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No Reactivation of Railway Lines – Industrial Area Planned Without Demand


The structural transformation in the Burgenland district was the central topic of the county committee meeting on April 7, 2025. Two key issues were discussed: the potential reactivation of railway lines and the current status of the planned Intermunicipal Industrial Area (IKIG) near the A9 at Weißenfels. The arguments on both topics were starkly contrasting.



No Reactivation of Rail Lines for Public Transport – No Funding

A proposal to conduct a feasibility study for reactivating disused railway lines for passenger transport (Naumburg, Teuchern, Wangen, Roßleben, Artern, Altenburg, Meuselwitz, Zeitz, Teuchern, Nessa etc.) was discussed. The aim was to determine whether funding could be obtained for such a study. The answer: no. The Nahverkehrsservice Sachsen-Anhalt GmbH (NASA) is responsible for such assessments – however, it would only become active if concrete demand can be proven. For this, a standardized calculation model must be used, which currently shows insufficient demand.

Robby Risch emphasized that an efficient public transport connection is essential if the district wants to attract skilled workers from the Leipzig area. Many Leipzig residents no longer own a car. Therefore, a new industrial zone must also be conceived with a future-proof transport connection in mind from the outset.

Jörg Freiwald proposed determining potential public transport users by analyzing the number of parking spaces in existing commercial and industrial areas – assuming there were adequate transit options available. “Public transport must always be subsidized anyway,” said Freiwald.

Industrial Area Despite Zero Demand

A completely different attitude was taken toward the planned IKIG: Although not a single business inquiry has been received for the new industrial area, planning is continuing. The area is expected to cost up to 120 million euros and will be built on an undeveloped plot near Weißenfels.

According to the meeting, there were ten inquiries for business locations throughout the state of Saxony-Anhalt in the first quarter of 2025. The Burgenland district could not accommodate any of them due to a lack of suitable land. The argument made was that without developed land, no settlements are possible – a classic chicken-and-egg problem. Land must be developed first in order to respond to inquiries.

Paradoxical Situation

Thus, we are left with a paradox: railway lines are not reactivated because insufficient demand is expected. Meanwhile, a multimillion-euro project like the IKIG is being pushed forward, even though demand is currently nonexistent.

Citizen Criticism Ignored

In the report on the status of the IKIG, the topic of citizen participation was also briefly touched upon – but only regarding informational events that were held. Protest actions and demonstrations by critics went unmentioned.

Robby Risch referred to an open letter from the citizens’ initiative and asked for an official response. Elke Simon-Kuch stated that she had already responded to the letter from her point of view and was open to dialogue with the initiative. However, it seems doubtful that the criticism of the citizens’ initiative will be taken into account in the planning.

No Expropriation – But Rising Land Prices?

As part of the debate on establishing the IKIG special-purpose association, it was also emphasized that there would be no expropriations – a resolution to this effect had been passed in Weißenfels and incorporated into the statute of the newly formed association. However, it was not discussed that landowners are thereby free to demand high prices for their plots.

The committee recommended that the county council adopt the statute for the founding of the IKIG special-purpose association, with four votes in favor and one abstention.

Further details and topics can be found in the video recording of the county committee meeting (above). Please ignore the security guard.

Author: AI Translation - Michael Thurm  |  20.04.2025

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