Years of delays and rapidly increasing costs for major construction projects – they are also very familiar with this in Stuttgart: Deutsche Bahn has to explain increased costs to its supervisory board again.
With the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the capital’s airport BER, two scandalous and never-ending large-scale construction projects have been completed in recent years. For Stuttgart 21, on the other hand, there is still digging and digging going on.
The construction of the underground through station and the connection to Ulm should be completed by the end of 2025. This project has also become increasingly expensive over the years. Today, Deutsche Bahn should have to explain a further increase in costs to its supervisory board.
Further increase in costs
In a test report that is to be presented to the panel, the consulting firm PWC has determined a new sum. Most recently, according to reports, it was about a renewed increase from the current 8.2 billion to 9.15 billion euros. This means that the originally estimated costs would have more than doubled: EUR 4.5 billion had been stipulated in the financing agreement in 2009.
In view of the war in Ukraine and the rising costs for energy and building materials, there are already fears in industry circles that the PWC bill presented on Friday could not be met either. Nevertheless, the chairman of the railway and transport union (EVG), Klaus-Dieter Hommel, asked before the meeting of the supervisory board: “We expect that we will get a final assessment of the additional costs.” The union boss also insisted on a clear definition by the railways when it came to the commissioning date.
Who should pay for this?
The group initially did not comment on the topic about the meeting of the Supervisory Board. In view of the recent increase in costs, the debate that has been raging for years has flared up again as to who will ultimately bear the additional costs. The Federal Government’s new rail commissioner, Michael Theurer (FDP), emphasized in mid-February that the Federal Ministry of Transport believes that responsibility for this lies with Deutsche Bahn. “Stuttgart 21 is a self-financing project of DB AG and not part of the requirements plan for the federal railways,” Theurer told the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten” at the time.
EVG boss Hommel, on the other hand, warned that the railways could be left with the costs alone. “We cannot accept that because it would be an additional burden for the employees,” he told the German Press Agency. “The railway cannot carry this alone. The extent to which the federal and state governments will also contribute to the additional costs must be negotiated.”
Opponents see themselves confirmed
The numerous opponents of the large-scale construction project saw their rejection confirmed by the rising costs. “The additional costs in the billions that Stuttgart 21 is devouring are hindering the urgently needed modernization of Deutsche Bahn and thus endangering a traffic turnaround that deserves the name,” said the Verkehrsclub Deutschland (VCD) on Thursday. “Instead of providing relief and the urgently needed additional capacities on the rails, Stuttgart 21 is a new bottleneck in the southern German railway network.”
The action alliance Stuttgart 21 asked the supervisory board on Friday to turn away from the project.
Meanwhile, work on the construction sites continues. The railway recently announced the completion of the 20th of a total of 28 girder cups that are to hold the roof structure above at the new main station. Deutsche Bahn invites those who would like to find out more about the progress of construction to two “Open Construction Site Days” on April 16 and 18.
Source: Stern
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
