Framing light rail projects – Case studies from Bergen, Angers and Bern

• The article examines how light rail projects are framed differently.
• The article shows the importance of addressing both the material, spatial and narrative dimension of light rail to understand the impacts that the system provide.
• Findings show difference in frames and concepts for light rail projects has implications for the comparison of outcomes and transferability of knowledge between light rail projects.

In Europe, there has been a strong political will to implement light rail. This article contributes to the knowledge concerning policies around light rail by analysing how local actors frame light rail projects and which rationalities and arguments are present in this decision-making process. The article draws on the socio-technical approach to mobilities studies in order to reassemble the decision-making process in three European cases: Bergen, Angers, and Bern. This article provides insights into the political, discursive and material production of light rail mobilities in a European context. It identifies the planning rationales behind the systems and the policies that have been supportive of this light rail vision. Finally, the article identifies the practical challenges and potentials that have been connected to the different local frames of light rail mobility which can be used in future planning practices.