- Four weeks ago, the old Castieler viaduct on the RhB line between Chur and Arosa was blown up. Now the federal government is getting involved.
- The Federal Office of Transport (BAV) announced that it explicitly excluded blasting when granting the demolition permit.
- The BAV has now asked the Rhaetian Railway to clarify the effects of the explosion on the environment.
The criticism of the Federal Office of Transport relates to the approval process. The Federal Office of Transport should have explicitly approved the demolition in the planning approval process. That did not happen.
On the contrary: According to its own statement, the federal government informed the RhB in advance that blasting was not allowed. So was the blasting illegal?
The RhB applied for conventional demolition without blasting. The BAV approved this. Michael Müller, media spokesperson for the Federal Office of Transport, told RTR: “The RhB expressly ruled out blasting for the dismantling of the Castieler viaduct. The fact that blasting was carried out now, despite this, contradicts this approval and is therefore illegal.”
The Graubünden public prosecutor’s office is currently conducting preliminary investigations to determine whether criminal offenses have been committed.
Construction company recommended blasting for safety reasons
The canton of Graubünden announced that there was nothing against a demolition. But this is not enough, says BAV spokesman Michael Müller: “Construction and dismantling of railway facilities must be approved by the BAV as part of a so-called planning approval procedure. The sole statement of a cantonal authority is not enough.”
After the demolition project was put out to public tender, a construction company recommended demolition – for safety reasons. The RhB then examined the impact on the environment with various authorities and experts and received the green light. And as a result, demolition took place, says Christian Florin, Head of Infrastructure at the RhB.
You have to learn from such mistakes and make improvements in the future.
The railway should have consulted the Federal Office of Transport again, because originally only conventional demolition without blasting was approved. “We simply forgot about this. We assumed that this was OK because all the authorities concerned had agreed. The federal government also relies on these authorities.”
Christian Florin of the RhB says: “We have to learn from such mistakes and make a change in the future.” The Rhaetian Railway has now commissioned an independent environmental expert who, together with the Office for Nature and the Environment, will examine how environmentally friendly the demolition of the Castieler viaduct was.
The Federal Office has requested a statement from the RhB and will then decide how to proceed.