The police in Stuttgart intervened against the blockade of the train station construction

Stuttgart - The police in Stuttgart, Germany intervened last night against the blockade of the construction of a new railway station. About 600 opponents of the Stuttgart 21 project occupied the construction site during the night and set up barricades. The police removed these and cleared the area by morning, where around 300 protesters had refused to leave. The others obeyed the police's calls and voluntarily cleared the vicinity of the southern wing of the old station.
    Around 03:00 CET, according to authorities, about 1,900 police officers were deployed to close off the area in front of the southern wing designated for demolition. Initially, about 600 opponents of the controversial megaproject participated in the sit-in blockade. In the early morning, police began to carry away the defiant protesters. Before that, riot police removed barricades made of wood, cardboard, and pieces of furniture.
    The intervention was carried out without major incidents according to DPA, and after clearing the area, police secured it with fencing. Two demonstrators were arrested for possession of tear gas and insults.
    German Railways, Deutsche Bahn, plan to demolish the southern wing in the coming days. However, according to opponents, it is not yet necessary. The northern wing was already demolished in August 2010.
    Authorities do not want to allow an escalation similar to what happened during the felling of surrounding trees at the end of September 2010. At that time, more than 100 people were injured during a police operation involving water cannons and pepper spray.
    The project for a modern underground station at a cost of at least 4.1 billion euros (over 100 billion crowns) was approved last year by local residents in a referendum. This was declared by the government of the state of Baden-Württemberg due to months of protests from critics of the new construction, who claim it will cost much more than the authorities state. However, they were unsuccessful in the vote that could have halted it.
    The new transport hub in the metropolis of southwestern Germany is intended to ease traffic in downtown Stuttgart and speed up international connections. The station is to be connected to the planned line for ICE express trains.