A development company is beginning a serious assessment of the possibility of building a train system between Keflavík International Airport and the capital area, with some estimates seeing the project completed with a decade.
Kjartan Þór Eiríksson, the director of the Keflavik Airport Development Corporation (Kadeco) discussed the idea in an interview with Víkurfréttir. He points out that the idea is not new – the Reykjavík power company Orkuveitan floated the idea in a report they released in 2001, and the Transportation Ministry, in conjunction with the city of Reykjavík, also gave the idea attention in 2008. In both cases, a positive outlook was given to the project.
“We like the idea of combining a train system from Keflavík airport with a system in the capital area. The train would travel from the airport to Reykjavík at a pre-determined location, and from there go downtown,” he explained. He said furthermore that such a train system could make a stop at the Blue Lagoon as it travels to and from the airport.
While he accepts that there are some logistical concerns about building a train system in Iceland, he points out that it is possible to see how similar systems were built in other countries, and learn from them.
Kjartan added that the train could be more than just a shuttle between the airport and the capital. While pointing out the cultural life of Reykjavík, he says that the opportunity is there to build up Keflavík’s cultural life as well.
Kjartan believes it safe to say that such a train will be a reality within a decade. “The opportunity is now to head towards long-term goals and begin work on preparations,” he says.
Buy subscriptions, t-shirts and more from our shop right here!
