Public transport in Iceland

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Bus Rapid Transit in the Reykjavik Region

In cooperation with Artelia, we will design the capital region of Iceland’s new state-of-the-art transport system with fast buses also known as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT).

The success confirms MOE’s new Nordic strategy, which has been made possible after MOE became part of Artelia Group, one of the biggest consulting engineering companies in Europe a little more than a year ago.

Kim Schwartzlose Division Director Infrastructure Copenhagen The project, Borgarlínan, is a milestone for Iceland´s development of the world’s most sustainable public transport system. BRT is best described as a light rail on rubber wheels. The system is both faster and cheaper to implement than a light rail while the solution is more flexible to suit modern urban cities.

Sustainable transportation Borgarlínan is a very ambitious project that will form an efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to cars. In order to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, Iceland aims to make its public transport system in the capital region close to CO2-neutral. The new BRT system will play a vital part in meeting this objective, and part of the project is to consider the opportunity for using hydrogen (or other alternative green energy sources) as the sole source of fuel, which Artelia has experience with from other BRT projects in major European cities. Kim Schwartzlose, Division Director in MOE Infrastructure explains:

We are extremely proud that our team has been chosen for this ambitious transport project. One of the core strengths of our team is the Nordic and European collaboration. We have a strong combination of local, Nordic and international consultancy and architectural experience to assist the Islandic authorities with a green and efficient form of transport. In the Artelia Group, we have international experience with 175 km BRT projects and 255 km light rail systems which we now look forward to sharing with the islandic population. The success confirms MOE’s new Nordic strategy, which has been made possible after MOE became part of Artelia Group, one of the biggest consulting engineering companies in Europe a little more than a year ago.

Team Framtíðarlína consists of MOE, Artelia and Gottlieb Paludan Architects as well as the Icelandic HNIT and YRKI. The first phase of the project is the design of 14.5 km of BRT infrastructure from Ártúnshöfði in the east to Hamraborg south of Reykjavik centre. The project will begin in 2021, and the first 14.5 kilometer-phase is expected to be completed in 2025. In the long run, the Bus Rapid Transit system will serve the entire capital area of Iceland.

Example of an Artelia BRT project in the city of Pau in France.