Stuttgart 21

Map of Stuttgart 21 project

Stuttgart 21 is an urban development and under construction transport project in Stuttgart as part of the Stuttgart–Augsburg new and upgraded railway project in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria in Germany. It consists of the replacement of the tracks and platforms of Stuttgart Central Station, with new infrastructure mainly located underground. The project has been in the planning stages for more than a decade and construction work began in February 2010. For years the project has been highly controversial.

The new tracks are planned to cross below ground at right angles to the northern end of the existing building. The project forms part of a scheme instigated by politicians to modernise the link between Paris, Vienna and ultimately Budapest — aiming to introduce Stuttgart as "The new heart of Europe". Parts of the historic Paul Bonatz Hauptbahnhof building, the platforms, and approach tracks would be demolished, and the land sold for development.

Construction works began on 2 February 2010^{[citation needed]}.

Concept

Principal track layout of the future Stuttgart main railway station

The concept attempts to combine plans for high speed links from Stuttgart to other cities with the improvement of local infrastructure and a replacement for the current terminal station. The current 17 track station shall be replaced by an underground 8 track through station.

The plans include new surface and underground lines connecting the station in Stuttgart’s enclosed central valley with existing lines. The Stuttgart–Wendlingen high-speed line running through a new tunnel, the Filder Tunnel, would connect the replacement Hauptbahnhof with a new Filder station (Filderbahnhof), serving the Airport, the Messe (trade fair), and the Filderstadt district. The line would then connect to the planned Wendlingen-Ulm high-speed line. The carriage sidings would be moved to the area of Untertürkheim station to clear land for redevelopment.

For planning purposes, Stuttgart 21 is part of the Stuttgart–Augsburg new and upgraded line project. It consists of a railway project for Deutsche Bahn (DB) and an urban redevelopment project for Stuttgart. DB subsidiary DB ProjektBau is planning the project on behalf of DB Netze and DB Station & Service and is its promoter for the development approval process.

On 2 April 2009 the Minister President of Baden-Württemberg, Günther Oettinger, signed the finance agreement with the German Minister of Transport, Wolfgang Tiefensee and Deutsche Bahn board member Stefan Garber.

On 23 November 2009, it was announced that construction would commence in February 2010, on the condition that the overall costs do not exceed €4.5 billion.

Debate and opposition

The Stuttgart 21 project has been a controversial issue among politicians and locals since the idea of a through station for long distance trains - running under the existing station - was first noted in the mid 1980s.

More than 50,000 people demonstrated against Stuttgart 21 on October 1st, 2010

Since 2009 numerous protests against the disputed project have taken place. On September 30, 2010, hundreds of demonstrators were injured when the police used water cannons, pepper spray and batons against protestors. The following day, more than 50,000 people took part in the largest demonstration against the project so far.

Demolition works and protest demonstration at the north wing of Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof, August 26, 2010

Since late 2006, there have been negotiations between DB, the Federal Government, the Baden-Württemberg Government and the city of Stuttgart over the sharing of the costs of the project. On 28 June 2007, a high-level conference was held and adjourned between DB chairman Hartmut Mehdorn, Baden-Württemberg Minister of Finance Gerhard Stratthaus and Stuttgart mayor Wolfgang Schuster. At the meeting, agreement could not be reached over the allocation of construction costs risks.

On July 19, 2007, it was announced by the Federal Government, the State of Baden-Württemberg and DB that the project had been approved. Identified funding sources are: DB (€ 1,115 million), the State of Baden-Württemberg (€ 685 million), and the Federal Government (€ 500 million). The agreement also made provision for possible increases over the € 2.8 billion estimate of up to € 1 billion, with Baden-Württemberg agreeing to fund up to € 780 million and DB agreeing to fund up to € 220 million. According to the statement, € 2 billion would also be invested in the railway to Ulm, with the total budget amounting to € 4.8 billion.

Shortly after the funding agreement was announced the political opponents of Wolfgang Schuster were quick to condemn the Stuttgart mayor for backtracking on a promise made during the 2004 mayoral elections - namely that he would allow the population of Stuttgart to decide the fate of Stuttgart 21 if the additional costs of the project amounted to more than € 200 million. On hearing the promise at the time, Alliance '90/The Greens candidate Boris Palmer had withdrawn his candidacy for the second round vote, recommending that his supporters should back Schuster instead.

In October 2007, a petition and public demonstrations were started, sponsored by private individuals with the backing of Alliance '90/The Greens and a variety of citizens' and environmental organisations. Its aim was to collect 20,000 signatures and thus force politicians to take the issue to a local referendum. The petition gained 67,000 signatures^{[citation needed]} but political wrangling started over whether the issue could be decided by a local referendum in the first place. Legal experts claimed that, as the project was not being financed solely from Stuttgart coffers, it was not for the city of Stuttgart to take the final decision.

Not only since this 2007 decision to go ahead with the project, when the plan to commence with the demolition of the current train station in early 2010 and to finish by 2020 was announced, has the project been controversial among the city's population.

On October 11, 2008, about 4,000 citizens of Stuttgart demonstrated against the demolition of the Hauptbahnhof's north wing^{[citation needed]}. Since the fall of 2009, there have been weekly demonstrations on Monday evenings. On October 1, 2010, the biggest protest so far took place with an estimated 100,000 people taking part in the demonstration against the project.

Protest manifestations on the fence during demolition works

The protests are organized among others by a grassroots initiative, Leben in Stuttgart (Life in Stuttgart), the local branch of the German Green Party, and the environmental organisation Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland. They are suggesting a renovation of the current train station, including creation of some new railways, but respecting the cultural heritage of the Hauptbahnhof terminus and the natural heritage of the adjacent Schlossgarten (Palace Park). The park (see Old Castle (Stuttgart) and New Castle (Stuttgart)) by Nikolaus Friedrich von Thouret, is part of a cherished green space that connects the inner city with the banks of the Neckar river. During the estimated construction time of at least 10 years, the project would cut off connections to other park areas of the city, known collectively as the Green U due to their U-shaped form.

On September 30, 2010, police action against peaceful protesters blocking the Schlossgarten site resulted in more than 100 injured, school children amongst them.

Prior to the recent escalation, Frei Otto, one of the architects responsible for the project, cited a 2003 report for calling for a stop to the project. He alleges the ground in the area is allegedly too unstable for large scale underground works. Some critics suggest the cost of the project might rise to € 18.7 billion.

In November 2009, members of the International Council on Monuments and Sites stated that the Hauptbahnhof was a building of exceptional quality, whose integrity should be maintained.

On November 27th 2011, a referendum was held to decide whether the state of Baden-Württemberg should cease funding for the project. 58.8 percent of the votes cast were against such a withdrawal (and thus in favor of the project).

Effects on politics

According to the German newspaper Die Welt, in June 2009 the Greens changed the balance of power in the city council as a direct result of disgruntlement with the controversial Stuttgart 21 rail project. The victory marked the Greens' first majority in a German city with more than 500,000 inhabitants. This meant an enormous loss for the CDU who had held a majority of seats in Stuttgart continuously since 1972.

The Stuttgart 21 project was a major issue in the state elections held in March 2011. While the CDU again won the largest number of seats in the Landtag of Baden-Württemberg, they and their FDP allies lost too many to maintain control. Instead, the Green party will lead a coalition government with the SPD for the first time in any German state.

External links

• Official website of Stuttgart 21
• Stuttgart 21 "No thanks" initiative
• Supporter of the Stuttgart 21 project