The major construction project “Stuttgart 21” is expected to increase in price by a further 950 million euros – and according to current assumptions will cost a total of around 9.15 billion euros.
Deutsche Bahn’s controversial billion-euro project “Stuttgart 21” will become even more expensive. According to current assumptions, it should cost a total of around 9.15 billion euros. Most recently, 8.2 billion euros were estimated. Deutsche Bahn informed the supervisory board of this at a special meeting on Friday, the group announced in the evening. In addition, there is a precautionary buffer of 640 million euros in case the project should become even more expensive. You can “cover further risks and forecast uncertainties,” the company said. The increase in costs had been expected before the meeting.
According to SWR information, the supervisory board had a corresponding test report from the consulting company PwC and the engineering group Emch+Berger. This included a corresponding increase in the total costs for the new Stuttgart underground station and the connection to the new line to Ulm.
Further costs to be feared
“The reasons for the current development are, on the one hand, significant price increases for construction companies, suppliers and raw materials,” said Deutsche Bahn. “On the other hand, the geologically demanding subsoil in the city area has a negative impact.” The test report confirms the scheduled start-up date for the timetable change at the end of 2025.
According to the railway and transport union (EVG), the special meeting of the supervisory board had been called for. Union boss Klaus-Dieter Hommel then emphasized that there was finally clarity with regard to the current cost situation. “We have received a good overview and corresponding transparency for the supervisory board, both in terms of costs and the timeline,” he told the German Press Agency. It is now important that the railways, the federal government and the state of Baden-Württemberg come to an agreement on how the additional costs can best be distributed.
Who bears the additional costs?
The state government, in turn, emphasized in the evening that the additional costs were a matter for the railways and the federal government: “The state, the city of Stuttgart, the region and the airport have stated many times that no further grants will be made,” said Baden-Württemberg’s Transport Minister Winfried Hermann ( Green) with. “The cost cap applies.” The railways and the federal government would have to clarify who bears the deficit.
The federal government’s railway commissioner, Michael Theurer (FDP), recently emphasized that the responsibility for the additional costs lay with Deutsche Bahn from the point of view of the Federal Ministry of Transport. “Stuttgart 21” is therefore a self-financing project of the state-owned group. The Mayor of Stuttgart, Frank Nopper (CDU), had made a similar statement.
Effects of the Ukraine War
From Hommel’s point of view, however, the current calculations do not include the situation in the Ukraine and the associated rising energy and construction costs. Further cost increases in the further course are therefore conceivable. “I don’t think it’s out of the question that we’ll break the ten billion euro mark in terms of costs,” he emphasized. The construction of the underground through station in Stuttgart and the connection to Ulm had become increasingly expensive over the years.
The Federal Court of Auditors had already warned in 2016 that “Stuttgart 21” could ultimately cost a double-digit billion amount. After an intensive examination, ten billion euros were spoken of.
Opponents of “Stuttgart 21” warned early on of rising costs
And opponents of the large-scale construction project had already predicted costs of more than nine billion euros in December 2015. At that time, the consulting office Vieregg-Rössler presented a new report on behalf of the action alliance against “Stuttgart 21”. It said that the lowering of the Stuttgart main station alone would cost 9.8 billion euros – because of the costs for groundwater management and fire protection that had not been taken into account. The railway denied at the time.
Bahn emphasizes advantages of “Stuttgart 21”
The railway referred again to the advantages of the project. With it, the capacities in the Stuttgart node would “significantly increase and the travel time from Stuttgart to Ulm would be halved compared to today,” it said. As early as December 2022, with the commissioning of the Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed route, long-distance travel times would be reduced by up to 15 minutes in a first step.
In 1995, costs were still around 2.6 billion euros
The plans for the underground station are now more than 25 years old – and the costs have increased massively since then. In 1995, the railways, the federal government, the city and the state concluded a framework agreement that provided for costs of 2.6 billion euros. At the official start of construction, Deutsche Bahn assumed construction costs of 4.5 billion. Since 2018 it has been 8.2 billion euros.