At 11.00 on 4 September the long-awaited light rail link to Düsseldorf airport was inaugurated by Nordrhein-Westfalen Minister-President Hendrik Wüst, and shortly after regular trains on lines U80/81 started serving the new 1.8km branch from Freilgrathplatz that features a curved bridge over the busy B8 highway and A44 motorway. Construction has taken seven years and the out-turn cost of EUR 336M is 50% up on the original estimate, prep[ared before the Russian war against Ukraine and the Coronavirus pandemic. Half the cost was covered by subsidies from federal and state funds. Line U80 runs every 20 minutes to Düsseldorf Hbf (central station) with a journey time of 19 minutes. Line U81 connects the airport with the trade fare grounds and arena, with long-term plans to extend by a new bridge across the Rhein river to the left bank (Meerbusch, Neuss and Krefeld). The line was originally planned to open in time for the 2024 European Football Championship, but this deadline was missed.
The Minister said, ‘This is important for the entire state. The trade fair location is one of the strongest in Germany, the airport is of supra-regional importance, everything is inter-connected - fantastic. It is money well spent for the people’.
Officials and politicians launch the new light rail line. (WDR)
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