It’s been a little quieter lately, but the “Limone” still hovers like a dark thundercloud over the southern district of Ebersberg. It is the name of the route that Deutsche Bahn has decided on for the northern approach to the Brenner Pass and over which the first freight trains are to roll in the direction of the national border from 2040 onwards. However, since the announcement last summer, many residents of the communities affected have been upset about the election – they are calling for the existing train tracks to be expanded in order to limit what they consider to be unnecessary destruction of nature. Recently, the fronts were hardened: while the railways insisted on their decision, the opponents threatened to go to court. The two parties might be able to reach a peaceful agreement after all.
At least that’s what the citizens’ initiative for the Brenner-Nordzulauf district, which is responsible for the district of Ebersberg, is hoping for. At the end of last year, the tones of the route opponents were still unmistakable: A lawsuit against the “Limone” variant would definitely come if the railways persisted in their position, it was said at the time. So far, there has been no indication that the rail company is moving away from its plans, but both sides now apparently want to take a step closer to each other. “Of course we are ready to find a sensible compromise with the train,” says Magdalena Stuffer from the citizens’ initiative when asked by the SZ.
A change in the Deutsche Bahn board of directors gives hope to the citizens’ initiative
The chance that this will really work seems to have increased again recently – which has to do mainly with a personal issue on the Bahn board. The former Austrian Greens politician Ingrid Felipe has been responsible for infrastructure projects and planning at the rail company since the beginning of the year. According to Magdalena Stuffer, she was also commissioned to work with the critics to find a compromise for the route leading to the north of the Brenner Pass. The next few weeks will show whether this actually happens. “We’re waiting for that at the moment,” says Stuffer, who emphasizes that they don’t want to go to court against the railways by hook or by crook. “Of course, we are always ready for sensible planning.”
Nevertheless, the citizens’ initiative deliberately wants to keep the legal process open. If there are no corresponding signals from the railways or if a compromise can simply not be found, the citizens’ initiative believes that a court should decide on the course of the route. “Our goal is simply to enforce our demands as best we can,” said Stuffer. Above all, this would include a reduction in land use when building routes and the protection of farmers. The citizens’ initiative therefore advocates running the new Brenner route largely along the existing train route – which the railways have so far rejected.
If it stays that way, a lawsuit will be filed, as Magdalena Stuffer says. However, there is no exact timetable for this. One still wants to give the railways the chance to initiate talks for a compromise proposal. In the event that this fails, the citizens’ initiative is prepared, as Stuffer’s fellow campaigner Susanna Koller says: “We are already in contact with a lawyer.”