The north side of Pasinger train station will be given a new look in the coming years. And on a large scale: it’s not just the station entrance itself that will be changed. The surrounding area will also be redesigned – including two new buildings in the immediate vicinity of the station. But there is little enthusiasm in the neighborhood about the plans and their slow progress.
Pasinger Bahnhof is one of the largest rail hubs in Bavaria. The railway therefore wants to make the junction, where a thousand trains stop every day and which around 100,000 passengers use, fit for the future with half a billion euros. The plan approval process is already underway for the first project of the multi-stage expansion, the construction of an additional platform between the existing tracks 12 and 14, where trains in and out of Augsburg will primarily stop in the future.
This first sub-project also includes the construction of a 1,340 meter long, up to four meter high noise barrier from Offenbachstrasse to the allotment gardens west of Pippinger Strasse as well as the construction of a new reception building at the north exit. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2026 and the construction work is expected to take two years. The statements about the entrée, however, are of little substance – to the annoyance of Pasing’s local politicians, to whom the project has now been submitted for hearing. The only thing that is clear is that the new building will take up around one meter of urban land.
“We are extremely disappointed with the railway,” says committee member Maria Osterhuber-Völkl (CSU). “If you want something, in this case property from the city, you have to give something in return.” District representatives are demanding that the new terminal not only create space for retailers, but also for public toilets and bicycle parking facilities. To achieve this, the building could be taller than the noise barrier and, ideally, should have a cantilevered roof – “so that people don’t stand in the rain at the bus stop.” Arcades on the ground floor could allow for a “not so bulky” look.
In addition, the northern access must be “permanently” open during construction work. In order to ensure that all these points were taken into account, local politicians had called for an urban development competition, but their request was rejected. Now they are linking their approval to the planning approval to the condition that the municipality accepts the demands of the district committee.
When asked by the railway, their spokeswoman confirmed that the planning currently only envisages “restoring the access building in its previous function” – without additional toilets and bicycle parking space. However, the marketing space that would be lost due to the new entrances to the platform would be compensated for by a southern extension of the underpass.
The planned redesign of the station forecourt continues to drag on.
(Photo: Catherina Hess)
As part of the station renovation, the forecourt will also be redesigned. There was already a first round table on this in 2009, but the big breakthrough seems difficult and the process kept dragging on. According to Franziska Hartmann from the city’s mobility department, a corresponding feasibility study has now been completed. According to the spokeswoman, the authority is currently preparing the resolution for the city council, on which the district committee will also be consulted. Details are not yet known. An overall concept must take into account the immense foot and bicycle traffic, including routes to school, bus operations with various stops and car traffic.
In the north there is a medical center – possibly as an algae house
And then, as a third aspect, there are the two construction projects directly at the train station. From the perspective of citizen representatives, these are “key projects” with regard to a future-oriented, overall urban planning solution for the north side of Pasinger train station. On the former Weyl site at Gottfried-Keller-Straße 39, Bucher Properties GmbH is expected to build a five-story complex with supermarket space on the ground floor and first basement floor, two levels of underground parking and around 110 student apartments on the top four floors from next spring. Estimated construction time: two years. An additional option is a bicycle parking garage with more than a thousand parking spaces. Pasing’s district representatives had called for small-scale businesses instead of large retail areas in order to prevent additional car shopping traffic, but were unable to get their way.
The second new building is to be built directly next to the train station entrance, at August-Exter-Straße 3. There is already a building permit from 2022 for a four-story medical center with a gable roof and an underground car park for the property directly adjacent to the Pasinger factory. The builders then presented Pasing’s local politicians with a second concept: a so-called algae house, in which the facade could be planted with living algae. The algae would ensure a healthy environmental climate and, because they function as bioreactors, would also provide electricity. However, despite repeated requests from investors, no further information was available. In any case, the local building commission has not yet received any application for an algae house.