Blooming Landscapes

Climate adaptation measures at VGF

VGF is implementing a wide range of measures to help the city adapt to climate change. The focus is on introducing greenery at bus stops and along railway tracks, which also helps to improve the urban climate, reduce noise and store rainwater.
 

Green stops

It all began in 2021 with the ‘Börneplatz / Stoltzestraße’ bus stop. As part of this pilot project, the roofs of two bus shelters were extensively greened. Sedum was used – a particularly hardy and insect-friendly genus of plant that not only produces beautiful flowers but also makes an important ecological contribution.
Sedum plants are insect-friendly; they filter traffic-related particulate matter from the air, thereby actively helping to improve air quality. They also cool the air during hot weather. The plants grow in special trays filled with growing medium. This serves simultaneously as a nutrient-rich substrate, a water reservoir and a drainage system – meaning that extensive watering is hardly necessary. In addition to the environmental benefits, the green bus stop is also a real eye-catcher and enhances the quality of the public space.
In February 2021, VGF officially unveiled the first ‘Green Bus Stop’ at the ‘Börneplatz / Stoltzestraße’ stop. Since then, the concept has been consistently rolled out: over 30 bus shelters across the city are now fitted with sedum green roofs – including well-known locations such as Louisa railway station, Stresemannallee / Mörfelder Landstraße and Lokalbahnhof / Textorstraße.
This is a clear step towards climate adaptation: all new ‘Xe-non’ bus shelters will be fitted with a green roof as standard. Plans are in place to build 72 green bus shelters at bus and tram stops by 2028.
 

Green track

The VGF network is also set to become greener between stops. Green tracks will be used more widely, for example on new lines or during the complete refurbishment of sections of track, provided this makes sense from an environmental, urban planning and economic perspective. In the past, various types of track bed construction and different types of planting have been used and tested for their durability. The VGF continuously assesses the implementation of further green tracks, using its internal green track concept as a basis. When older tracks are due for refurbishment, the VGF always assesses whether a grass track can be installed. If the outcome is positive, or if no shared lanes with buses are planned for the section of track, the type of track bed and the vegetation are determined, and a cost estimate is drawn up on this basis. For economic reasons, however, it is not possible to replace a fully functional, intact track system simply to turn it into a ‘green corridor’.

To date, 12 of the nearly 69 km of tram operating track on the VGF network have been planted with vegetation (e.g. along the exhibition centre or Stresemannallee). In 2019, sedum was planted along a 900-metre stretch between the “Niederrad Bahnhof” and “Triftstraße” tram stops. In 2022, the points at the entrance to the exhibition centre loop were replaced. As part of this work, the points and the tracks between the two crossings in the Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage were greened.

In addition, as part of a further comprehensive track refurbishment project, around 810 metres of track on Wittelsbacher Allee have been greened since October 2022. By autumn 2024, the greening of around 400 metres of track between Industriehof and Große Nelkenstraße had been completed; furthermore, in 2024, the green track section between the Varrentrappstraße and Nauheimer Straße stops was renewed as part of a construction project. The section across Riedberg, which opened in December 2010, is something of an ‘oddity’ as it is a light rail line, whilst the U8 and U9 underground lines operate here. Together with the sidings at the Ost depot, this route is around four kilometres long.