Luxembourg CFL to electrify its bus fleet

The investment, specifically 692 million euros, will be made between 2025 and 2034. The Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois, or CFL, is a state-owned company, which is why the investment had to be approved by the country’s parliament. The latter gave the green light at the end of last week.

The CFL currently operates 80 diesel-powered buses in the small European country. All of them will be replaced by electric models by 2030. The money will also cover the corresponding charging infrastructure, an annual salary increase of 1.50 per cent for CFL employees, and “an overall increase of 25% over ten years in the cost of maintaining the electric fleet compared with the diesel fleet due to the cost of replacing the batteries.”

This year, the CFL is putting twelve electric buses into service (four 18-metre buses and eight 12-metre buses) and is starting to install a large charging station near the CFL garages in Bonneweg. Considering the above-mentioned investment was approved for the period beginning next year, funds for the chargers and buses ready to go into operation this year will likely be paid for from a different fund.

wort.lu (in German), chd.lu (parliamentary approval, in French)