The idea of ​​extending the tracks of the Frankfurt Forest Railway from Neu-Isenburg to the surrounding area already existed at the end of the 19th century.

At that time, the plans for a better connection of the neighboring communities to the metropolis were also rejected because there was fear of losing too many workers to the city, so that the region, which today belongs to the western part of the Offenbach district, could bleed to death.

More than 130 years after the opening of the Neu-Isenburg terminus, which was needed for the former steam tram, three mayors from the region met there on Friday with the departing Frankfurt traffic deputy Klaus Oesterling (SPD) to take up the old idea again.

Markus Schug

Correspondent Rhein-Main-Süd.

  • Follow I follow

At best, by 2030, according to the politicians, the Frankfurt tram line 17 could be extended and taken to Langen, 8.5 kilometers away, in order to encourage commuters in particular to change trains.

According to rough estimates, each kilometer of the route, which has not yet been precisely determined, could cost up to 20 million euros.

A "promising project"

On the other hand, local transport projects of this type and size, if they are worthwhile according to the pending cost-benefit study, can be expected to receive funding from the federal and state governments of up to 90 percent, as the proponents say. While the independent mayors of Neu-Isenburg and Dreieich, Herbert Hunkel and Martin Burlon, have been working on the project for a long time, the independent Langen town hall chief Jan Werner only joined the team in 2020. His city only realized late that the tram connection was an opportunity that would not come back anytime soon, said Werner, who last Wednesday was again exposed to criticism of bringing the matter through the commune's committees "at a pork gallop" to want.

Those responsible have now also written in writing that this is "a promising project" that has been driven forward since 2020 under the management of the Frankfurt local transport company traffiQ.

In the potential study commissioned by the municipalities, which was carried out by the Munich-based Intraplan Consult and the Rodgauer Ingenieurgesellschaft Habermehl & Follmann, the route from the Frankfurt city limits to Langen is rated as feasible, eligible and sensible.

Regardless of the fact that the exact route in Dreieich, but especially in Langen, will still have to be discussed in the next two years, as the three mayors announced in unison.

Tram could relieve the S-Bahn line

The experts have calculated that a good 130,000 residents from the city and district could benefit from the extended line. And in all likelihood also the retail trade along the route, as Hunkel added. Specifically, it is to be expected that after the completion of the tracks, around 5000 drivers would change to the tram every day, according to the preliminary investigation. Another 4,000 passengers who have previously been using the S-Bahn are likely to take the tram more often - which in turn relieves the pressure on the S-Bahn line, which is already in high demand.

In the next step, a feasibility study, which costs up to a good 300,000 euros and is to be financed equally by the four municipalities, as well as the cost-benefit study necessary for funding, are to be commissioned. Only then do you really know whether it is worth "expanding the environmentally friendly local public transport in the western district of Offenbach," read the message on Friday. The further examination is not only about determining an ideal route and the stops, but also about many specific individual questions: for example, where on the route complicated intersections should be considered, which bridges or tunnels might be necessary and at which Transfer points an extended line 17 should ideally be linked with other existing modes of transport.

On Friday, Oesterling already knew how to reassure some residents who feared that the cityscape would be “spoiled” by masts and overhead lines. Modern vehicle technology allows trams to be disconnected from the grid and switched to battery operation, at least on short inner-city routes, if necessary.