60 interested citizens accepted the invitation of the Arheilgen SPD to a tour of the district on Saturday, 6 July 2024. The topic was the current situation and future development of the railway facilities between Darmstadt-Arheilgen and – Kranichstein. The main focus was on the planned ICE stabling and cleaning facility (ARA) and its impact on local residents during construction and operation. It also addressed the tense situation at the Jägertorstraße level crossing, whose closure times are trying the patience of many residents. Some residents fear that the construction of the ARA will lead to additional closures and an extension of the closure period.
The tour took the group from the level crossing along Steinstrasse to the former R1 points maintenance signal box and to the former marshalling yard sidings on which the ARA is to be built. The project managers from DB Fernverkehr AG, Theresa Bretscher and Markus Gottschang, who were also present, presented the current status of the plans. In a subsequent discussion round in the inner courtyard of Bahnwelt, questions from the audience were answered, concerns were addressed in detail and suggestions from the public were taken on board.
It was important to the SPD ‘to enter into dialogue with the people from the city districts, to objectify some of the discussions and to point out prospects for the site’, said Tim Sackreuther, Arheiliger SPD Chairman, to the newspaper ‘Arheilger Post’.

As a direct neighbour, Bahnwelt also took part in the citizens’ dialogue and was happy to make its premises available for the event, for which the SPD Arheilgen as organiser expressed its sincere thanks.