Second U-Bahn depot to stay at Neuperlach Süd as plans are revised

Munich's planned second U-Bahn depot will be built at Neuperlach Süd, city councillors have confirmed. The city council's mobility committee and its urban planning and building regulations committee today commissioned changes to the framework plan for the depot, which the council first approved in 2018 along with a transport access concept.

The revision is needed because circumstances have changed since then. The district of Munich (Landkreis München) plans to extend the U-Bahn towards Taufkirchen and Ottobrunn, and the Free State of Bavaria wants to upgrade the S-Bahn line heading south to two tracks. The city says a second depot is necessary because of steadily rising passenger numbers and operational requirements. It would give more operational flexibility, shorter journeys for trains entering and leaving service, fewer disruptions and extra capacity for stabling and workshops, laying the groundwork for a stable U-Bahn service and trains every two minutes.

The planned U5 extension raised the question of whether the depot should instead be moved towards the future terminus at Taufkirchen. According to the city and the Munich transport company MVG, studies by the district support keeping it at Neuperlach Süd. A depot in the district could not be built for at least 18 years, too late to provide back-up capacity when the depot at Fröttmaning is upgraded from the mid-2030s. A site in the district would also raise operating effort and staffing needs. The Taufkirchen site has no transport links and would require a significant intervention in nature, including clearing much of a specially protected forest, which would also push up costs.

A feasibility study found that the depot will need to be built with provisions for future rail lines, as the route of the U-Bahn extension towards Taufkirchen and Ottobrunn is to use land on or beneath the depot site. The additional S-Bahn track would also cross the site and requires a similar structure. As a result, buildings will have to be moved onto land on the former Siemens car park south. The S-Bahn upgrade also envisages running trains beneath the depot to the northern platform at Neuperlach Süd station, a route that would clash with the planned trough structure for Arnold-Sommerfeld-Straße, so road layouts in that area will have to be rethought.

The revised plan will also take account of projects such as the Parkmeile Trudering – Neuperlach and other planned developments in the surrounding area. The cost of revising the framework plan will be shared, with Stadtwerke München and MVG paying one third and the city's planning department and mobility department splitting the remaining two thirds equally.