is also in charge of maintenance. The contract for operation and maintenance was expected to be closed by the end of 2018.[4] The Swiss-German tram company Stadler Pankow delivered 16 trams of the model Variobahn for the project.[5][6] The first tram was delivered in February 2020.[7]

Future lines and expansions

[8][6][9][10][11][12][13][14]

New expansions:

Odense Centrum to Vollsmose.

Line 1: Korsløkke - Ejbygade - Granparken - Lærkeparken - Vollsmose Torv - Egeparken - Bøgeparken - Birkeparken - Hybenhaven - Seden. Seden - Munkebo - Kerteminde.

Line 2: Sukkerkogeriet - Odense Zoo. Sukkerkogeriet - Dalum - Tommerup - Glamsbjerg.

Line 3: Søndersø – Tarup -.

Operation

According to the current schedule, the tram runs daily from 05:00 until 24:00 on weekdays and until 01:00 during weekends. During working hours, the tram runs every 7.5 minutes, and during evenings, it runs every 15 minutes. Runtime between the two terminals is 42 minutes. The average speed is roughly 20.7 kilometres per hour (12.9 mph).[citation needed]

Ridership

Annual passenger numbers[15][16]
YearAnnual passenger number
20223,278,000
20235,809,000
20246,937,000
20257,389,000

See also

References

  1. ^ "Efter 6 store nedture: Nu kan du endelig hoppe på Odense Letbane" [After 6 big downturns: Now you can finally jump on Odense Light Rail] (in Danish). DR. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Niras vinder design-opgave i Odense" (in Danish). Building Supply. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  3. ^ "Stærke teams vinder rådgiveropgaver til Odense Letbane" (in Danish). Odense Kommune. Archived from the original on 2014-08-10. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  4. ^ "Anker Boye fræsede den første asfalt for Odense Letbane". Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  5. ^ Stadler secures contract in Denmark - Odense letbane orders 16 trams
  6. ^ "Nærmere 12 km ekstra letbane i Odense - Building Supply DK". Archived 2020-05-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  7. ^ International, Metro Report. "Odense Letbane takes delivery of its first tram". Railway Gazette International
  8. ^ "Merpris for 2. etape af Odense letbane rokker ikke flertallet » Kollektiv Trafik Forum". www.kollektivtrafik.dk. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  9. ^ "Få overblikket: Så meget koster etape 2 af letbanen | fyens.dk". fyens.dk. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  10. ^ "Letbaner.DK - Odense vil også bygge etape 2". Archived 2024-10-03 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  11. ^ "Letbaner.DK - Fynske Letbaner". www.letbaner.dk
  12. ^ "Fynske Letbaner og S-tog" [Funen Light Rail and S-train] (in Danish). www.letbaner.dk
  13. ^ Korridorer
  14. ^ "Reddit - The heart of the internet". www.reddit.com. Retrieved 2025-12-12.
  15. ^ "Tal for passagerer og kørsel - Odense Letbane" (in Danish). www.odenseletbane.dk. Retrieved 2025-01-17.
  16. ^ "Tæt på 7 mio. kørte med letbanen i 2024 - Odense Letbane" (in Danish). www.odenseletbane.dk. Retrieved 2025-01-17.