"Catastrophic relic from the Scheuer era": Railway line towards Mühldorf not ready before 2035
Created: 12/16/2022, 6:50 p.m
By: Dirk Walter
Mühldorf train station: not electrified, old multiple units often run.
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The expansion of the route towards Mühldorf will probably be delayed by at least five years.
A “devastating” development for the Greens.
Munich/Berlin – It was already known that the electrification and the double-track expansion of the Munich-Mühldorf-Freilassing railway line (ABS 38) would be delayed.
But now, at the request of the Greens parliamentary group, the Federal Ministry of Transport has given specific information on the duration of the delay for the first time.
Completion will therefore be delayed by a full five years.
"Deutsche Bahn AG assumes that ABS 38 will be commissioned in the mid-2030s," the ministry said to the parliamentary group's railway expert, Matthias Gastel.
Another reason for the delay in the seemingly endless project is a new law: the Preparatory Measures Act.
On the one hand, this monster of a word states that a project can no longer be delayed by court proceedings.
On the other hand, all environmental issues must be clarified in advance before expansion can begin.
Greens propose repealing the law
Ultimately, this means a considerable loss of time - five years, as is now clear.
Originally, the two-track expansion was to be completed in 2030.
A lot depends on it: not only better rail traffic in the direction of Mühldorf, but also, for example, the long-distance train connection to the airport.
Trains from Salzburg are supposed to run directly to the airport via the Erdinger Ringschluss and the Walpertskirchener Spange – but that is only possible if there are two electrified tracks.
The Greens are extremely unhappy with the Measures Act, which was created during the tenure of Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer.
Gastel calls it "another catastrophic relic from the Scheuer era".
The Federal Ministry of Transport must now find a faster way of implementation.
Gastel proposes suspending the law specifically for the Mühldorf route.
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13 years with overcrowded diesel trains
Markus Büchler, railway expert for the Bavarian Greens in the state parliament, also considers the delay to be "devastating".
It means another 13 years with overcrowded diesel trains.
The state government must act and make modern hybrid locomotives mandatory through the current tender.
