The line will start outside Maastricht mainline station, where the existing bus station will be rebuilt and a new underground bicycle parking area will be constructed. The line will then run through the city centre, crossing the River Maas on the Wilhelmina road bridge and using existing bus lanes wherever possible. Trams will call at a station on Maasboulevard before continuing via the Bassinbrug bridge to Boschstraat. At Bospoort the line will join the existing Maastricht – Lanaken – Hasselt heavy rail line, which will be electrified as part of the project.

The city council expects to select a contractor in early 2015 for the Dutch part of the €300m project. The Dutch section of the route has a budget of €65m, with the city council providing €18m and the remaining €47m coning from the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the province of Zuid-Limburg. The remaining €235m will come from the Belgian side.

Belgian public transport operator De Lijn will run the service and will purchase a fleet of LRVs. De Lijn is currently preparing the tenders for infrastructure and vehicles.

Construction is due to be completed in early 2017 with the aim of launching commercial services on January 1 2018.

The cross-border tram is part of the so-called 'Spartacus' plan, a regional project to boost public transport in Eastern Flanders in which rail will play an important role.