2. S-Bahn trunk route Munich costs 7 billion euros and will be ready in 2035 - U9 in Munich on the brink

Created: 09/30/2022, 10:26 am

By: Mike Schier, Sascha Karowski

The second main route will continue to be built, but will be significantly more expensive.

© Sven Hoppe/dpa

The Free State and the city had to be patient forever – now Deutsche Bahn is presenting the expected gloomy forecasts.

The second main route will cost at least seven billion euros and will not be ready until 2035 at the earliest.

Söder is committed to the project, but much remains unclear - including the new U9.

Munich – If you listen carefully, you can imagine how the scraps flew behind the scenes.

Bahn boss Richard Lutz came to Munich one day after the supervisory board meeting to – finally – transmit the official figures for the second regular route.

He throws the balls to each other in a friendly manner with Prime Minister Markus Söder and Minister of Transport Christian Bernreiter.

But you can hear a lot between the lines.

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“Transparency” and “controlling” are key buzzwords.

Bernreiter reports that he let “his Lower Bavarian charm” play so that the ministerial support committee would have access to all data in the future – so far you had to “pull everything out of the web”.

He has also tidied up his own shop: In the summer he created his own department for the 2nd main route, and from October 1st there will be a new department head for rail transport.

People who approached the topic "completely unencumbered" and hadn't been in the system for 20 years, says the minister.

So everything should get better.

But nothing is good.

"The Free State will be a strict companion," says Söder.

Deutsche Bahn officially estimates seven billion euros – 5.5 billion for construction and planning, 1.5 billion as a risk buffer.

When asked, Bahn boss Lutz did not deny that the proposal for the Bahn Supervisory Board even mentioned 7.8 billion.

He explains verbosely that it also includes measures for the city of Munich.

This is "something for gourmets," he says of the 800 million in question.

So skepticism remains appropriate, which also resonates with Söder.

"It remains the same: We are not happy." Nevertheless, the Prime Minister wants to build.

Costs for the Free State: 3.7 instead of the original 1.7 billion.

If the work were stopped, three billion euros would be gone - one has already been spent,

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In order not to let the trouble get too big, the railway and the Free State agree on projects to improve the quality and reliability of the S-Bahn before 2030.

Among other things, 15 additional trains are to be procured and the signal box at Ostbahnhof electrified.

But much of this is not new.

"Söder sells long-decided projects as progress," scolds Bavaria's SPD leader Florian von Brunn.

Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) preferred to stay away from the event by train.

Even the last time he had hardly contained his anger.

This time he limits himself to a phone call with Lutz on Tuesday.

Now he wants to check the numbers.

A central question for Reiter is whether Munich will integrate the stop of a future U9 in the main station.

In 2019, the city council had spoken out in principle for the construction of the relief clasp and agreed to integrate the so-called precautionary measure into the 2nd trunk line.

However, critical voices are increasing in the town hall: It makes little sense to build a train station for 400 to 500 million euros for a route that is unclear whether it will ever be realized.

The federal government had promised co-financing, but under a different government.

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The last cost estimates for the U9 date from 2019 and amounted to 3.5 billion euros.

The 10.5-kilometer route is to run from Impler-/Poccistrasse via the main train station to Münchner Freiheit.

Five new train stations could be built.

The construction period: ten years.

The administration is currently working on a template, the city council should advise at the end of October or beginning of November.

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Upon request, the MVG informed that the preliminary planning of the U9 would begin after the city council decision, probably on October 26th.

Town hall insiders assume that the increase in costs for the main route will also affect the planned U9 station.

It is even conceivable that the difference between seven and 7.8 billion euros mentioned above could be the cost of the countermeasure.