Minister of Transport Wissing comments on financing regular routes: "The funds are there"

Created: 07/15/2022, 20:33

By: Thomas Eldersch

The federal government will contribute to the costs of the second main route in Munich.

Transport Minister Wissing confirmed this once again.

Munich – The ghost of BER has been haunting the minds of many Munich residents for weeks.

Only that Munich is not about an airport, but about the construction of the second S-Bahn trunk line.

Recently it became known that the costs will probably increase many times over.

The completion will probably be delayed by many years.

Now, for the first time, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) has commented on the cause of the trunk route.

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Second regular route in Munich: Wissing confirms the federal government's willingness to pay

In the weekend edition of the

, the Federal Transport Minister revealed that the federal government would bear “60 percent of the eligible costs”.

There is "no financial problem, the means are there".

Previously, there was strong criticism of the FDP politician in Munich.

He was in Munich a few days ago, but spontaneously canceled a meeting with those responsible - including Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter.

He was very disappointed by Wissing's behavior.

Everyone involved knew in advance that the second regular route would not be a bargain.

But very few people suspected that the costs would get out of hand.

According to new estimates, the costs for the construction of the second S-Bahn tube will increase from 3.85 to up to 7.2 billion euros.

In addition, the commissioning of the central route through Munich city center could be delayed from 2028 to 2037.

The basis of a dispute between the federal government and the Free State of Bavaria and the city of Munich about the future of the project.

Wissing on the second main route in Munich: "The federal government only gives money if there are no ruins at the end"

With regard to possible additional costs, the minister said that if these were caused by price increases in the construction industry, then this would be covered by the GVFG.

“And we are only allowed to pay if the cost-benefit ratio is right.

We may only support projects that make economic sense.”

Wissing also said that Bavaria had made a binding commitment to "finance the project through", so there was no risk that the project would be stopped halfway for financial reasons.

“The federal government only gives money if it is ensured that there will be no ruins in the end.” Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) recently strictly rejected a construction freeze and explained that the federal government and Bavaria would share the additional costs in the agreed ratio of 60 to 40 would have to share.