As of: February 1, 2024, 7:30 a.m
By: Christian Fellner
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Some people were hoping for the cog railway to get the traffic situation on the way to Eibsee under control.
But nothing will come of it.
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Everyone is longing for a solution to the annoying chaos on Eibseestrasse.
The district council recently said that the BZB should provide relief.
But the company waves it off.
The train capacities are exhausted.
Grainau/Garmisch-Partenkirchen – Next summer is definitely coming.
David Schwinghammer, district councilor and former second mayor of Grainau, predicted at a meeting in the old year that 2024 might be the “worst of all times” for his hometown.
Of course, he alluded to the traffic chaos around the Eibsee.
Everyone longs for a solution, but it is not in sight.
Since the Eibsee bus was announced to be discontinued, the district has also taken up the issue, and the district council recently decided to have the situation examined.
There should be a traffic report – as quickly as possible.
Because there are too many catches for all previous ideas that are intended to improve the situation.
Road closure?
Not possible.
Toll road?
It's only possible as a private road, but everyone is afraid of the millions of dollars in maintenance.
Cable car?
Who should pay for that?
Many district politicians saw an intensification of rail transport as the most effective solution.
The tenor: The Zugspitzbahn should relieve pressure on Eibseestrasse.
A discussion that has so far been conducted in public bypassing those responsible at Bayerische Zugspitzbahn AG.
Board member Matthias S Tauch quickly removes the basis for it in the Tagblatt conversation: “Realistically speaking, the rail will not be the solution for the Eibsee.” Economically and technically, expansion is hardly feasible.
The BZB prefers a shuttle service with buses.
Two-track expansion: land not in your own hands
Basically, S Tauch is happy that many people - he includes the mobility working group of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen market - are now thinking even more intensively about the situation.
“It's very positive, and also the fact that we're being involved because we can straighten out a lot of things based on practical experience.” However, he dampens his hopes, especially when it comes to the time factor: “There is no quick solution to the problem.” His eyes are hanging a lot in the supra-regional infrastructure projects.
What is needed is a reliable Deutsche Bahn as a partner, the Kramer Tunnel and a largely traffic-free Eibseestrasse.
“As long as nothing happens, we will always only have pieces.”
Mario Lanzenhofer, head of logistics and operations manager of the rack railway, considers the proposal to simply expand the BZB valley railway to two tracks and to shift all traffic to the rails to be unrealistic.
“We don’t have the land for that.” Especially in Hammersbach or Grainau, the development often extends right up to the tracks.
Free spaces?
None.
There’s no need to even talk about costs.
“I don't even dare estimate how much a second track to Eibsee would cost.” He knows this more precisely when it comes to train sets.
The BZB has ten of them, and on high-frequency days they are all in use to ensure a 30-minute cycle.
“One of them costs around eleven to twelve million euros.”
BZB with sophisticated logistics
Another problem: a frequency shorter than 30 minutes is not possible.
“We can’t fit that into the time frame,” emphasizes Lanzenhofer.
There are only four alternative points for trains to meet between Garmisch-Partenkirchen train station and the Zugspitze/Sonnalpin terminus.
A third argument speaks against rail as a remedy: the corporate goals of Zugspitzbahn AG.
“We can’t transport an endless number of people,” says S Tauch.
Those responsible must not reduce their actual business, the transport of visitors to Germany's highest mountain, to absurdity.
“We have to get our full-paying guests up to the Zugspitze; that is our challenge.” In the summer, the BZB is already issuing place tickets for the cog railway, which guarantee a Zugspitz guest the opportunity to take part in a mountain journey by train.
The cable car stops when there are 4,000 to 4,500 visitors per day.
Ticket sales will then stop and information systems on the way to Garmisch-Partenkirchen will inform arriving guests.
The limit is necessary because: “We have to get people back down from the mountain.”
Collective parking spaces in the area of the Kramertunnel south portal
The logistics behind the transports are sophisticated.
“On a beautiful summer day we also have 600 to 700 mountaineers who arrive at the top and want to be transported down to the valley,” notes Lanzenhofer.
Hikers stand at the Eibsee in the evening and take the cog railway down to the valley to return home.
All of this has to be accomplished.
“And we want to offer high quality transportation.”
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All in all: The train is absolutely maxed out at the BZB, especially on the days of overpopulation at the Eibsee - there are said to be around 70 per year, 50 of them in summer.
That's why Lanzenhofer basically only sees a real solution to get the traffic situation better under control.
“The approach is to get the street somewhat free of traffic and to transport people with a bus shuttle system.” He imagines collective parking spaces in the area of the south portal of the Kramer Tunnel to intercept the cars in the valley.
This is the only way to better manage the rush, which has increased significantly in the future due to the 49 euro ticket for public transport, especially for the bus connection to Eibsee.
Traffic management system: information boards
The Bavarian Zugspitzbahn has been committed to improving the traffic situation on Lake Eibsee for many years.
“We were the first in town to tackle steering,” emphasizes board member Matthias S Tauch.
The company installed fixed, now digital information boards from Oberau.
This will also be communicated if there are no more tickets available for the Zugspitze.
There is also a parking guidance system and mobile stands on site on busy days.
“In the past ten years we have spent several hundred thousand euros, and we now have a six-figure annual budget for steering measures.” We are open to continuing to support sensible approaches in the future.
The BZB is in close contact with the police and the Eibsee Hotel about the information on the boards.
S Tauch has gained an insight: “The earlier we inform people, the better, and the higher their ability to suffer.” But that doesn't change the fact that many people continue to ignore the information.