Cost explosion 2nd regular route: who should pay for it, who has so much money?
Created: 07/01/2022Updated: 07/01/2022, 19:40
By: Mike Schier, Dirk Walter
The S-Bahn2, here at the tunnel of the first main route, becomes a political issue.
© dpa
The second main route will be significantly delayed - by possibly nine years to 2037. And it will probably cost several billion euros.
The obvious question is: who will foot the bill?
Munich - Up to 7.2 billion euros - 3.4 billion euros more than previously known - could become more expensive for the main route.
But who should pay for that?
Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) cannot imagine that Bavaria would shoulder the high additional costs alone.
At the end of his press conference on Thursday, he indicated that Bavaria was ready to take its share - the emphasis being on "its share".
"We have to try to map all of that accordingly in our budget."
Second main route in Munich: Will the previous cost allocation also apply in the future?
So far, only 3.85 billion euros have been budgeted for the second tube.
The following division applies: the federal government takes over more than 50 percent, the Free State 40 percent, and Deutsche Bahn and the city of Munich share the rest.
It is by no means certain that this distribution key also applies to the exorbitant additional costs that have now come to light.
A key document is a tripartite agreement between the Federal Ministry of Transport and the Free State of October 25, 2016, which was signed by then Prime Minister Horst Seehofer and Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (both CSU).
It is the
Munich Merkur
and
merkur.de
before.
However, the agreement, as the Federal Ministry of Transport is now emphasizing, “does not contain any provisions in the event of cost increases”.
However, the "financing responsibility" of the Free State and Deutsche Bahn is emphasized in the paper.
The federal government therefore only "supports" the project and grants funds for it, which are regularly made available to the federal states in accordance with the Municipal Transport Financing Act.
It is therefore by no means certain that the federal government will voluntarily make additional billions available.
Second regular route in Munich: Dispute over additional costs
Bavaria's Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) sees it differently: "The federal government has committed itself in a financing agreement to take over 60 percent of the eligible costs," he emphasized to the
Merkur
.
"Of course he must continue to stand by it." He will not release the federal government or its wholly-owned subsidiary, Deutsche Bahn, from this responsibility.
Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) has already made it clear for the city of Munich that Munich will no longer pay.
“Many years ago, the city agreed to pay a share of 113 million.
It stays that way, ”said the mayor in the BR.
Deutsche Bahn is simply silent.
They continue to check costs and schedule, it said.
Former Federal Minister of Transport Andreas Scheuer (CSU) points out that the federal government generally adhered to the allocation of costs, even when projects became more expensive.
As an example, he cites the S4 in Hamburg – which the federal government sponsors with 1.5 billion.
