UPPER AUSTRIA / GALLNEUKIRCHEN. According to Günther Steinkellner, Regional Transport Councilor, the federal government should be involved as quickly as possible both with regard to the connection of the Mühlkreisbahn as a light rail to the Linz main train station and the realization of the light rail to Gallneukirchen and Pregarten.
According to the broadcast of the regional transport council, a fundamental agreement was reached between the city and the country on the project last year. The city of Linz has confirmed this with a decision in principle in the municipal council, while the state of Upper Austria has provided the necessary financial resources for the state share through the Upper Austria plan. Now it is important to get the federal government on board. A corresponding MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding), i.e. a declaration of intent, is in fact ready. “I am convinced that people are aware of the importance of this project for the Upper Austrian central area and its indispensability in traffic and climate issues in Vienna. An early agreement is necessary so that the remaining political and financial decisions can be taken quickly and we can finally get into the implementation phase, ”said Steinkellner. A project of this size can only be realized with co-financing from the federal government.
Further steps
It is also important to start planning the implementation and submission now. Fundamental financial security is required for this. As soon as the conditions are met, the plans can be put out to tender. This takes place in two phases: first in the inner city and then a few months later the national branch follows. At the same time, experts would work on creating an operational simulation of the trolleybus and light rail. The question of whether an above-ground route of the Stadtbahn on the Urfahraner side on a section between Mühlkreisbahnhof and Gasthof Lindbauer is possible or only sensible underground needs to be clarified. Technically, both are possible and feasible, it says in the broadcast. Clarifications of this kind would not prevent the signing of the MOU, by the way, since the corresponding formulations are accordingly flexible. Further detailed technical questions could then only be finally clarified in the in-depth planning. “As soon as our last project partner is on board with the federal government, the project can finally take off,” emphasizes Steinkellner.
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