Stettner admits higher costs for maglev train
CDU parliamentary party leader Dirk Stettner has admitted that he was wrong in his estimates for the cost of a possible test track for a maglev train in Berlin. He had quoted the sum of 80 to 85 million euros for a five to seven kilometer long pilot line, which he strongly supports. However, there are doubts about the order of magnitude. "After choosing a sensible route, good planning, there will certainly be a much higher figure at the end of the day," Stettner told RBB's "Abendschau" on Thursday.
"Ultimately, it is important that this technical option is significantly cheaper than a subway," said the CDU parliamentary group leader in the House of Representatives. RBB quoted from a feasibility study by the Federal Ministry of Transport. In it, the costs for a maglev line are given as 20 to 25 million euros per kilometer according to the cost status of 2020.
Stettner's proposal, which became public on Monday, has since provoked considerable criticism. "We want to advance the rail infrastructure, extend the subway and expand the streetcar network," said Tino Schopf, transport spokesperson for the SPD parliamentary group, to the "Abendschau". "For me, a magnetic levitation train has no future at all at the moment."
It was only on Thursday that the President of the State Court of Auditors, Karin Klingen, made a clear statement on Stettner's idea of financing the costs for the test track from the special climate protection fund. She said at the presentation of the current annual report that exceptions to the debt brake were not intended to finance long-term investments that had always been planned. "I therefore hope that the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court will also be taken seriously with regard to the maglev proposal."
The Senate should consider the potential cost-effectiveness of maglev trains, as they are reportedly less expensive than subways per kilometer according to a feasibility study by the Federal Ministry of Transport. Despite the criticism, Dirk Stettner, the CDU parliamentary group leader in the House of Representatives, still believes in the need to explore maglev trains for railway infrastructure expansion.
Source: www.dpa.com
