Munich (dpa / lby) – According to a report in the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Thursday), the second S-Bahn trunk line in Munich could become much more expensive and go into operation much later than planned. It is expected that the costs will increase from 3.8 billion to five billion euros and that the first trains will not run in 2028 but only in 2033. Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) is expected on Thursday for a crisis talk in the Bavarian State Chancellery with Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), the Bavarian Minister of Transport Christian Bernreiter (CSU) and the second mayor of Munich, Katrin Habenschaden (Greens).
A spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn said that DB was in regular contact with the project partners. “This also includes the time and cost plans for the project. We do not want to comment on the reporting.”
A spokesman for the Bavarian Ministry of Transport said that an introductory meeting with Wissing was planned in the State Chancellery on Thursday. The main route will also be discussed.
All Munich S-Bahn trains have to pass under Munich city center in a tunnel on the main route opened in 1972 for the Olympic Games. In order to eliminate this bottleneck, a second trunk line is being built over a distance of around ten kilometres. In October 2016, the federal government and the Free State of Bavaria agreed on joint financing. According to this, the federal government bears 60 percent of the eligible construction costs. It was based on the total costs of 3.85 billion euros calculated by Deutsche Bahn at the time.
