The Erdinger S-Bahn ring closure as a complete structure is still in the distant future.
But an important stage has been achieved: the rail tunnel under the airport.
Munich
- The Mayor of Freising, Tobias Eschenbacher, has a vision: one day he would like to take the S-Bahn from Freising to Erding.
Although the cities are barely 20 kilometers away as the crow flies, they are not connected by rail.
But only with roads.
Sometimes, when he feels like it, Eschenbacher gets on his bike. "For a coffee."
But the idea of the S-Bahn is not a completely unrealistic idea: Yesterday the airport announced the completion of an important stage with a small ceremony: the shell of the railway tunnel under the airport is finished.
At the east end of the airport you can look into the tunnel: a 300 meter long concrete ramp gently leads down into the tunnel.
In the middle of the ramp under a tent roof, Bavaria's Finance Minister Albert Füracker (CSU), as the airport's supervisory board chairman, gives a speech.
The airport financed the tunnel with 115 million euros.
Finally, "a happy event" for the airport, which was shaken by the Corona crisis, says Füracker.
The inevitable word “milestone” is also used.
Erdinger ring closure at S-Bahn is getting closer: meter-thick concrete walls
It is a solid construction tunnel: “We're standing on 2.4 meters of concrete here,” says construction manager Jens Arndt from Flughafen München GmbH.
The groundwater in the Erdinger Moos bothered the builders.
Even divers were used to pour concrete underwater.
The concrete is one meter thick at the top of the ceiling and 50 centimeters thick on the sides.
Concrete mixers delivered their liquid slush 19,000 times, and 33,000 truck trips were necessary to cart away the excavated earth.
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Our graphic shows the overall project of the ring closure.
© MM
The 1.5 kilometer long tunnel is the first section of the Erdingen ring closure. Now it is Deutsche Bahn's turn, says Transport Minister Kerstin Schreyer (CSU). The tracks and overhead lines are still missing. Also: Just behind the ramp is currently the end of the area - dense forest is growing. Deutsche Bahn has to cut it in order to continue the route for the remaining two kilometers to Schwaigerloh, a district of Oberding. In Schwaigerloh with its large industrial area, a train station and a turning and parking facility for trains are being built. The expansion of the route will cost a further 100 million euros. That should be ready by the end of 2025, warns Schreyer. Her speech echoes the concern that the railway is not keeping to its schedule. Airport boss Jost Lammers emphasizes that the airport delivered without delay:three years after the groundbreaking. "This is a real signal of departure," says Lammers, who does not want to give up hope for a long-distance train station with an ICE connection. After delays, a feasibility study will be presented this year.
Erdinger ring closure on the S-Bahn: the next stage is on
But the ring closure has priority: the next stage would be a rail connection from Schwaigerloh to Erding for 390 million euros with a connection to the existing S2 route.
While airport boss Lammers expects completion by 2029, Erdingen district administrator Martin Bayerstorfer (CSU) is more cautious.
"I hope that will happen." But lawsuits against the project are possible.
Seven were already pending at the Munich Administrative Court, three were rejected and three withdrawn.
A farmer's complaint is suspended.
But there could be more lawsuits - if the 200 objections to the plan approval have been dealt with.
The final point is to be a nine-kilometer-long track (“Walpertskirchener Spange”) from Erding to the Mühldorf-Salzburg railway line.
Then trains from Nuremberg to Salzburg could run via the airport - and many short-haul flights could be eliminated.
As a precaution, Deutsche Bahn did not provide any information at the time of completion.
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