Landsberg am Lech – Schongau railway line

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Landsberg (Lech) –Schongau
Section of the Landsberg am Lech – Schongau railway line
Route number : 5365
Course book section (DB) : 404a (old) , 982 (1984)
Route length: 28,700 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Route class : D4
Maximum slope : 22.5  ‰
Minimum radius : 190 m
Top speed: 50 km / h
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 from Kaufering
Station, station
 0.000 Landsberg (Lech) 586 m
   
 2.500 Initially Erpfting-Friedheim
   
 3.400 Erpfting-Friedheim
   
 5.300 Ellighofen (demand stop)
   
 7.900 Unterdießen 638 m
   
 9.100 Oberdießen (until 1928)
Blockstelle, Awanst, Anst etc.
 12.075 Asch-Leeder ( Anst , former train station ) 655 m
Blockstelle, Awanst, Anst etc.
 15.632 Denklingen (Schwab) (Anst, former train station) 684 m
Blockstelle, Awanst, Anst etc.
 20,114 Kinsau (Anst, former train station) 713 m
   
 Kinsau cog railway (1907–1929)
   
 24.200 Hohenfurch
   
 from Kaufbeuren
Station, station
 28,700 Schongau 681 m
Route - straight ahead
 to Peißenberg
Swell:

The Landsberg am Lech – Schongau railway line , also known as the Fuchstalbahn , is a single-track branch line in Bavaria . It leads from Landsberg am Lech via Fuchstal , Denklingen and Hohenfurch to Schongau . The railway line was built with freight traffic in mind, so that most of the stations are over a kilometer from the eponymous location.

VT 225 "Peiting" of the Bayerische Regiobahn in Schongau station on the Fuchstalbahn special trip, August 2009
north of Schongau, around 1900
north of Schongau, May 2014
Former Hohenfurch train station, April 2014

Building and operating history

On November 1, 1872, the Buchloe – Kaufering – Landsberg am Lech line was opened. Landsberg was thus connected to the Ludwig-Süd-Nord-Bahn . The Buchloe – Kaufering section is now part of the Bavarian Allgäu Railway . The remaining 4.83 kilometers lead from Kaufering to Landsberg am Lech. The Fuchstalbahn continues 28.71 kilometers to Schongau and was opened to traffic on November 16, 1886.

A connecting line between Kaufering and Bobingen (Augsburg) was opened as early as 1877 . Landsberg am Lech station thus became the interface between the Lechfeldbahn Augsburg – Landsberg and the Fuchstalbahn Landsberg – Schongau .

From 1907 to 1929 there was a connection to the Kinsau cogwheel railway at Kinsau station , which, as a works railway , connected the wood pulp factory on the Lech with the Fuchstalbahn.

In 1984 the regular passenger traffic on this route was stopped, while the goods traffic has been carried out continuously since 1998 by the Augsburg Local Railway . Currently (as of the end of 2018) two pairs of trains are in regular operation every day. After the annual transport volume fell from 1.2 million to 840,000 tonnes in 2012-2018, the Augsburg local railway withdrew from this route and DB Cargo took over operations at the beginning of 2019. All previous customers will continue to be served unchanged.

The line owner DB Netz renovated most of the line in 2010-2013 and replaced the tracks and sleepers. In October 2013, the remains of the platform in the former Hohenfurch train station were dismantled. However, the renovation was canceled before the southern section of the Hohenfurch – Schongau route had its turn.

Special trips

The association Initiative Fuchstalbahn e. V. organized occasional special trips in cooperation with railway companies up to 2015, both with historic steam trains and with modern multiple units (for example on the summer vacation weekends 2009 with a railcar of the Bavarian Regiobahn ), most recently in July 2015 with a historic rail bus of the VT 98 series . In April 2018 the association decided to dissolve it. The special rail bus trips have since been organized by Bahnpark Augsburg and carried out in October 2018 and September 2019.

Discussion about decommissioning

Rumors of a shutdown were contradicted in newspaper reports in 2018, but according to a newspaper report from September 2019, the existence of the line was "not yet one hundred percent secured". At the end of November 2019, however, an assurance from Deutsche Bahn was reported that a shutdown was "off the table".

Possible reactivation of passenger traffic

In contrast to the ever increasing volume of traffic on the parallel federal highway 17 and the positive migration balance to the regions around Munich , especially the Lech region , the Fuchstalbahn e. V. to resume passenger traffic on the route until it is dissolved in 2018.

In 2002, an expert opinion had positively assessed the reactivation of passenger traffic, but the Bavarian state government rejected this because of the cost of rebuilding the infrastructure, which at the time was estimated at 10–13 million euros. In mid-2013, the Landsberg am Lech district also supported the reactivation demands. However, concerns were raised in the municipality of Landsberg am Lech u. a. because of the frequent closure of the railway barriers over main roads in the city. In mid-2013, the need to obtain an updated report was discussed, half of which was financed by the Landsberg district and the Weilheim-Schongau district and should be available in 2014. As of December 2013, however, it was not commissioned. In February 2014, the Bavarian Transport Minister Joachim Herrmann expressed his refusal to allow the Bavarian Railway Company responsible for planning, financing and control of local rail transport to participate in such an opinion. In mid-2014, the infrastructure costs - setting up the necessary stops, securing the level crossings and corresponding safety technology ( line signal box ) - were estimated at around 20 million euros, which would have to be borne in large part by the municipalities involved.

According to a newspaper report from August 2016, in addition to other prerequisites, a potential of at least one thousand travelers per working day, as proven by a reliable forecast, is required; The competent authorities would have "considerable doubts" about this because of the relatively sparse settlement of the region, the remote location of many train stations and the good quality of expansion of the parallel federal highway 17. An application by the FDP in the Bavarian state parliament to overturn this criterion failed on 6. November 2019.

According to a statement made in October 2017 by the managing director of the Bavarian Railway Company, Johann Niggl, reactivating passenger traffic on the Fuchstalbahn is "no longer an issue". According to newspaper reports from July 2016 and July 2019, representatives of the communities along the route are now skeptical about such a project. On October 25, 2019, however, the district council of the Weilheim-Schongau district voted unanimously in favor of reactivating passenger transport.

Possible stop at Schongau-Nord

There are considerations to let the trains running on the Pfaffenwinkelbahn from Weilheim to Schongau station continue on the route of the Fuchstalbahn north to a new Schongau-Nord stop near the Schongau hospital . The costs for this are estimated at 20 million euros, of which 18 million would go to the construction of the Schongau signal box that would then be required. In addition, the establishment of a turning facility and special construction measures are necessary because of the location on a slope. The establishment of the stop could require a reallocation of the Schongau – Schongau-Nord section to the Weilheim – Schongau line at the expense of the Fuchstalbahn, so that there is no talk of a partial reactivation of passenger traffic on the latter line, which would be politically problematic.

literature

  • Peter Rasch: The branch lines between Ammersee, Lech and Wertach. With the Ammerseebahn, Pfaffenwinkelbahn & Co around the Bavarian Rigi . EOS-Verlag, Sankt Ottilien 2011, ISBN 978-3-8306-7455-9 , p. 216-243 .
  • Manfred Hofer: The railway in Schongau . Ed .: City of Schongau. Schongau 1986.

Web links

Commons : Landsberg am Lech – Schongau railway line  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ DB Netz AG: Infrastructure Register. In: geovdbn.deutschebahn.com , accessed on April 14, 2020.
  2. ^ Rasch: The branch lines between Ammersee, Lech and Wertach . 2011, p. 227-241 .
  3. ^ Hofer: The railway in Schongau . 1986, p. 20 .
  4. ^ Hofer: The railway in Schongau . 1986, p. 24 .
  5. ^ Rasch: The branch lines between Ammersee, Lech and Wertach . 2011, p. 244-248 .
  6. ↑ a b c Jörg von Rohland: Fuchstalbahn: DB takes over. merkur.de, November 28, 2018, accessed on December 3, 2018 .
  7. ↑ a b Bavaria: Concern for the Fuchstalbahn. LOK Report , May 22, 2019, accessed November 9, 2019 .
  8. ↑ New tracks for the Fuchstalbahn. In: merkur.de. May 27, 2010, accessed November 11, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Railway tracks between Hohenfurch and Kinsau will be replaced. In: merkur.de. September 26, 2013, accessed April 7, 2014 .
  10. ↑ Hohenfurch's gate to the world is closed. In: merkur.de. October 6, 2013, accessed April 7, 2014 .
  11. ↑ Oliver Sommer: Birthday party as rail bus premiere. merkur.de, June 30, 2015, accessed June 30, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Andreas Hoehne: The old rail bus is returning. Augsburger Allgemeine, July 1, 2015, accessed on July 2, 2015 .
  13. ↑ Jörg von Rohland: After more than 20 years - Fuchstalbahn: Association dissolves. Merkur online, April 17, 2018, accessed on April 18, 2018 .
  14. ↑ The Fuchstalbahn initiative is running out of steam. Augsburger Allgemeine, April 15, 2018, accessed April 19, 2018 .
  15. ↑ Jörg von Rohland: 700 enthusiastic passengers - the Fuchstalbahn becomes a tourist attraction. Merkur online, October 24, 2018, accessed October 25, 2018 .
  16. ↑ a b Sebastian Tauchnitz: The district makes a clear commitment to the Fuchstalbahn. Merkur Online, November 3, 2019, accessed November 5, 2019 .
  17. ↑ Rumors about the Fuchstalbahn. Augsburger Allgemeine, October 4, 2018, accessed October 4, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Max Edinger: Fuchstalbahn drives into an uncertain future. In: merkur.de. September 24, 2019, accessed September 25, 2019 .
  19. ↑ Boris Forstner: The closure of the Fuchstalbahn is off the table. In: merkur.de. November 22, 2019, accessed November 23, 2019 .
  20. ^ Tyll-Patrick Albrecht: Fuchstalbahn, the missing link for profitable local rail transport. (PDF) Initiative Fuchstalbahn e. V., April 24, 2014, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on January 15, 2015 .
  21. ↑ The report on reactivating the Fuchstalbahn is very positive. Forum Bahnhof Geltendorf, March 20, 2002, accessed on January 14, 2015 .
  22. ↑ No money from the Free State for Fuchstalbahn. Allgäuer Zeitung, October 29, 2002, accessed on January 15, 2015 .
  23. ↑ Janina Bauch: Fuchstalbahn and Stadtbahn from a single source? Kreisbote , September 5, 2013, accessed on November 11, 2013 .
  24. ↑ Dieter Schöndorfer, Andreas Hoehne: An alternative for commuters. Augsburger Allgemeine, October 5, 2013, accessed January 14, 2015 .
  25. ^ After a conversation with Minister Zeil: New report for the Fuchstalbahn. Merkur Online, July 28, 2013, accessed November 11, 2013 .
  26. ↑ Written request from MPs Markus Ganserer, Martin Stümpfig, Christine Kamm from November 7th, 2013 - answer from the Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Transport, from December 6th, 2013. (PDF) Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen parliamentary group in the Bavarian State Parliament, December 6, 2013, p. 2 (point 7) , archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on January 14, 2015 .
  27. ↑ a b Boris Forstner: The end of the Fuchstalbahn? - Unpleasant railroad letter from the minister. Kreisbote, February 8, 2014, accessed on January 14, 2015 .
  28. ↑ Concept for environmentally friendly rail projects throughout Bavaria. (PDF) Bund Naturschutz, August 22, 2014, p. 11 (point 26) , accessed on November 25, 2017 .
  29. ↑ Johannes Jais: The prerequisites are missing. Kreisbote , August 16, 2016, accessed October 4, 2018 .
  30. ↑ Jörg von Rohland: The reactivation criteria remain: Bad tickets for the Fuchstalbahn. Merkur Online, November 7, 2019, accessed November 9, 2019 .
  31. ^ A b Rasso Schorer: Future of the Fuchstalbahn: Resolutions in the district and state parliament. Kreisbote , November 11, 2019, accessed on November 11, 2019 .
  32. ↑ a b Boris Forstner: Hospital stop costs 20 million euros. Merkur Online, October 27, 2017, accessed October 29, 2017 .
  33. ↑ Gerald Modlinger: The Fuchstalbahn goes to the siding. Augsburger Allgemeine, July 13, 2016, accessed October 30, 2017 .
  34. ↑ Jörg von Rohland: Passenger traffic is supposed to revive, but the communities are standing crosswise. Merkur Online, July 19, 2019, accessed July 20, 2019 .