Gmund: Plans for the bus station in danger

Created: 11/28/2022, 9:45 am

By: Gerti Reichl

The demand for the construction of a combination platform puts Gmund's plans for a bus station in jeopardy.

This is to be built at the current parking lot (left).

© Thomas Plettenberg

Does planning for the central bus station (ZOB) in Gmund have to be stopped?

This could happen if the Ministry of Transport and the Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) enforce their demand for the planning of a combined platform.

Gmund

- It was a big surprise that Mayor Alfons Besel (FWG) announced in the municipal council.

The Ministry of Transport and the BEG had asked the Tegernsee-Bahn Betriebsgesellschaft (TBG) to plan a combination platform in Gmund at short notice.

In other words, a platform where you can switch between different means of transport without having to climb any steps.

A young idea for linking public transport, but one that has meanwhile become popular in many places.

Apparently, the idea was floated at a meeting of the municipality and TBG at the government of Upper Bavaria.

"The meeting was about the declassification of railway areas that Gmund needs for its bus station," reports TBG Managing Director Michael Bourjau when asked.

A delicate situation: Since 2016, the community has been working on plans to redesign the station area.

In addition to a park-and-ride facility (P&R) and a redesign of the station square as well as a new promenade along Wiesseer Straße, the ZOB is a central point.

The ZOB connects to the station building on the one hand and to the railway track on the other.

The development of ideas for the arrival and departure of up to six buses has already cost the municipality a lot of nerves, time and money - the latest drafts for a roof over the central bus platform are currently being voted on again.

In general, the station planning is to be assigned to an office in December after an extensive selection process.

But now there is a risk that planning will be halted because of a new platform that TBG would have to finance and build.

Besel does not consider the combination platform to be consistent

Besel elegantly held back his anger, but said that the spatial conditions and the level of the terrain were difficult to realize the combination platform.

The project was not coherent, found Besel, who on the other hand reported that it was assumed that there would be significantly more passengers in the future.

Longer, double-decker trains that go into the valley are also a consideration.

Crowds just have to be moved.

“But we could have been told that earlier.

After all, we invested a lot of money and time,” he criticized.

"That's crazy, that's a silly prank," said Martina Ettstaller (CSU).

There was also talk of who would now pay for the "planning damage" if the bus station did not exist.

For Georg Rabl (FWG) there was only one solution: "We have to announce that our planning is done.

Period.” Besel reported that the municipality had already communicated its concerns in writing and was trying to arrange a meeting.

Besel answered the question about the time frame for the redesign of the station area, which Ettstaller asked about.

“We will probably know more by the end of January or February.

Then it will be clear whether we will pull the emergency brake.”

Bourjau is now focusing on talks, although he considers a combination platform "fundamentally a good idea".

"The situation is of course unfortunate at the moment, because Gmund has given it a lot of thought and the bus station would be an important facility for the valley."

Apart from that, the municipal council unanimously decided to apply for funds from the urban development program from the government of Upper Bavaria.

The measures at the station square, in the vicinity of the station building and along Wiesseer Straße could be registered under the aspect of “area desealing”.

The costs are estimated at two million euros.

However, only public areas will be funded, the bus station and the new P&R car parks are not included.

According to Besel, Gmund can count on 60 percent.

The now considerable delay in the project, which Franz von Preysing (CSU) addressed, does not pose a threat to funding, according to Besel.