To the 500. held a Demonstration against Stuttgart 21, In the mayor's election campaign, the topic could be important again.

ten years after the start of construction of Protest is alive photo: Reuters

STUTTGART taz | Winfried Kretschmann, the Minister considers that the conflict over the Stuttgart 21 eight years after the referendum, to the billion project for peace. In the case of the 500. Demonstration against the rail project want to show the opponents of the road project the opposite. Under the Motto "away with the bottle under the stations," calling the action Alliance to 500. Monday demonstration against the controversial project. In the evening, the critics gather to presentations from two well-known traffic experts, even in the Stuttgart town hall.

Ten years after the official starting shot for the construction of the underground railway project, the Protest is still alive. An info tent at the now gutted main train station has been occupied since at the time of 3.485 days with volunteers. And to get the traditional Monday demonstrations, hundreds of participants still week to week. Now for the anniversary, the Alliance expects to 3,000 protesters.

Because most of the points of criticism, the opponent will have to keep right. The rock formations under Stuttgart make the tunnel construction, expensive and susceptible. The estimated costs for the "most expensive train station in the world" has risen since the start of construction of 4.1 billion to currently about eight billion. The route beyond the border of the city is still not solved.

But in the meantime the progress of the construction work has created facts. The concrete floor is poured, and the Cup supports to carry the roof of the underground through station, also, 50 of the planned 59 kilometres of Tunnel are now drilled. Even if the Alliance is still at its concept, to receive the aboveground head station, is connected to the underground train station in 2025 to the railway network. Even critics of the first hour, as the current Lord mayor of Tübingen, Boris Palmer, holding the now to be irreversible.

The main criticism of the underground station, however, remains and was fueled by a comment made by the green Minister of transport Winfried Hermann in the summer of the scarce transport capacity due to the reduced track number. Eight instead of 16 tracks, the new station will have. To little, especially if the railway intends to double its Capacity in fact, as announced. Then, at the latest the Stuttgart train station would be, in the opinion of the critic is a bottle neck that creates problems.

As a compromise solution, the critics have in mind an additional head to the train station for the transport, which is equipped with at least four tracks. This top should be above ground, could be the model for the New York Central Station. In Background talks with the railway running, apparently, about the capacity question, while the difference at the end of Lord mayor of Stuttgart, Fritz Kuhn is not interested in rescheduling, because he would rather start today than tomorrow with the planning of the newly acquired city district, right in the center of Stuttgart. Therefore, the Stuttgart 21 might prefer to play in the coming mayor election campaign, a role.

So the project remains green government politicians are a touchy subject. Minister of transport Winfried Hermann, who had said in the summer, the southwest press: "Stuttgart 21 is the biggest wrong decision of the railway history, we spend a lot of money and sink a train station and therefore have no advantage", is in the meantime back on the language regime is pivoted, the planned capacity was sufficient. An expert of his house had to cancel his appearance on Monday at the action Alliance.

Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann made his peace with the project. Recently, he was even for the first time, together with railway representatives Ronald Pofalla on the construction site and admired the "impressive work of the engineers".