With a resolution on the planned city-surrounding railway (StUB) from Nuremberg via Erlangen to Herzogenaurach, the Bavarian regional association of the German Transport Club (VCD) is calling for the implementation of the million-dollar project. The resolution was passed at a conference of Bavarian railway reactivation initiatives organized by VCD Bayern on Saturday in Nördlingen.
The StUB is of great importance for public mobility and makes a contribution to overcoming the climate crisis. A referendum on the StUB will take place on June 9th. The initiator is the Erlanger CSU city council group, which wants to overturn the project. In a referendum in 2016, 60 percent of participants were in favor of the city-surrounding railway.
With the resolution, the conference participants ask those eligible to vote “to set an example for climate and environmental protection as well as for a modern public transport system in the Nuremberg metropolitan region with a clear ‘yes’ to the Erlangen city-surrounding railway.” The resolution states, among other things, that the StUB continues the city of Nuremberg’s tram network towards the neighboring city of Erlangen and the workplace focus of Herzogenaurach and makes the mobility of many people easier. In addition, the StUB serves climate protection, which the bus transport propagated by the StUB opponents could not achieve.
The StUB has been discussed for many years. 90 percent of the planned costs of around 640 million euros will be borne by the Free State of Bavaria and the federal government. The cities of Nuremberg, Erlangen and Herzogenaurach have already invested several million euros in the planning. However, the Erlanger CSU city council group is bothered by the costs of the project and fears the structural interventions in their city.
It was the tenth meeting of the Bavarian railway reactivation initiatives. According to VCD Bavaria, reactivation, new construction and expansion as well as electrification of railway lines make a significant contribution to maintaining Bavaria’s climate neutrality by 2040. However, the Free State must become more involved both as an organizer and as a financier.