Indersdorf with an advance in the years-long barrier dispute

Created: 08/04/2022 05:21

By: Christiane Breitenberger

In 2018, a serious accident happened at the site - the municipality of Indersdorf has been campaigning for years for the small level crossing on the Frauenhofen-Ried municipal road to have a barrier.

©Ostermair

The majority in the municipal council wants the small level crossing near Ried to have a barrier.

Now, after many years, a solution could be on the horizon.

Indersdorf

– The topic is many years old.

Indersdorf local councils have repeatedly tried to influence Deutsche Bahn to restrict the level crossing at Ried.

Because although the spot is clearly visible, there have been repeated serious accidents in the past.

Again and again the Indersdorf municipal council deals with the level crossing

Again and again the municipal council dealt with the topic.

There have already been several on-site meetings, at which not only representatives of the community and DB Netz AG, but also two members of the state parliament came to support the people of Indersdorf.

The fight over the barrier also strained the budget of the municipality, which commissioned investigations.

So far - over all these years - the whole thing has brought: nothing.

To put it simply, Deutsche Bahn repeatedly said no to the barrier.

The transition is safe.

From their point of view, there is no such thing as 100 percent security - even with technically secured level crossings.

This is also shown by two fatal accidents in the past at the Indersdorfer crossing on Arnbacher Straße.

So it was always clear: Deutsche Bahn will not invest here from its side.

And yet: The municipality did not want to let the matter rest and has actually made a step forward.

Mayor Franz Obesser had good news for many municipal councils at the last meeting before the summer break: there could be a solution for the level crossing.

However, it would cost the municipality another 200,000 euros.

Breakthrough at meetings in the Bavarian state parliament

In October 2021, the market received a letter from DB Netz AG with the following information: The construction costs of the level crossing are around 600,000 euros, the annual maintenance costs are 11,000 euros, with a useful life of 45 years.

According to DB Netz, only the community would have to pay for these costs.

DB Netz gave the year 2028 as the earliest production date.

So the negotiations continued.

Only now, at the end of July, was there a meeting in the Bavarian state parliament.

Mayor Franz Obesser and his managing director Klaus Mayershofer, together with CSU members of the state parliament Jürgen Baumgärtner and Bernhard Seidenath, discussed with Markus Weisse from DB Netz AG and representatives of the Bavarian Ministry of Construction.

As Obessser reported at the municipal council meeting, the negotiations were tough.

But the result makes Obetter visibly proud:

Those involved were able to agree on key points under which they can imagine the construction of a barrier.

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First: the Free State pays the construction costs of 600,000 euros.

Second: the municipality of Indersdorf pays a one-time payment of 200,000 euros to the railway for the maintenance of the level crossing for the next 45 years.

Third: Deutsche Bahn is to build the system in 2026.

There are also opposing opinions in the council

What all councilors agreed on is that it is "absolutely impressive what you have negotiated", as Hans Wessner (environmental thinker) put it.

However, there was disagreement as to whether the project should actually be pursued.

Andreas Geier (BBN) emphasized the safety of the level crossing, which he had looked at several times - even without a barrier.

“The transition is easy to see.

The total of more than 800,000 euros is out of all proportion to me.

You can do other projects with the money.”

Hans Wessner (environmental thinker) sees it that way too.

He sees the measure as “absolutely unnecessary”.

He also emphasized how safe the transition is already.

It got emotional when Helmut Ebert (FW), Florian Ebner (EHW) or Hans Lachner (CSU) spoke.

"It's about human lives, and we're talking about the fact that 200,000 euros is too much," says Ebert.

Ebner didn't want to "sit here and reject it if something happens again out there".

And Lachner emphasized that "there will be no peace out there" before there is a barrier.

"I didn't give a damn about the 200,000 euros for 45 years".

Wessner stuck to his opinion, but emphasized: "It now comes across as if human lives were worth nothing to us.

But I don't want to make that connection here.

Accidents also happen at gated crossings and that is a safe spot.”

Barrier also important because of the expected clock compression

At the end of the discussion, Franz Obesser had one more thing to consider – in the distant future, the S-Bahn should also “get more frequent services, and the majority is already of the opinion that improvements need to be made here.” :5 for the procedure presented.

Now, according to Obessser, it's back to the railways.

Because there, too, the relevant bodies would first have to discuss the proposal.

If the level crossing had a barrier, according to Obesser, a second topic that has been a topic for many townspeople meetings for years would also be resolved: the honking of the S-Bahn, which disturbs many residents especially at night, would then come to an end.

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