ETR – Eisenbahntechnische Rundschau | Ausgabe International/2016
Sustainable track greening by locally adapted planning, implementation and maintenance
The always visible tracks of trams and light rail have a visual impact on the city landscape, and are therefore an important element in urban design. One of the main advantages of greened tracks is the aesthetic effect compared to ballasted tracks or tracks covered by concrete or asphalt. This is especially important for urban spaces with less green such as inner cities. There, track greening can create new vegetation area, which hardly ever gets such a potential for green space. This way, four kilometre of single track create one hectare already. So far, 565 km single track are greened in Germany, which add up to 141 ha, or 1.4 million m², respectively, plus additional green spaces adjacent to the tracks."