The news came as a surprise and it was not pleasant: The project partners involved announced that the renovation work on the Elztalbahn will be delayed by half a year.
“Due to foreseeable delays in the construction process and the availability of the new electric multiple units”, the press release stated as the reason why it was agreed to “postpone the restart of the modernized Elz Valley Railway from December 2020 to June 2021.”
On September 17, 2019, the good news of the planning approval decision for the electrification of the Elztalbahn arrived for train drivers in the Elztal. The start of construction was also no longer delayed by legal proceedings. As announced, the groundbreaking was on March 1st.
Now patience is again required. Completion is delayed by half a year. The expansion of the 19.3 kilometer Denzlingen-Elzach line is estimated to cost 68.4 million euros. At the public information center in Oberwind in February it was stated that the construction time and replacement traffic would be postponed by six weeks from October 31 to December 12. Even this announcement met with displeasure at the time. So now it should take half a year longer.
The wording of yesterday’s press release by the project partners involved: “Due to foreseeable delays in the construction process and the availability of the new electric multiple units, the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport, the Freiburg Regional Transport Association, the SWEG and Deutsche Bahn have agreed to restart the system of the modernized Elztalbahn from December 2020 to June 2021. ” And further: “In order to reconnect the passengers in the Elztal as quickly as possible to the railways, everyone involved is working flat out to ensure that the trains can run earlier on the section from Denzlingen to Waldkirch.”
In the joint decision on the new start-up date, all those involved in the project agreed: “In the interests of the passengers, the priority is to ensure a high-quality, stable start of operations”.
For the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Transport, Uwe Lahl says: “The postponement is regrettable and annoying from the passengers’ point of view. It must now be ensured that the work goes ahead quickly and that (the delivery company for the railway wagons, editor’s note) Bombardier will deliver the vehicles on time so that commissioning will go smoothly in June 2021. “
The chairman of the regional regional transport association Freiburg (ZRF) and district administrator of the district of Emmendingen, Hanno Hurth, said: “For the ZRF, the district and above all the population in the Elztal, I very much regret that the Elztalbahn will not go into operation this year I hope that it will be possible to run electric trains at least on the section to Waldkirch in the spring of 2021. “
The DB AG authorized representative for Baden-Württemberg, Thorsten Krenz: “This joint decision by all partners shows that we are pulling together in this situation too. It is important to us to inform passengers and residents of the new start date on the train in good time . We will continue to accelerate our expansion work and make our contribution to enable an earlier partial commissioning to Waldkirch “. The rail replacement service will be extended accordingly.
At the request of the BZ, three mayors from the Elztal gave their first statements on the subject at short notice yesterday.
Waldkirch’s Lord Mayor Roman Götzmann: “The delay is a severe blow for local transport in the region. It is completely inexplicable how a construction period originally set for nine months can now almost double! From the point of view of the citizens, we expect all the stops to be able to put at least part of the route into operation as quickly as possible. It should also be checked whether the old wagon material can be used temporarily. “
Mayor Klaus Hämmerle also sees consequences for his own municipal project planning: “For the municipality of Winden and the many users of local public transport, the postponement of the planned commissioning of the modernized Elz Valley Railway is very regrettable, but certainly not entirely surprising given the current construction progress The almost six-month extension of the closure of the Elztalbahn has a direct impact on planned investment measures by the community. Because of the rail replacement traffic that is still necessary, the renovation work on Reschhofweg (road construction, supply and disposal lines) and the redesign of the center of Niederwinden cannot begin until mid-2021 at the earliest. “
Roland Tibi, Mayor of Elzach, also regrets the delay and calls for an optimal completion of the S-Bahn for future users: “We as cities and municipalities in the Elz Valley, but especially the district council, the district administration and the regional association for regional transport in Freiburg (ZRF ) have done everything humanly possible to implement the project of the century in a timely manner. It is more than regrettable that this time difference is now coming. I would now like to refrain from blaming, but I assume that the additional costs associated with the delay are due to the fault of the Delay must be paid in full. Since the previous starts of the Breisgau S-Bahn concept have all failed, it is now particularly important to me that – if the modernized and electrified Elztalbahn starts much later – everything is correct and the many thousands of users der Bahn are very satisfied with the new Elztalbahn in new trains and with ve will drive at a better pace. The project itself is still of central importance to me for the future of the Elz Valley and the region. “
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