Approval for the first construction phase of the Tram-Westtangente has been available since September, and this week eleven trees will be felled between Romanplatz and Gaßnerstrasse, five of which fall under the tree protection ordinance. They will be replaced by new plantings. There are more than 3,700 trees in the area surrounding the route. According to the municipal utilities, almost 90 percent can be preserved. However, according to this calculation, around 370 have to go.
The CSU/FW city council faction is calling for an emergency motion to halt construction until a funding decision from the federal and state governments is received. “In particular, the felling of trees should be avoided,” writes the group.
The Christian Socials were not friends of the large-scale project from the start. Its total costs were estimated at 411 million euros in 2022. The city’s “Public Transport Task Force” is now quoting 490 million euros. Therefore, according to the CSU’s application, the administration should show whether eligibility for funding is maintained at all. The benefit-cost factor that was decisive for the subsidies was 1.74; a value of 1.0 is required. Nikolaus Gradl (SPD), a traffic expert and proponent of the tram, believes it is unlikely that he will slip under it.
The funding decision is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024. A new schedule is now available: trams will be running between Agnes-Bernauerstrasse and Ammerseestrasse by December 2025. The section up to Ratzingerplatz will be completed by the end of 2027, provided that the two new bridges on the A96 and A95 are completed.
The last two sections between Romanplatz and Agnes-Bernauer-Straße and between Ratzingerplatz and Aidenbachstraße should then be accessible from December 2028. The prerequisite here is that the railway hand over the environmental composite tube at the Laimer underpass for further processing and that the park-and-ride facility on Aidenbachstrasse is completed. The municipal utilities plan to rebuild this aging facility.