Expansion of the railway line to Leipzig not part of the draft bill for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan
Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "Proposal unacceptable" - Call to citizens to take part in the participation process - Initiative Fernbahnanschluss will campaign for changes to the design
The Federal Ministry of Transport does not envisage the expansion and electrification of the Chemnitz - Leipzig railway line as a priority project in the 2030 Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. This is the result of the Ministry's draft bill presented today in Berlin. The expansion would be a prerequisite for providing the city of Chemnitz with an efficient connection to the long-distance railway network.
Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "The decision not to include the line in the priority needs of the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan is a huge setback and absolutely unacceptable! This would mean that the region would continue to be the only conurbation with around 1.6 million inhabitants and the only industrial region of this size that has to make do without a long-distance railway connection. The bitter consequence would be that this would remain the case for decades to come. We will do everything in our power to push for a change to the draft."
A meeting of the long-distance railway connection initiative with representatives from business, politics, science, culture and sport, the city and the region will be convened at short notice to discuss possible steps. A meeting has also been arranged with Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Martin Dulig, to coordinate the support of the Free State. The latter took part in the planning study for the route expansion in 2014, which is a prerequisite for further planning steps. "And I call on the citizens of Chemnitz not to put up with this and to take action," continued the Lord Mayor.
The expansion of the Sachsen-Franken-Magistrale motorway between Hof and Nuremberg, on the other hand, is a priority project. Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig: "Once again, the upgraded section of the motorway has been given priority status. I welcome this and hope that the line will be built."
Call to citizens to take part in the participation process
The public participation process for the draft will begin next Monday. Until 2 May 2016, clubs, associations and, above all, citizens will have the opportunity to express and submit objections to the list of measures on the Federal Ministry of Transport's website. The draft is due to be approved by the Federal Cabinet in the summer, after which the Bundestag will pass the corresponding expansion laws for the individual infrastructure measures.