The Pfaffenwinkelbahn demands a lot of patience from its customers: after the train service between Weilheim and Peißenberg was recently put on hold, the section towards Schongau was now causing problems.
District - Even sunshine and summer temperatures had a hard time putting a smile on the faces of commuters between Weilheim and Schongau. Anyone who passed the Peißenberg train station at the beginning of the week most likely experienced deja vu.
Questioning faces crowd around the bike racks, frowning as they compare the departure boards with the notifications on their smartphones. Buses stop, let passengers off and leave again - “Lunch break” is the message from the open window. Especially with the unusually high temperatures, everyone is sure to treat the bus drivers to a siesta.
Train cancellations on the Pfaffenwinkelbahn: chaos even off the rails
However, this doesn't get passengers to their destination any faster on their way to work. After almost half an hour, the first people finally pull out their cell phones, call taxis, family or friends and soon disappear in all directions. Like the last bastion of hope, only a handful of optimists hold out in the shadow of the station building. You can practically smell the resignation of the commuters. But maybe a bus will come after all.
Although the BRB assured that it was trying to organize regular replacement services, the short-term concept was still clearly struggling with teething problems at the beginning of the week. By the time two oncoming buses stop on the main road to discuss a change in departure times through the window, it becomes clear: there's a worm in here somewhere. “We are in contact with the bus companies,” assured Annette Luckner, press spokeswoman for the BRB. But even she isn't always aware of what's going on on the streets between the market town and Lechstadt.
The BRB is still waiting for a statement from the infrastructure manager
“And when does the replacement service leave Schongau?” the confused commuters can be heard asking. On the website it says "at around xx:30 p.m.", in the Deutsche Bahn app the original departure time of the train has simply been adopted and the bus drivers, who agreed during work, agreed on Tuesday on "ten minutes before full time." Hour". Given such divergent information, the evening journey home turned into a gamble for many commuters.
But where on the Paffenwinkelbahn is the proverbial dog buried? “We don’t know ourselves,” Annette Luckner regretted. On the BRB website there is talk of “road damage”. “I can’t say anything more precise,” explained Luckner, referring to DB-InfraGO, which has been struggling with the dilapidated infrastructure on the branch line for months.
Lots of people on the bus: students are the main victims
Even the BRB was waiting for a statement from the infrastructure manager. There was no time forecast. The BRB also did not yet know whether and when a machine apparently needed for the repair work would arrive at the scene. Bridge construction work will soon be underway between Peißenberg and Weilheim. Although the Regiobahn has already worked out a replacement timetable for a long time, it remains to be seen to what extent the bus companies, which are already suffering from a lack of staff, will be able to cope with the rail replacement that has currently become necessary in many places. The RVO spoke of five regional route sections on which replacement traffic is at least being considered.
Two to three buses are currently commuting between Schongau and Peißenberg, said RVO employee Beate Lechner and spoke about another problem. People who normally take the train would now increasingly crowd into the scheduled buses. The victims here are again students who sometimes no longer find space in the buses that are bursting at the seams. “We get buses from God knows where,” she said, underlining the efforts to meet the requirements. Lechner suspected that a “bit of a difficult time” could be expected in the next week or two. However, she also complained about a lack of information regarding the track problem.
By the way: Everything from the region is also available in our regular Schongau newsletter. And in our Weilheim-Penzberg newsletter.
On Wednesday afternoon, a new message suddenly appeared on the BRB website and announced something surprising. Train services are scheduled to resume on Thursday (April 11). Good news – for commuters and bus drivers.
The local newspapers in the Weilheim-Schongau district are represented on Instagram under “merkur_wm_sog”.