Overview
- The Bürgerschaft voted by a large majority of the 44 members present to exclude a tram from the city’s long-term Verkehrsentwicklungsplan.
- CDU, SPD, FDP and AfD opposed the scheme, with the SPD favoring a Regio-S-Bahn alternative, while the Greens and local advocates criticized the decision.
- City documents estimate about €640 million for infrastructure plus €171 million for vehicles and €95 million for a depot, calculated at 2022 prices.
- The administration warned the network would require complete street rebuilds with extensive under- and overground works, causing significant disruption.
- A city-commissioned analysis had outlined four lines totaling roughly 40 kilometers and found a tram would better support climate and modal-shift targets than expanding buses.