The next peg in the history of the regional light rail and the trolleybus line 48 will be driven in next week. On Thursday, the Linz mandataries will vote on the financing agreement with the state, and the approval is considered fixed.
As has been reported several times, there was a long struggle for this agreement because the city and state disagreed on key issues – but a compromise solution was ultimately presented at the end of December. Among other things, this stipulates that the trolleybus route will not use Reindlstrasse, so instead of two trolleybus routes there will only be one.
More on the subject: What the light rail agreement means for the new Linz trolleybuses
After a long struggle: the state and city agree on light rail financing
The contract in question regulates the mutual obligations between the city and the country: The city of Linz is participating in the light rail project with 7.5 percent, and there is a cost cap of a maximum of 50 million euros. According to current estimates, the construction costs for the Linz section of the light rail are 667 million euros.
In return, the state contributes 40 percent to the planning and construction of the trolleybus project (the total investment volume here is 59.3 million euros, the state’s cap is 23.7 million euros).
The decision on the financing agreement in the local council will, as Mayor Klaus Luger (SP) put it today, be a central one. The financing agreement is a prerequisite for the concession process (this has been on hold since 2020 due to the lack of a financing agreement) and subsequently for the ordering of the necessary 16 buses. The new trolleybus line is scheduled to begin operations in 2027. For the concession process, adapted documents must be submitted to the state, and we are working hard to prepare them.
At 72.3 million euros, the subsidy from the city of Linz to Linz Linien will be higher than the agreement with the state. The reason for this is that the state does not contribute to the purchase of the buses. But there is federal funding for this. The operation of the trolleybus line is valued at 120.5 million euros over 15 years.
Loan must be taken
The new bus line will have a budgetary impact as early as this year: The city is planning to invest 5.3 million euros this year, and in 2025 it will be 21.9 million euros, says finance officer Vice Mayor Tina Blöchl (SP). These amounts are not yet part of the double budget that has already been decided for 2024 and 2025. This needs to be improved using a local council application and a loan must also be taken out from the city.
The deputy mayor responsible for transport, Martin Hajart (VP), once once more emphasized today how important both the light rail as a quick connection to the surrounding area and the trolleybus line for inner-city routes are. An important milestone for the expansion of public transport would be laid here.
Traffic concept for Urfahr
From a traffic perspective, the project will leave “no stone unturned” in Urfahr, says Hajart, who also announced that the participatory development of a traffic concept in the area around Urfahraner Hauptstraße will begin this year.
Climate City Councilor Eva Schobesberger (Greens) emphasized that the projects also set a milestone from a climate perspective. This is needed to convince even more people to switch from cars to gentler forms of mobility. In addition, the business location will be strengthened, added local councilor Zeljko Malesevic (FP). The expansion is only possible due to the joint efforts of the city and state.
Author
Julia Popovsky
Editor Linzer Nachrichten
Julia Popovsky
