City council dilemma because of U9 in Munich: route already costs four billion - new station 562 million euros
Created: 04.10.2022, 18:30
By: Sascha Karowski
This is how the Munich transport company imagines the new station for the U9 at the main station.
© MVG
The U9 presents the city council with a dilemma.
The committee is said to approve the construction of a temporary train station for 562 million euros, without knowing whether the route, which has now cost four billion euros, will ever be built.
If the politicians refuse, the construction of the second trunk line will be further delayed and more expensive.
Munich - The relief clasp U9 is considered a bypass to prevent the impending inner-city gridlock.
It is to run over a length of 10.5 kilometers from Impler-/Poccistraße via the main station to Münchner Freiheit.
Five new train stations could be built.
The construction time will be at least ten years - if the route is actually built.
The city council is scheduled to deliberate in late October or early November.
City council dilemma about U9 in Munich: It is still unclear whether the federal government will contribute to the costs
The project could topple because the city is in a quandary.
In 2019, the committee spoke out in favor of the U9 and also agreed to erect a structure under the main station during the construction of the second main line, in which the station for the U9 is to be located in the future.
But.
According to information from our newspaper, the costs for this station alone are now estimated at 562 million euros, the costs for the entire route at four billion euros.
However, it is still unclear whether there will be federal grants for the construction of the line.
The then Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) also promised funding in 2019.
It remains to be seen whether the new Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) will continue to do so.
A request from our newspaper went unanswered.
And that's the dilemma the City Council faces.
The line of critics grows.
Because there is a risk that the city will now have a train station built for 562 million euros without knowing with certainty whether the U9 route will ever be built.
One thing is clear: the city alone will not be able to handle the four billion euro project.
City council dilemma about U9 in Munich: decision also has consequences for the 2nd trunk route
Federal subsidies for local transport projects are subject to complicated calculation formulas according to the Municipal Transport Financing Act (GVFG).
This is used to calculate the costs and benefits of a local transport project.
If the result is a factor greater than 1, the federal and state governments will bear between 80 and 90 percent of the costs.
The U9 had a factor of 0.09 before the summer.
However, the parameters for the formula then changed.
For example, environmental aspects can now also be priced in.
There are also points for the factor of national relevance.
According to our information, the U9 now has a value of 0.5.
This would mean that at least half of the costs would be eligible for funding.
Should the city council actually not allow the detention building to be built, the general consensus is that the U9 would no longer be realizable.
After all, it is difficult to convey that after the completion of the main line under the main station, everything will be torn open again, experts say.
And another snag hides behind this decision.
The railway has already planned the precautionary measure.
If the city council rejects the construction of the U9 station, the plans would have to be revised.
A spokeswoman for the railway said at the request of our newspaper: "Rejecting the U9 would require a great deal of effort for another rescheduling at the main station, which would delay the project and make it more expensive."
