Alliance calls for more speed in rail expansion in Lusatia

Created: 09/26/2022Updated: 09/26/2022 16:23

Trains stand at Cottbus main station.

© Patrick Pleul/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/Archive image

In order for the coal phase-out in Lusatia to be cushioned economically, the region should become more attractive - also with the expansion of railway lines.

But the planning is faltering, says an alliance.

Cottbus - An alliance of trade unions, chambers and associations in Brandenburg and Saxony is demanding more steam from the federal and state governments in the expansion of the rail infrastructure in the Lusatian structural change.

There should be a "task force" to drive forward the planning process for the stipulated transnational railway lines, the actors said at a conference in Cottbus on Monday.

In a joint position paper, the alliance calls for the start of planning for the Lausitz rail expansion by 2023 at the latest. What is not planned by then will not be able to be built by 2038 at the latest.

Such rail projects lasted up to 15 years.

They are an important basis for the economy to develop successfully until the coal phase-out by 2038.

"To date, three quarters of the projects for a strong rail infrastructure in Lusatia promised by the federal government and the Brandenburg-Saxon government are not planned, let alone in implementation," criticized Jens Krause, who works at the Cottbus Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK). responsible for infrastructure and mobility at the conference.

Of eleven specific rail projects financed by the federal government, the planning process has only started for about three.

Among the projects that are not yet in the planning phase is the route Berlin - Cottbus - Weißwasser - Görlitz.

The alliance demanded that financing agreements between Deutsche Bahn and the responsible federal ministries for the planning and construction of the eleven railway infrastructure measures decided in the Structural Strengthening Act should be concluded immediately.

This also includes binding regulations on the financing of operating costs during ongoing operations by the federal government, for example on the Berlin-Cottbus-Görlitz ICE route.

Approval procedures and planning by more staff would have to be accelerated for this.

The Greens in the Brandenburg state parliament joined the demand.

"A good rail connection to Lusatia is essential for us to succeed in structural change," explained MP Ricarda Budke.

"Therefore, I have no sympathy for rail expansion being postponed due to economic issues."

At the conference, the transport state secretaries of both countries, Rainer Genilke and Thomas Kralinski, provided information on the planning status.

The alliance "Planning - construction - operation of the rail infrastructure - Lausitz now!" includes the railway and transport union (EVG), the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) East, the IHKs Cottbus and Dresden as well as the entrepreneurs' associations Brandenburg-Berlin eV and Saxony merged.

dpa