Munich invests more than half a billion in local transport – Munich
The city will invest around 530 million euros in local public transport over the next few years. 342 million euros will flow into the expansion of the tram network and a new tram depot on Ständerstrasse. In addition, the Münchner Verkehrsgesellschaft (MVG) is considering connecting the Werksviertel in Berg am Laim directly with a new underground station.
On Wednesday, the Mobility and Economic Committee discussed the new public transport construction program. The new underground station in the Werksviertel was only mentioned in passing. In the 2030s, the MVG will condense the number of the U5 and would have to build an emergency stop equipped with a platform and elevators anyway. Therefore, one is considering building a real underground station right away, said MVG boss Ingo Wortmann. There are no concrete plans yet. One thing is certain, however: Not only would the Werksviertel and the future concert hall be connected directly to the subway network, but also the second main S-Bahn line, whose stop is planned on Friedenstraße, i.e. very close by.
The committee devotes itself to the Tram-Westtangente and the Tram München-Nord in much more detail. However, the committee was not allowed to make a decision, as the meeting only took place via video conference. The decisions are made by the general assembly of the city council. The Grün-Rote will set up a “Task Force” under the leadership of Mayor Dieter Reiter (SPD) to support and accelerate the expansion measures. The goal: at least two new tram lines should go into operation by 2026. As reported, the opening of the west bypass could be postponed for another year to 2027. The reason for this is some rescheduling in order to be able to comply with the specifications of the cycling decision, which provides for wider cycle paths. In addition, the route should be designed for wider tram vehicles. The planning for this could also be delayed.
The construction of the underground rail link between Am Hart and Kieferngarten remains open
The announced delay has caused some anger in the city council and in the affected district committees – and is now partially off the table. A compromise became apparent on Wednesday: a section of the tangent between Romanplatz and Waldfriedhof should be ready by the end of 2025. The south-western section to Aidenbachstrasse is scheduled to go into operation in 2027. As MVG boss Wortmann asks, the construction of the route can be accelerated, ie the municipal utilities refrain from aligning it with wide trains. A change to the building application would then not be necessary. The conversion to wide vehicles is a lengthy process of 20 to 25 years. Until then, there will be a rehabilitation of the tracks anyway, which can then be adapted to new vehicle widths afterwards.
However, this only applies to Fürstenrieder Straße. In the area of Boschetsrieder Straße and Drygalskiallee, the track layout has to be changed to allow wider cycle paths. Obviously, this delay cannot be avoided. In the southwest section of the tangent, the MVG will then use buses, the change to the tram and vice versa would be at the forest cemetery.
On the tram in the north of Munich, the route from Schwabing Nord to the Kieferngarten underground station is to be extended as Tram 23. It runs over the new residential area in Bayernkaserne and Zweig am Werner-Egk-Bogen over Heidemannstraße to the west. At the same junction it then runs as Tram 24 via Heidemannstrasse and Knorrstrasse to the Am Hart underground station. This also connects the BMW research and innovation center.
It is still unclear whether a U-Bahn-Spange will one day be built, the U26 between Am Hart and Kieferngarten. According to Wortmann, this would be a project that could probably only be implemented in the 2040s, since the construction of the planned U9 line is a prerequisite for the U26. The course of the tram route and the planned turning loop west of the Kieferngarten underground station are still controversial at the Kieferngarten. Here, the MVG should check again whether the route can run east of the train station, according to the request of the city council.