Carinthia's mayor urgently demand new freight road for less noise

Carinthia's mayor urgently demand new freight road for less noise

In Carinthia, a recent decision by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) causes great unrest. The long -demanded freight road, which should keep freight traffic from Lake Wörthersee, is not implemented. This message has caused a considerable disappointment with various community bosses, especially with the Mayor of Pörtschacher Silvia Häusl-Benz. Häusl-Benz said that the current noise pollution from rail freight transport was no longer portable.

Franz Hammerschmidt from the ÖBB said that the existing two -track route, which has been in operation for 160 years, has offered sufficient capacities. The ÖBB's argument says that a new route would cost a lot of money without actually making more space for traffic. However, many citizens and community bosses have doubts about this assessment and demand a rethink.

demands for implementation of the commitments

In 2017, a memorandum was adopted that provides for planning a new freight road by 2040 to relieve the residents of the existing route. So far, however, the implementation has failed. Several mayors appeal to the ÖBB to finally comply with their commitments and call for immediate planning for the roadway. Many of them emphasize their willingness to actively participate in the planning and implementation of such a route.

Dissatisfaction is not only noticeable in the affected communities, the Carinthian ÖVP also finds sharp words for the transport minister. This criticizes the extremely unsatisfactory answer of the ÖBB and sees it a clear break of agreements that were planned to relieve the municipalities.

In addition, a local citizens' initiative expresses that the decision of the ÖBB acts like a "slap in the face" because it completely ignores the concerns of the citizens in this region. In view of the ongoing noise and traffic problem, many actors are now calling for comprehensive measures for noise protection between Klagenfurt and Fürnitz.

For in-depth information on the background and the reactions to these developments, I recommend a look at the reporting on www.meinbeinbezirk.at .