Bavarian Zugspitzbahn mountain railway

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Bavarian Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG

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legal form Corporation
founding 1998 (merger of Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG and Wankbahn AG)
Seat Garmisch-Partenkirchen
management Peter Huber (Operations Manager) and Matthias Stauch (Commercial Director )
Number of employees 276 (2010/11 season)
sales 32.6 million euros (2010/2011)
Branch Winter sports infrastructure, rail transport
Website www.zugspitze.de

The Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG is in 1998 from the merger of Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG and the Wank-Bahn AG Resulting carriers from Garmisch-Partenkirchen . In addition to the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn and the Wankbahn , the company also operates the Alpspitzbahn and the Zugspitze cable car . The company also owns several ski lifts around Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The owner of the "Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG" is the market town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen as the main shareholder.

Prehistory (1928–1998)

Bavarian Zugspitzbahn AG

Train in Eibsee Station (1960)
Global share for DM 10,000 of Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG from August 1977

The Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG was founded on June 18, 1928, the first section of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn began operating on December 19, 1929. Six months later, on July 8, 1930, the entire line was opened. Shortly afterwards, the expansion of the cable car systems on the Zugspitze began, so on January 20, 1931 the first glacier cable car to the Zugspitze summit was opened. In 1937 financial problems forced the then Österreichische Zugspitzbahn AG to sell its shares to Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG. The Austrian company was renamed Tiroler Zugspitzbahn after the takeover . After the Second World War , the Zugspitze ski area was expanded from 1949 with the opening of several ski lifts. After skiing had increasingly become a popular sport in the 1960s, the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG also expanded its facilities. So were z. B. built the Eibsee cable car and various ski lifts. In 1987 a new summit route of the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn went into operation directly on the Zugspitzplatt. Ten years later in 1997 the Garmisch-Partenkirchen market took over the shares in Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG from AGIV and in 1998 the company merged with Wank-Bahn AG to form Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG.

Wank-Bahn AG

Wank-Bahn AG was founded on July 26, 1928 by what was then Markt Partenkirchen. Operations began the following year on May 4, 1929. In 1940, the community handed over the local mountain railway to Wank-Bahn AG. After Garmisch-Partenkirchen was awarded the contract for the Alpine World Ski Championships in 1978 , a ski area with initially three lifts was built on the Wank, which was later expanded by a fourth lift. After considerations for a new Wankbahn had been going on since 1970, the new Wankbahn was put into operation in 1982. In 1998 the company was merged with Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG to form Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG.

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG (since 1998)

In 1999 the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG merged with the Kreuzeckbahn GmbH & Co. KG, so that almost all the mountain railways around Garmisch-Partenkirchen are owned by the market. In the following years, the company began to replace various older systems with newer ones. So were z. B. the Kreuzeckbahn (2002) and the Hausbergbahn (2006) replaced by modern orbits . In addition, several ski lifts were renewed. For the 2002/2003 season, the Wank ski area was closed due to a lack of demand, which is why the Wankbahn has only operated in summer since then. However, not only the mountain railways were renewed, but also the vehicle inventory of the rack railway with four double railcars from Stadler Rail modernized. The railway line also received new signaling equipment in 2007.

The worst accident on the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn occurred on June 10, 2000 when two trains collided head-on in the Katzenstein tunnel. 59 injuries were the result.

Ski areas

The Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn operates or operated three ski areas in the vicinity of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The ski area on the Wank was closed for the 2002/2003 winter season, so that only the Garmisch-Classic and Zugspitze areas are still in operation.

Garmisch-Classic

overview

Kandahar descent (2008)

The Garmisch-Classic ski area comprises 40 kilometers of slopes, which are spread over the three mountains Alpspitze , Hausberg and Kreuzeck . The most famous of the slopes is the Kandahar run , on which the annual Alpine Ski World Cup races take place. The ski area is accessed with a total of 19 lifts.

History
Skiing in the Classic area began with the construction of the Kreuzeckbahn in 1926. This facility was the first cable car in the German Alpine region . The first major event in the ski area was the 1936 Winter Olympics , where the downhill competitions were held on the Kreuzeck. In the following years, the facilities were further expanded with the construction of the Hausbergbahn, which was then the steepest surface lift in the world. From 1954, regular ski races in the form of the Arlberg-Kandahar race were held on the Kandahar run . In the 1960s, skiing developed more and more into a popular sport, which is why the Garmisch-Classic ski area was expanded with the construction of several new lifts. In addition, the old Hausbergbahn was replaced by an aerial tramway in 1969 . After the first Alpine Ski World Cup was held in 1967 , the Kandahar route became part of the program for the first time in the 1969/70 season . At the beginning of the 1970s, the ski area in the Alpspitz area was newly developed; a total of five tow lifts were built next to the Hochalmbahn . The connection to the Kreuzeck area is ensured by a ski path between the Hochalm and the Kreuzeckhaus. In 1973, the Alpspitzbahn, the last facility from the valley to the ski area to date, was completely redeveloped. The development of the Kandahar run was improved for the 1978 Alpine World Ski Championships . Since the 1990s, old lift systems have been increasingly replaced by new, more powerful systems, including a. in 1997 the Kreuzwanklbahn, which was replaced by the first 6-seater chairlift in Germany. In 2002 and 2006 respectively, the Kreuzeckbahn and the Hausbergbahn were replaced by new circulating cable cars . In 2009 the Kreuzjochbahn (2-CLF) was replaced by the Kandahar Express (4-CLD / B). The new chairlift is longer and at a middle station in the upper half you can get off in advance in order to bypass the very steep Trögel slope in the upper part of the Kandahar run.

Wank

overview

The Wankbahn

The ski area has been closed since 2002 and the facilities have been largely dismantled since 2010. The routes on the Wank were 9 km long and were accessed by the Wankbahn and five tow lifts . Since the ski area was closed, the Wankbahn has been operating almost exclusively in summer. The ski area was the only one of the areas of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn that was not in the Wettersteingebirge , but in the Estergebirge .

History
Skiing on the Wank began in 1972 with the completion of the Sonnenlift. In 1977 the ski area was expanded by three more tow lifts. The new routes on Wank were as alternative routes for the competitions in giant slalom of the Alpine World Skiing Championships in 1978 provided. A year later, the facilities on the Wank were completed with the commissioning of the Gschwand lift. The accessibility of the area was improved by the new construction of the Wankbahn with a higher transport capacity in 1982. The plants were closed in 2002 due to a lack of demand and almost completely dismantled in 2010.

Zugspitze

Overview
The Zugspitze ski area is located on the Zugspitzplatt at an altitude of 2000 to 2700 m, making it Germany's highest ski area. It is also the only glacier ski area in Germany, as some of the slopes run on the Schneeferner . The slopes are a total of 22 km long and are accessed by five ski lifts. The area can be reached with the Bavarian Zugspitzbahn , which ends directly in the ski area, the Zugspitze cable car and the Tyrolean Zugspitzbahn . For the last two lifts, however, you have to change to the Zugspitz-Gletscherbahn on the Zugspitze .

history

Multiple unit in Zugspitzplatt station

The first systems on the Platt were put into operation in 1949. At that time the ski area consisted of a large ski lift and several smaller ones. In 1956 and 1960, respectively, two more ski lifts followed, of which the first, the Schneefernerkopflift, was replaced by a new one in 1967. In the 1970s, the ski area was expanded considerably with the new Glacier Lake and Wetterwandeck tow lifts . In 1984, with the construction of the Brunntal drag lift, another expansion took place. In the following years there was extensive construction work on the Zugspitzplatt, when the Rosi tunnel of the rack railway, which leads directly to the Platt, and a new restaurant, the SonnAlpin , were opened. The restaurant was expanded in 1989. In addition, the New World drag lift was opened in 1987 . In 1992 the old glacier lift was replaced by a new one. In 2003 the old lift on the Sonnenkar was replaced by a new chairlift . In addition, the Neue Welt lift was shut down due to a lack of profitability. In 2012, a new chairlift was also built on the Wetterwandeck.

The Eibsee cable car , which opened in 1962, was replaced by the Zugspitze cable car in 2017 .

There are plans to connect the ski area on the Zugspitze with that on the Ehrwalder Alm by a tunnel and a new cable car. The construction costs would be around € 6 million.

Lift systems

Surname Type Length in meters Height of the valley station in meters Height difference in meters Conveying capacity (people per hour) area Remarks
Adamswiese SL 900 1170 160 1200 Garmisch-Classic
Alpspitzbahn PB 3810 750 1287 500 Garmisch-Classic Delivery rate per hour and direction
Baby lift 2 SL 110 1320 20th 600 Garmisch-Classic
Baby lift 3 SL 175 1330 10 600 Garmisch-Classic
Baby lift 2 SL 70 1330 10 600 Garmisch-Classic
Bernadein SL 1000 1500 20th 600 Garmisch-Classic
Brunntal SL 1100 2000 300 1440 Zugspitze
New world 2- SB 350 2680 150 1200 Zugspitze Closed in 2003
Esterberg SL 950 350 1200 Wank Dismantled in 2010; Source: Lift database: Esterberglift
Summit lift SL 450 1750 80 1200 Wank Dismantled in 2010; Source: lift database: summit lift
Glacier railway PB 1000 2588 360 1000 Zugspitze Delivery rate per hour and direction
Glacial lake SL 760 2560 140 2400 Zugspitze reduced
Gschwandt SL 340 80 1200 Wank Dismantled in 2010; Source: Lift database: Gschwandtlift
Hausbergbahn EUB 2085 740 605 2400 Garmisch-Classic Delivery rate per hour and direction
Cauldron 2- SB 450 1540 100 1400 Garmisch-Classic
Hochalmbahn PB 900 1700 350 750 Garmisch-Classic Delivery rate per hour and direction
Kreuzeckbahn 2S 2304 760 875 1400 Garmisch-Classic Delivery rate per hour and direction
Kandahar Express 4- SB 1476 1165 593 2009 Garmisch-Classic
Kreuzwankl Ski Express 6- SB 1030 1320 180 2000 Garmisch-Classic Germany's first 6-seater chairlift
Length fields 1 2- SB 820 1620 260 1100 Garmisch-Classic
Length fields 2 SL 380 1700 140 600 Garmisch-Classic
Olympia SL 840 1180 250 1200 Garmisch-Classic until 2008, replaced by the new Kandahar Express
Rosswank SL 450 130 1200 Wank Dismantled in 2010; Source: Lift database: Roßwanklift
Schneeernerkopf SL 790 2560 160 2000 Zugspitze
Zugspitze cable car PB 4467 998 1945 580 Zugspitze Delivery rate per hour and direction
Sonnenkar 6- SB 950 2303 285 2200 Zugspitze
Sun lift SL 200 80 800 Wank Dismantled in 2010; Source: Lift database: Sonnenlift
Trögl SL 425 1340 120 1200 Garmisch-Classic
Wankbahn EUB 3195 740 1015 800 Wank Source: Lift database: Wankbahn
White valley SL 1250 2300 350 1200 Zugspitze
Wetterwandeck SL 1200 2400 300 2400 Zugspitze Replaced in 2012 by a 6-seater chairlift

Owners and holdings

Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG is 100% owned by the Garmisch-Partenkirchen municipal utility. The company itself has a 50% stake in Eibsee-Verkehrs GmbH & Co. KG, which operates the Eibsee buses .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annual financial statements as of October 31, 2011
  2. ↑ Transport companies in the Bavarian railway state ( Memento from September 28, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Aktiensammler 01/11, p. 16, ISSN  1611-8006
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h Milestones of the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG (PDF; 413 kB) on zugspitze.de.
  5. ↑ Wank ski area on skiwelt.de, last accessed on August 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ Zugspitze ski area on zugspitze.de, last accessed on August 14, 2013.
  7. ↑ Lift database: Neue Welt on lift-world.info, last accessed on August 14, 2013.
  8. ↑ A skier's tunnel on the Zugspitze on merkur-online.de, last accessed on August 14, 2013.
  9. ↑ Lift database: Kreuzwankl-Ski-Express. lift-world.info, accessed on August 5, 2013 .
  10. ↑ organizational structure. Municipal Works Garmisch-Partenkirchen, accessed on August 5, 2013 .