It was quite a coup that Helmut Karl, the long-time SPD mayor of Garching, and his municipal council decided in 1988. If the city of Munich were to extend the subway out of the city area for the first time, as planned, in order to connect the constantly growing research center of the Technical University (TU) near Garching, then the municipality would also want to have a say in the planning and routing. So, after some hesitation, those responsible agreed to take responsibility for the construction of the subway themselves. The Free State of Bavaria subsidized 90 percent of the costs. With the opening of the new station in Garching-Hochbrück on October 28, 1995, which was followed by the Garching and Garching Research Center stations in the years that followed, the municipality, which had been elevated to city status in 1990, was proud to call itself the owner of the U-Bahn – at that time a rarity for a subway district municipality.
But Garching will now have to say goodbye to this title. Today’s city council under Mayor Dietmar Gruchmann (SPD) wants to sell the Garching part of the subway. Gruchmann confirms that the transaction has already been approved by the legal supervisory authority. From autumn 2023 onwards, the district of Munich will own the route, which will then also receive the operating license for the subway. Buildings and the two subway trains that previously belonged to Garching also become the property of the district. The city only remains the owner of the developed land. As before, the Munich Transport Company (MVG) will be responsible for the underground operation.
The reason for the sale is that the city officials fear that they will soon face high renovation costs for the subway tracks. Garching has invested a total of more than 30 million euros in the two sections to Hochbrück and up to the TU campus, says Mayor Gruchmann. In view of the expected necessary investments, the city and the district have agreed on a sales price of around 25 million euros, which also includes around 7.5 million euros, which the city has set aside from its previous rental income; these should also go to the district.
The city council had been discussing the sale of the subway for about three years, says Gruchmann – ever since it became foreseeable that the operator contract, which the city had signed for 15 years when the second section of the line went into operation in 2006, was about to expire. According to the mayor, investments in the millions are threatened in the near future, which would have overwhelmed Garching financially. He therefore followed the strict line of communication with the district that public transport was a matter for the district and not an individual municipality and that he did not feel bound by the agreements of his predecessors. The main beneficiary of the subway is the Free State of Bavaria with its research campus, says Gruchmann.
The former mayor of Garching, Helmut Karl, was instrumental in driving the construction of the subway to Garching – the city honored its leader with a place at the subway station.
(Photo: Florian Peljak)
However, Gruchmann does not doubt the fundamental decision of the former Garching local politicians 35 years ago. He is very grateful to his predecessors for this. “Without the willingness to take financial risks of my predecessors Helmut Karl and Manfred Solbrig and the city of Garching taking over the land use planning for the subway from Fröttmaning to the research campus, Garching would very probably not have gotten a subway at that time, who knows if at all” , according to the mayor.
After the negotiations initially did not lead to any result, the Free State, district and municipality concluded a so-called “emergency takeover operating contract” for the years 2021 to 2023 to ensure the continued operation of the subway. This contract expires in mid-October 2023. Then, it has now been decided, that the Garching subway will go to the district. And Garching will receive around 25 million euros in return.