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In Wiesbaden, local public transport will have to do without the rails in the future. In the referendum initiated by the city council, after counting all the votes, 62.1 percent of the voters voted against the construction of a new tram and only 37.9 percent in favor. Many observers expected a close race before the vote, which attracted a total of 210,000 eligible citizens. But when the first of the 260 electoral districts was counted, the opponents of local rail transport won a clear victory. Not only in the residential areas along the planned route, but in almost all parts of the city there was a clear majority against the urban rail. The turnout was 46.2 percent. Both sides clearly exceeded the quorum of around 31,500 votes required for a valid referendum.
Oliver Bock
Rhein-Main-Zeitung Correspondent for the Rheingau-Taunus and Wiesbaden districts.
The city railway was to connect Wiesbaden on the Rhine with neighboring Mainz and on the Aartal railway with Taunusstein and Bad Schwalbach for a distance of about 35 kilometers. The federal and state governments have indicated that they will assume 90 percent of the investment costs currently estimated at 426 million euros. In the weeks leading up to the vote, many institutions and groups had come out in favor of the Citybahn, including the IHK, the DGB, a youth alliance, and the Eswe works council as representatives of the bus drivers.
The cities of Mainz, Taunusstein and Bad Schwalbach had also announced the project, in which Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende (SPD) had seen an “opportunity of the century” for Wiesbaden. Mende commented that the binding vote had to be accepted: “It is as it is.” The head of the transport department Andreas Kowol (The Greens) called the result “extremely regrettable”, the head of the city development department, Hans-Martin Kessler (CDU), said that Wiesbaden had to think very carefully how it could even connect the new neighborhoods of the city in the future. None of the members of the magistrate had a conclusive explanation of the result.
“It failed in its entirety”
The leader of the Parliamentary group of the Greens, Christiane Hinninger, said disappointed: “The railway of the city does not arrive, the traffic problems persist”. Christian Diers, the leader of the FDP parliamentary group, however, is very satisfied: “This is a clear signal from the citizens against the city’s railway project. All the city’s advertising spending apparently did not help much. We are satisfied with the result “.
“I would not have expected the result so clearly,” said Christian Bachmann, leader of the Free Voters parliamentary group. Thus, the “project of the century” of cooperation “totally failed.” Now we have to discuss the possible revival of the Aartalbahn and more commuter parking spaces in the outskirts, as well as a better synchronized bus connection.
The mayor of Taunussstein, Sandro Zehner (CDU), reacted disappointed. “We very much regret the decision made in Wiesbaden against the Citybahn. It is a wasted opportunity to find an affordable, modern and sustainable solution to current and emerging traffic problems for Wiesbaden and the region. “Zehner announced:” We will now discover in discussions with partners and decision-makers how we can sustainable mobility in our region. . The urban rail would have been an important component, but not the only option, Zehner continues.
