Policy decision for S-Link local train – salzburg.ORF.at
A basic official report on the construction of the underground local railway extension through the city center of Salzburg was approved in the municipal council. ÖVP and FPÖ are in favor of the project, as are NEOS, Liste Salz and KPÖplus. In the end, the Green List of Citizens also agreed. Originally, the Greens had demanded a documented right to information and a say in project development. The compromise now is that the municipal council must be regularly informed of the state of affairs.
The city SPÖ, on the other hand, refused a “yes”. Club chairwoman Andrea Brandner justified it like this: “We are in favor of the S-Link. However, there are too many unanswered questions regarding financing and ensuring the continuation in the south (to Hallein – note) for a decision. There is a lack of transparency. ”So it is not clear how high the costs actually are in view of the exploding construction prices, said SPÖ Deputy Mayor Bernhard Auinger.
Debates about S-Link and Mönchsberggarage
The city pays a quarter of the cost
The basic official report on the S-Link is specifically about the rapid submission of an environmental impact assessment for the first section from Salzburg Central Station to Mirabell Palace. A second hub for public transport is to be built there. There is also a financial framework agreement between the federal government, the state and the city of Salzburg for this section. The decision on Wednesday was “one of many stages – because the project will go ahead for a long time,” said Mayor Harald Preuner (ÖVP).
The first – underground – S-Link section is around 900 meters, the cost has been estimated at 200 million euros, of which the city will now pay a quarter. At the same time, the routing up to Akademiestrasse was approved. This allows the project company to advance the project without delay. The municipal council also decided on Wednesday that the managing director of the company must report to the city senate on a quarterly basis, thus involving city politics. In addition, as the landowner, the city still has an emergency brake handle.
Start of construction already at the end of 2023?
The S-Link is the partly underground extension of the Salzburg local railway from the Salzburg main station through the old town in a southerly direction and on to Hallein. Construction of the first section up to Mirabell Palace could begin as early as the end of 2023. The federal government covers 50 percent of the costs, the other half is shared equally between the city and the state. It is still unclear how much money the next construction phase WILL cost and how the federal, state and city governments will split the costs.
The subterranean extension of the local railway is intended to take around 6,500 of the 60,000 daily commuters away from their cars and into public transport through the first section to Mirabell Palace alone.
Debate also in the state parliament
The governing parties ÖVP, Greens and NEOS also wanted to achieve a strong commitment to the S-Link in the state parliament on Wednesday. A loud “yes” to the indispensability of the project with the ultimate goal of Hallein was requested.
Here the political fronts on the subject were similar to those in the municipal council: only the SPÖ saw problems. Even the Liberals were there. For FPÖ club chairwoman Marlene Svazek, the S-Link is “an opportunity of the century. We have been discussing traffic jams in the state for centuries. It was always just talk, nothing ever happened. Action could now be taken. And if we don’t start now, we’ll probably still be talking about it in 30 years.”
Demonstration against S-Link in the morning
Demonstrations against the S-Link like Wednesday morning in front of the Salzburg Congress Center will probably still be part of everyday life in the state capital in the years to come. In any case, a NEOS application for a citizen survey on the underground local railway extension did not find a majority on Wednesday in the municipal council.