The tunnel should be at least 1.3 billion euros more expensive than the Free State has so far admitted – provided that the construction is really completed by 2037.
The construction supervision of the Free State expects the actual total costs of the second S-Bahn trunk line in Munich to be 8.5 billion euros – provided that the project is completed in 2037, as assumed. “These 8.5 billion include inflation,” explained Wolfgang Rauscher, one of the construction supervision experts, on Friday in the committee of inquiry into the second trunk line in the state parliament. Deutsche Bahn also considers the figures to be realistic.
However, Rauscher pointed to the remaining uncertainty with regard to inflation. “The question of which price increase is to be used by the end of the project is still open.” In plain language: Further adjustments to the sum could become necessary. However, he believes that completion by 2037 is realistic. So far, the Ministry of Construction has only publicly communicated expected costs of 7.2 billion euros and a time horizon between 2035 and 2037.
The difference between 7.2 and 8.5 billion euros can be explained by the fact that the 7.2 billion euros are based on the price basis for 2021, but the price increases that have occurred since then and the price increases that can be expected in the future until completion only apply to the 8, 5 billion euros is included. This also emerges from documents that Martin Runge from the Greens parliamentary group presented to the committee of inquiry.
The documents also show that this procedure was a suggestion by Deutsche Bahn, which was heavily criticized for its project management and information policy. In addition, it was communicated in an internal email from the Ministry of Construction in December 2020 that the current requirement of the State Chancellery was not to insist on transparency with the railways and to delay the matter as much as possible.
The opposition has long complained that the State Chancellery kept the problems with the main route under wraps so as not to endanger Prime Minister Markus Söder’s (CSU) candidacy for chancellor, which was announced in spring 2021. “There is lying, cheating, covering up, manipulating – but it’s pathetic that it’s so obvious,” commented Runge.