Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) – The construction of the Filstal Bridge as part of the new Wendlingen-Ulm line is the concern of the Stuttgart public prosecutor. A spokesman for the authority said on Tuesday that six people were being investigated on suspicion of commercial and gang fraud. “Among other things, there is the suspicion that more workers and more material were billed than were actually needed.” There are a total of six “non-railway” companies involved in the project. First the Südwestrundfunk had reported about it.
The spokesman for the prosecution said that a minimum damage in the mid six-digit range is currently assumed. Whether construction diaries were also manipulated is the subject of the investigation. According to the SWR, such books are required by law and are used to document the progress of construction projects. All relevant processes are recorded, such as the involvement of individual trades, the use of materials and the occurrence of possible defects.
A railway spokesman declined to comment on the investigation. But he emphasized: “Regardless of this, there are no investigations against Deutsche Bahn.” The Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport said it was good that the public prosecutor’s office was investigating what the allegations were about. “A comprehensive clarification is also urgently required in the interest of the state.”
The SWR reported that internal documents suggested that the Filstal Bridge had cost at least three times the originally calculated price. Accordingly, 50.1 million euros in construction costs were initially planned. According to a calculation carried out for the period up to completion in December 2022, costs of 146 million to 161 million euros are estimated, according to Südwestrundfunk.
The railway spokesman said about the alleged cost increases that the final statement was not yet available. “The construction costs for the Filstal Bridge are included in the total value of the new Wendlingen-Ulm line of 3.985 billion euros approved by the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Bahn AG; this remains stable.”
