District Administrator Dietmar Allgaier is opposed to the proposal: "The entire light rail network from Schwieberdingen to Pattonville with its branches into Ludwigsburg city center is the result of long and consensual discussions between the district and the special-purpose association municipalities. The aim was to create an efficient and previously missing east-west connection in a densely populated conurbation. In its current submission, the administration of the city of Ludwigsburg proposes a series of measures aimed at splitting up the existing self-contained and therefore particularly effective light rail system."
Some of the aspects described in the proposal were already known from discussions with Lord Mayor Dr. Knecht. It was therefore no surprise that the inner city line to Schlösslesfeld and the branch to Oßweil were to be put on hold and no longer pursued. The city also communicated its desire for the train to enter the station instead of stopping at the west exit in advance of the drafting of the proposal.
"We will await the discussions and the decision of the Ludwigsburg municipal council," continued the district administrator. "One thing is clear: if all of the points in the proposal are adopted as proposed by the city council, the system will no longer be as effective in terms of transport as it currently is. For example, the express bus, which is to run between Ludwigsburg station and Pattonville instead of the light rail, will create a massive break in the route network, which will significantly reduce its transport effectiveness. This jeopardizes the economic benefits and also the federal and state funding for the infrastructure project."
Following the Ludwigsburg municipal council's decision, the result will be discussed at the special-purpose association meeting. It is not possible to withdraw from the special-purpose association alone, as explained by the city administration, due to the regulations in the articles of association. "Nevertheless, we will endeavor to reach a solution for the further course of action within the special-purpose association with as much consensus as possible. Our goal must continue to be to offer citizens in and around Ludwigsburg who are plagued by traffic a sensible and reliable alternative to their own car."
The Managing Director of the Zweckverband Stadtbahn added: "With its proposal, the city of Ludwigsburg is documenting its intention to leave the joint path it has taken with the district administration and neighboring municipalities towards mobility in line with the conurbation after many years."
At the elected representatives' forum last Saturday, numerous aspects were mentioned that are relevant for such a far-reaching decision as the city of Ludwigsburg is now asking its local councillors to make. "It is therefore regrettable that the results of the standardized calculation presented at the elected representatives' forum, the passenger potential presented there, the statements of the Ministry of Transport on funding and also the empirical values from Heilbronn have not been included in the city administration's submission," Ilk continued. "For example, it is not mentioned that around 5,200 passengers per day can be expected when entering the station, while this figure increases to almost 8,000 when stopping at the west exit. The demand for an entrance to the station reduces the effectiveness of the railroad in terms of traffic."
Managing Director Ilk is astonished by the statement that the impact on interurban traffic in Friedrichstrasse would be so massive that this route would not be feasible. "The special-purpose association is currently in the process of calculating the traffic impact and presenting optimization potential. The results are not yet available, so the city's statement is based on assumptions. The light rail is to be replaced on the branch between Ludwigsburg station and Pattonville by an express bus - i.e. a bus that runs past the traffic jam in a similar way to a light rail. Unfortunately, the proposal does not explain in detail how the bus is to achieve this." As far as he knows, an autonomous shuttle express on busy inner-city routes is neither legally permissible nor technically mature. Current trials are running under scientific supervision in trouble-free corridors. "It will be many years before an operation on such a busy street as Myliusstrasse is possible, and even then the question of capacity will arise: Bus shuttles every five minutes will not help to relieve Myliusstraße or Wilhelmstraße, which are already at their limits in terms of traffic, and will actually generate even more traffic. A light rail system would also be a much more suitable means of transport here," says Ilk.
