The extension of the subway line U5 to Pasing is eagerly awaited by Munich residents and commuters from the west – as an alternative to the main S-Bahn line. But whether the route can be put into operation as planned in the early 2030s remains to be seen. Because the Deutsche Bahn Station & Service AG, which is responsible for the operation of the stations, has now filed a lawsuit – against the planning approval decision for the construction of the Pasing underground station.
The railways are not opposed to the construction of the subway station itself. But she fears that the planning did not “take sufficient account of the effects on the above-ground Pasing station with the S-Bahn, regional and long-distance traffic”. At least that’s how the Bavarian Administrative Court announced a court date for the end of September. The plaintiff doubts, it says there, “that the pedestrian underpasses running under the S-Bahn station, which have to be partially closed as a result of the construction work, are sufficient to cope with the passenger traffic that will continue to occur during the construction phase”.
In addition, Deutsche Bahn Station & Service AG is concerned that future expansion projects of its own will be “excessively restricted”, such as the construction of the so-called north platform, which is to be rebuilt for long-distance traffic. Therefore, they call for “supplementary requirements for the planning approval decision in order to adequately take their interests into account”.
No further details can be obtained from the railway itself on request. The spokeswoman said that “we ask for your understanding that we cannot comment further on an ongoing process”.
It is the government of Upper Bavaria who speaks out. According to press spokesman Wolfgang Rupp, an action to challenge this planning approval decision has “no suspensive effect” according to the provisions of the Passenger Transport Act. In this respect, the lawsuit “in principle does not prevent the implementation of the subway construction”. However, the planning approval decision of April 26, 2021 also stipulates in several ancillary provisions that details of the implementation planning for the Pasing underground station and construction-related interventions must be coordinated with various municipal and state authorities and stakeholders as well as Deutsche Bahn.
Government of Upper Bavaria hopes for an amicable solution
“Here, not every small detail of individual construction phases was regulated in the planning approval decision, but was partly left to the subsequent implementation planning – which corresponds to the usual procedure,” says Rupp. For this reason, the government “cannot make any forecast on further construction progress at this point in time”. However, one hopes that all detailed questions can still be resolved amicably in dialogue with the City of Munich and the other specialist authorities involved.
The construction of the Pasing underground station is the completion of the U5 extension from Laim to Pasing. The underground station is to be built at a depth of around 20 meters between the entrance building of the Pasing train station and the tracks of the S-Bahn station. Among other things, a 120-meter-long center platform is planned in the new subway station, which will connect the subway system with the underground access structure of the Pasing train station via escalators and fixed stairs as well as an elevator.
The extension of the subway line is already in full swing; construction work on the first construction phase began in January 2022. The new route will be 3.8 kilometers long. It includes three new underground stations: on Willibaldstraße, Am Knie and below Pasing station.