If it looked like the debate would calm down a bit, the opponents of the planned railway line through the southern district are now really blazing again – in the truest sense of the word. For March 4, the “Action Alliance for Rail Citizens’ Initiatives Germany” is calling for a nationwide protest with warning fires. A rally is also planned for the Ebersberg district on this day: the bonfire will burn at three locations in Niclasreuth, Dorfen and Elkofen.
“With this campaign we want to send a clear signal against Limone and at the same time demand an optimized, close-to-stock, environmentally friendly and landscape-friendly expansion of the stock,” says Susanna Koller from the Ebersberg citizens’ initiative. The suggestion of the protest movement is not new, since the railway announced last summer that it wanted to realize the northern access to the Brenner on a new section of the route through previously largely untouched nature, criticism has rained down. Instead of the route with the working title “Limone”, the members of the citizens’ initiative are calling for the tracks to be laid between Grafing and Ostermünchen along the existing rails, in order to protect people and nature from their point of view.
The critics draw parallels to another major project by Deutsche Bahn
However, Deutsche Bahn has so far refused to replan the route with reference to the selection process it has carried out. The critics see this as an affront – and are now drawing a parallel to another major project that the rail company is currently planning: the new ICE route between Hamburg and Hanover. As for the northern access to the Brenner, there was also a so-called dialogue forum, as several citizens’ initiatives now write in an open letter. All those involved agreed on an expansion close to the existing one, which was ultimately ignored by the railways. That was “a slap in the face for those affected” and shows “the non-transparent and dubious behavior of the group,” the letter said.
The citizens’ initiatives in the Ebersberg and Rosenheim districts now fear a similar approach for the northern access to the Brenner Pass. Here, too, the non-transparent approach of Deutsche Bahn from the north is reflected, write the route opponents. And further: “From the point of view of the participants, a lot was discussed in the dialogue forum, a lot was suggested, but nothing was implemented.” The Ebersberg citizens’ initiative is alluding to the existing extension up to the town of Grafing. This option was initially dismissed as unfeasible by Deutsche Bahn before it was ultimately included in the plans – “only to be rejected again in a framed selection process,” said the critics in their open letter.
The words that the citizens’ initiatives choose in the run-up to the nationwide protest are quite harsh. Recently, there has been a slight relaxation in the conflict between the railways and the Ebersberger Trassen critics. The latter have been toying with the idea of taking legal action against the plans in the south of the district for a long time. With this step, however, one wants to wait and see whether the group is not still ready for a compromise, as was recently said when asked by SZ. However, such a new protest action is likely to put it further back in the future.
Warning fire against the planned Brenner route in the district of Ebersberg. On Saturday, March 4th, from 6 p.m. in Niclasreuth (Dorfstraße), Dorfen (am Anger) and Elkofen (Oberelkofener Straße).