The Second S-Bahn Tunnel (Zweite Stammstrecke) Nearly all lines use the core route through the city centre in the underground, creating a bottle-neck responsible for long and increasingly frequent delays from even the smallest disruptions. The disadvantage of the current core route is the inability of trains to reroute themselves onto different tracks in the event of a disruption. After years of discussions and studies into different route propositions, a second tunnel through the city centre has been already approved with the funding of €3.85 billion and the completion date of 2028–2032. On 5 April 2017, the ground-breaking ceremony took place to commence the construction. The second tunnel will be in length and run in parallel with the current tunnel in the south on the western portion of Hauptbahnhof and in the north on the eastern portion. It will have three underground stations (Hauptbahnhof, Marienhof, Ostbahnhof) and two surface stations (Laim and Leuchtenbergring).
Marienhof, which will be built to the north of
Munich Marienplatz station, will be the only all-new station on the line; other stations will be expanded to accommodate the new tunnel. With focus on express service and shorter travel time, the second tunnel will bypass six current stations between Laim and Ostbahnhof. Most express S-Bahn trains with limited stops will use the second tunnel: the proposed express S-Bahn routes are S18X (Herrsching-Leuchtenbergring), S21X (Landshut-Leuchtenbergring), S23X (Mering-Flughafen München), and S24X (Buchloe-Leuchtenbergring). Two current S-Bahn routes will be transferred to the second tunnel upon the completion: S1 (Flughafen München/Freising-Ebersberg) and S6 (Tutzing-Leuchtenbergring).
Optimisation (Optimierung) The initial design called for a second S-Bahn station underneath
Orleansplatz at Ostbahnhof with long pedestrian tunnels connecting to the aboveground station serving regional and long-distance trains and current S-Bahn. This design received much negative criticism from the public, especially the residents in Haidhausen neighbourhood quarter. The residents have grave concern about tunnelling and earth extraction impacting their housing and disrupting their daily lives. The new EU directives call for more escape tunnels and rescue access points to be incorporated in the design. The forthcoming construction of new U9 subway station at the Hauptbahnhof requires the further tweaking of master build plans (reconstruction of main building and second S-Bahn station). On 3 July 2019, Deutsche Bahn announced the new "2. Stammstrecke — Die Optimierungen" (Second Trunk Line Optimisation). The optimisation project called for second S-Bahn station at Ostbahnhof to be moved from Orleansplatz to the southeastern side of Ostbahnhof platforms along the street, Friedenstraße. The entire second S-Bahn station will be underground and connected to the current S-Bahn platforms via staircases, escalators, and lifts. The advantages of new location are its close proximity to the entertainment quarter in the southeast, higher capacity flow with more direct access to the aboveground platforms, better connection to Berg am Laim S-Bahn station, and platforms closer to the ground (16 metres deep instead of 40). The relocation necessitated realignment and lengthening of S-Bahn tunnels between Marienhof and Ostbahnhof. The new EU directive requires the third tunnel for escape and rescue to be constructed between two tunnels and access points to the aboveground be added at every 600 metres. The benefit of new design allows quicker passenger evacuation from the tunnels, easier access for the rescue personnel, and simpler access for maintenance crew. The State of Bavaria and Munich city council wants the first U9 station to be built at the Hauptbahnhof at the same time as reconstruction of Hauptbahnhof main building and construction of second S-Bahn trunk line. The new changes relocate U9 platforms from the west end of regional and long distance platforms to the middle of main Hauptbahnhof building below the ground. The relocation places U9 station directly above the second trunk line station in a cross arrangement. This improves the passenger flow between two current U-Bahn lines (U4/U5 and U1/U2/U7/U8), one current S-Bahn trunk line, and aboveground level.
S-Bahn-Nordring An alternative route in the north has been proposed for many years. This route would use part of Münchner Nordring (
Munich North Ring) currently used by the freight trains and as railway bypass. The plan would call for eight new S-Bahn stations and two conjunctions (one at Pasing and other one at Berg am Laim) to be built, totalling fourteen stations (six have been built earlier for use in the existing system: Pasing, Moosach, Johanneskirchen, Englschalking, Daglfing, and Trudering). The advantage of using the Nordring is numerous as compared to Südring (South Ring – proposed as an assumedly weak alternative to second trunk line): • Many rail infrastructures have been already built in the past, connecting to two current S-Bahn routes (S1 at Moosach and S8 between Johanneskirchen and Unterföhring); • This will serve many of industrial centres in the north, namely BMW manufacturing plants, FIZ research centre, and media centres in Unterföhring; • S-Bahn serving Nordring can also travel to the Munich Airport via Johanneskirchen station and back without transferring; • Five stations would have U-Bahn connections while additional two would probably be connected if U1 (Lassallestraße) and U4 (Englschalking) extensions are built; • Three stations would have tram connections (Pasing, Moosach, and Unterföhring Süd); • The new S-Bahn stations and additional technical modifications can be built on the existing route without incurring the enormous cost as the second trunk route would. The discussion of S-Bahn-Nordring is ongoing with no tentative date of construction and completion as well as cost estimate.
Circular Railway (Ringbahn) Michael Piazolo, a Bavarian state parliament representative, commissioned a study for a potential Münchner Ringbahn. The proposal of building the circular railway similar to
Berlin Ringbahn has recently gained more traction with the city government and the state parliament. The circular railway would use the
Munich North Ring, the S8 line between Johanneskirchen and Ostbahnhof, the Südring between Ostbahnhof and Heimeranplatz, and a new line to be built between Heimeranplatz and Olympiakreuz. The close proximity of
Nymphenburg Palace and the west–east lines at Donnersbergerbrücke station would require the construction of tunnels between south of Heimeranplatz and Olympiakreuz. Most of the Ringbahn would use the existing railway lines with seven S-Bahn stations (Heimeranplatz, Donnersbergerbrücke, Johanneskirchen, Englschalking, Daglfing, Leuchtenbergring, and Ostbahnhof) currently in use. Five new surface stations (BMW Forschungszentrum,
Ingolstädter Straße, Aumeister, Kolumbusplatz, and Poccisstraße) and three new underground stations (Nymphenburg, Neuhausen, and Olympiakreuz) would have to be built. One additional advantage of this Ringbahn concept is an airport express train service from Hauptbahnhof via Olympiakreuz, following the proposed tracking for the finally abandoned
Munich Airport Transrapid. That could potentially shorten the travel time from the Hauptbahnhof on the west side, bypassing the current S2 with numerous stops along the line.
Southern Ring The alternative to the Circular Ring is the Southern Ring between Ostbahnhof and Heimeranplatz, with stations at Heimeranplatz, Poccistraße and Kolumbusplatz, which is the express variant.
Northern Tunnels along the Airport In 2009, a
Nordtunnel was proposed by
Vieregg-Rössler as a further extension, which connects the main railway station with the
Kunstareal (with the three Pinakotheken) Nordring, football stadium, Garching, airport). In the inner city area, the planned route is roughly equal to that of the planned U9. In addition to the S-Bahn, the route would also include regional and long-distance transport, in this way the central orientation of the Munich local transport system should be replaced by the city center. The Nordtunnel was not followed, among other things due to higher costs with at the same time lower profitability.
S-Bahn Vision 2050 On 31 March 2017, MVV announced the Vision 2050 expansion proposal. The vision for the year 2050 includes double-decked wagons, 24-hour operations, new stations, and extensions further beyond the city limit. The possible extensions are: • S1 North from
Freising to
Landshut • S2 North from Altomünster to Aichach and from Petershausen to Pfaffenhofen • S2 East from Markt Schwaben to Dorfen • S3 West from Mammendorf to
Augsburg • S3 South from Holzkirchen to Schaftlach which splits to Lenggries and
Tegernsee • S4/S6 East from Ebersberg to Wasserburg and from Grafing Bahnhof to
Rosenheim • S4/S6 West from Geltendorf to Kaufering and beyond • S7 South to
Geretsried (
Geretsried Süd railway station) via
Gelting and
Geretsried Mitte. The environmental impact study is planned for 2017. Work started in 2022, and the projected completion date is 2027 at the earliest. • New S-Bahn line from Karlsfeld to Dasing Rings and Spurs (Ringschlüsse und Spange): • Neufahrner Kurve (Neufahrn Curve): this will facilitate the travel between Freising and
Munich Airport without switching back at Neufahrn. The construction was completed, and the RE train service to Regensburg and Landshut was commenced on 9 December 2018. • Erdinger Ringschluss (Erding Loop): this line will connect with S1 and S8 at
Munich Airport and with S2 at Erding. If completed, it would make two loops with one larger and one smaller, stopping at Hauptbahnhof and Munich Airport. Due to the military base nearby, the tunnel is required. Still in discussion. • Walpertskirchner Spange (Walpertskirchner Spur): this line extend the Erdinger Ringschluß from Erding to proposed S2 East extension, connecting somewhere between Walpertskirchner and Thann-Matzbach. Still in discussion. • Verknüpfungskurve S7 - Rosenheim: Like Neufahrner Kurve, this spur makes travelling between the city centre in Munich and Rosenheim easier without switchback at Kreuzstraße. Four-Track Expansions: • Four-track extension of S8 line to the
Munich Airport and moving the surface railway to the underground between Leuchtenbergring and Unterföhring. The extra tracks are for freight trains, which must pull aside often for S-Bahn. If the four-track extension is completed, the airport express train could use the freight tracks as to bypass the local service. Still in discussion. • Four-track extension of S4-West between Buchenau and Pasing. The extension is due to the opening of
Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. This will increase freight transports between northern and southern Europe going through central Europe. The first phase is from Pasing to Puchheim. For cost reasons, the extension would terminate at Eichenau for time being. In planning. Other Projects: • Possible relocation of the S2 East to the Munich International Trade Fair site. Now cancelled. • New stations at Breitenau, Emmering, Weichselbaum,
Menterschwaige, Schwaigerloh, Sendlinger Spange, Gelting, and Messestadt Nord. ==Network map==