Long-distance railway link initiative: Region calls for greater involvement in the next steps
Electrification of the Chemnitz - Leipzig line submitted for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan
The good news is that progress is being made. The Free State of Saxony has registered the electrification of the Chemnitz - Leipzig line for the Federal Transport Infrastructure Plan. "It is positive that this promise has been kept," said Lord Mayor Barbara Ludwig after the meeting of the long-distance railway connection initiative on Monday afternoon in Chemnitz town hall.
Bernd Sablotny, the responsible department head at the Saxon Ministry of Economics and Labour, informed the committee about the status of various transport projects.
For the main focus of the initiative, the Chemnitz - Leipzig route, a journey time of 50 minutes is being aimed for. According to the SMWA, the route via Bad Lausick is the most suitable route for this. However, the SMWA does not consider a continuous double track to be necessary, even for a later long-distance service on this route. Long-distance and local transport are harmonised in this concept.
Following the discussion, the initiative assumes that this plan is technically and economically feasible, as this variant is being developed in the knowledge that it will be used for long-distance transport. The initiative is calling for greater involvement in the next steps.
In order to continue to pursue the issue of the long-distance rail link vigorously at the three levels responsible for it, the long-distance rail link initiative will invite representatives of the federal government, the state and Deutsche Bahn to a meeting in the autumn. In this way, the initiative also wants to get involved in the preliminary planning process, which should be finalised by summer 2014.
The initiative also welcomed the progress made in the expansion of the A72 motorway and the further construction of the southern link.
Long-distance railway link initiative
The initiative includes the members of the regional convention, the presidents of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Chamber of Crafts, the industrial association, members of parliament from the federal and state governments, members of the city council, the rector of the Technical University, representatives from culture, sport, business and science. The committee is calling for adequate long-distance transport links for the Chemnitz industrial region.