water. The board of Deutsche Bundesbahn selected the first option for the high-speed line on 8 March 1991. The selection of the current location meant a comparatively small expenditure at the cost of a missing link to the transport network and a secluded position; it also necessitated the construction of the Limburg tunnel through a water protection zone. The station would be built at a green-field location about 2.5 km southeast of the city centre and close to the A 3. The traffic forecast assumed that 90 percent of rail passengers would use cars to reach or leave the station, connecting with ICEs. Prior to a decision of the Rhine route in the Federal Cabinet, the then premier of Rhineland-Palatinate, Carl-Ludwig Wagner 1989 called for a so-called option S in an interview in July. This envisaged a right bank route taking a sharp curve from Dernbach through a tunnel and a bridge over the Rhine to Koblenz before taking another a sharp curve back over another Rhine crossing to a purely right bank route to Frankfurt. The estimated additional costs of this option were DM 1.3 to 2.8 billion (about €0.7 to 1.4 billion). The Federal Transport Minister, Friedrich Zimmermann spoke of a "provincial farce" and suggested, as a compromise, the establishment of a high-speed station in Limburg to provide a connection with Koblenz. In addition to the establishment of the station, the compromise proposal provided for a package of other railway infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate. The then Deutsche Bundesbahn initially accepted the route via Limburg and Vilich in order to prevent further delays to the project. Planning The regional planning approval process of the Giessen region was commenced for the section in January 1991 and completed in July 1994. Thus the position of the station in Limburg was established. The Eschhofen variation, which provided for an eastern curve around the city, was introduced into the planning approval process. The station was part of zoning section 31.3, which stretched from the Limburg tunnel to the town limits. At the end of 1994, the facility was designed with five tracks. The planning approval was issued on 25 June 1997. It was based on a design by the Berlin architects Weinkamm. As planned in 1995, Limburg Süd and Montabaur would be among five stations on the new Cologne–Rhine/Main line. Deutsche Bahn, the town of Limburg and the State of Hesse ran a competition