The plans for the northern inlet to the Brenner are causing trouble, even with the local district councils.
The FDP parliamentary group warns of the "completely inadequate" noise protection and called for a reaction from the district.
District
- Local public transport and noise protection: The district council FDP is concerned about it, because the planned access to the Brenner base tunnel could worsen the traffic structure in the region. The reason for concern is the answer to a small question from the FDP parliamentary group in the Bundestag. Accordingly, the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan currently does not provide for any investments in track work on the Munich-Trudering-Grafing section of the route when the project of the century is being implemented.
The FDP around District Councilor Manfred Riederle therefore fears “that the additional freight traffic will be handled on the existing tracks (on which the S-Bahn runs)”.
This is what it says in their application, which the FDP parliamentary group introduced to the mobility committee.
Because the infrastructure of the railway is getting on in years anyway, which is considered to be the reason for the S-Bahn disruptions in the Munich area, the Liberals cannot understand this approach.
"The district has to wake up from its slumber"
In fact, the tracks of the S-Bahn system in the Munich metropolitan region were already three-quarters full before the pandemic, according to the small inquiry in the Bundestag.
"A catastrophe is approaching Munich," said Manfred Riederle at the latest meeting of the mobility committee.
The noise protection measures and funds planned for the section are "completely inadequate".
If the funds currently planned for noise protection remain, new noise protection walls could only be implemented selectively.
A bright future for commuters and residents in the district looks different.
What is the northern access to the Brenner?
Between Innsbruck and Franzenfeste in Italy, the Brenner Base Tunnel is one of the most important transport projects in Europe. The tunnel is intended to shift more traffic to the more climate-friendly rail. Deutsche Bahn and Austrian Federal Railways are jointly planning the northern approach route. The route for the Rosenheim area was recently presented. The planning for the Trudering-Grafing and Grafing-Großkarolinenfeld routes began recently. The aim is to complete the entire route of the northern access to the Brenner from Munich-Trudering to the German-Austrian border by 2040.
The liberals in the district council are now calling for alternative planning: a route that bypasses the greater Munich area and "sufficient" noise protection concepts for a route through the district. The district council should turn to the federal and state governments with a resolution to make it clear that the current plans of Deutsche Bahn will result in a “massive” deterioration in the S-Bahn connection. All railway lines affected by the northern access to the Brenner Pass should also be identified in order to find out possible effects on the route utilization. “The district has to wake up from its slumber,” said District Councilor Riederle to Munich's Merkur. Because the district council has not yet thought about the route.
The problem in the opinion of the FDP parliamentary group is the approach taken by Deutsche Bahn: Their strategy consists in “not planning the railway line continuously, as a kind of salami tactic, but only in sections,” it says in the FDP proposal.
In this way, “faits accomplis” would be created, which would make alternative route planning in the following section extremely difficult.
The Liberals are therefore now bringing underground routes into play, as in the Rosenheim area.
The DB recently decided to tunnel a large part of the railway line there.
The district administration in Munich has also repeatedly emphasized these demands, according to the district administration.
Mixed traffic with freight trains, for example, must be excluded.
The question is: how much can the county make?
Brenner northern inlet: the district wants to prevent mixed traffic
In fact, it seems very little. The district administration said there were “no more extensive options for intervening and demanding, due to a lack of responsibility”. The municipalities are also "hands tied" when it comes to noise protection, because they cannot represent the rights of the citizens concerned.
Nevertheless: the mobility committee decided unanimously in the most recent meeting in favor of a strong advocacy of the district office.
District Administrator Christoph Göbel (CSU) and the district administration should continue to urge that mixed traffic be excluded and that noise protection according to new building standards be guaranteed.
The demands should be communicated to Deutsche Bahn in writing.
Mixed traffic or your own routes?
The railway is currently examining how future traffic on the northern access point of the Brenner Pass could be handled.
"The analyzes are open-ended," said the Federal Government's answer to the minor question in the Bundestag.
You can find more news from the Munich district here.