Many affected farmers came to the demonstration with their tractors. They make their position clear on banners.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
More than 300 people protested again on Saturday afternoon against the railway’s plans for the Brenner feeder line through the district. Slogans such as “Do not destroy the homeland and future of our children” and “Modernize stock instead of destroying homeland” could be read on banners that demonstration participants had stretched out on their tractors, which were lined up on a field between Oberelkofen and Eisendorf in front of an impressive Alpine backdrop.
This is exactly where one of the four routes proposed by Deutsche Bahn would run, which diverge from the existing railway line in different sized arcs. The routes have one thing in common: they meet with great resistance from residents and local politicians, who particularly criticize the way the landscape is cut through.
More than 300 people took part in the rally on Saturday afternoon. Minister of Transport Kerstin Schreyer (CSU) is also among the speakers.
(Photo: Peter Hinz-Rosin)
The Bavarian Transport Minister Kerstin Schreyer (CSU) also spoke at the demonstration on Saturday and pledged her support. She wants to invite to a kind of round table, at which representatives of the Federal Ministry of Transport – which is responsible for the railway line – and the railways should be at the table. “I expect that all proposals will be discussed. Not just those that please one side,” said the minister.
Because recently there have been two other proposals on the table as to how two additional tracks could run in the direction of the Brenner Pass. It was designed on the one hand by Brucker Mayor Josef Schwäbl (CSU) and on the other hand by Asslinger project controller Andreas Brandmaier. Both have independently designed routes that stay close to the existing route and for which neither the memorial in Oberelkofen would have to be sacrificed nor major delays due to tight curve radii would have to be feared, as Schwäbl and Brandmaier explained in a press conference on Saturday morning. Both were arguments from the railways against a route close to the existing one.