Munich–Rosenheim railway

Munich–Rosenheim
Overview
Native name	Bahnstrecke München-Rosenheim
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger/freight rail Regional rail, Commuter rail, Intercity rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Bavaria, Germany
Termini	Munich Rosenheim
Stations	20
Line number	5510 Munich–Rosenheim 5555 M-Berg am Laim–Grafing
Operation
Opened	15 October 1871
Owner	Deutsche Bahn
Operator(s)	DB Bahn, DB Regio, Munich S-Bahn Bayerische Oberlandbahn EuroCity, Austrian Federal Railways
Technical
Line length	64.9 km (40.3 mi)
Number of tracks	Double track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz AC
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph)
Route number	950 / 951
Route map Legend to Munich East 0.0 Munich Hbf terminus Start of City-Tunnel (S-Bahn trunk line) 0.8 München Hackerbrücke Connection to S-Bahn line 1.6 München Donnersbergerbrücke S-Bahn Hbf–Pasing to Ingolstadt, Landshut, Starnberg, Lindau & Augsburg 3.4 München-Heimeranplatz to Holzkirchen Old fairground tunnel 330m[1] 5.4 Munich South Merging of freight and passenger tracks to Wolfratshausen Braunau Railway Bridge (Isar) End of City Tunnel from Deisenhofen München Ost branch 9.7 0.0 Munich East terminus 1.1 München Leuchtenbergring Flughafen-S-Bahn junction 2.4 München-Berg am Laim 2.7 M-Steinhausen S-Bahn depot to Munich Airport 2.8 0.0 to Mühldorf (M-Berg am Laim junction) from Munich North marshalling yard 14.6 2.0 München-Trudering 4.8 Gronsdorf 20.0 7.4 Haar 9.9 Vaterstetten 11.7 Baldham 27.9 15.3 Zorneding 17.7 Eglharting 32.5 19.9 Kirchseeon 37.6 25.0 Grafing to Glonn to Wasserburg 40.7 Oberelkofen 45.0 Aßling 51.9 Ostermünchen 59.0 Großkarolinenfeld to Mühldorf to Holzkirchen 64.9 Rosenheim Mangfall to Kufstein (Rosenheim Curve) to Salzburg Source: German railway atlas[2]

The Munich–Rosenheim railway is a 65 kilometre-long double-track main line of the German railways. It connects Munich Central Station with Rosenheim station, where it connects with the Rosenheim–Salzburg railway, which connects with the line to Vienna at Salzburg, and the line to Kufstein, which continues to Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy. The line is part of the Magistrale for Europe, connecting Paris with Bratislava and Budapest and the almost identical line 17 of Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T). It is part of the line 1 of TEN-T. It is electrified at 15 kV, 16.7 Hz. It was opened between Munich and Rosenheim in 1871.

History

Already in the 1860s, it was clear that the Mangfall Valley Railway (German: Mangfalltalbahn), which had been opened between 1854 and 1857, could no longer absorb the increase in traffic on the main lines towards Austria. Duplication of the Mangfall Valley Railway was not an option due to its twisty and hilly route. In addition, a new line via Grafing would be ten kilometres shorter than the Mangfall Valley Railway and it would also mean that locomotives would avoid wheel-slip because the slope was significantly more gradual. On 16 May 1868, it was decided to build a single-track line from Munich to Rosenheim via Grafing. The government of Bavaria provided four million guilders for the construction. The railway line was opened on 15 October 1871.^[3] All trains now used the line through Grafing instead of the Mangfall Valley Railway, shortening travel time considerably. As a result of the numerous services established on the line shortly after its opening, it became a major international route for European long distance services.^[4]

It was decided to duplicate the line on 29 December 1891. At the same time additional tracks would be built in Munich East, Zorneding, Grafing, Ostermünchen and Rosenheim stations. Simple passing tracks were planned in Zorneding and Ostermünchen. The track layout would be rebuilt in Munich East, Grafing and Rosenheim. The duplication was started at the beginning of 1892. The second track between Munich East and München Trudering station was taken into operations on 1 October 1892. The second track was completed from Munich to Zorneding on 5 October. The second track was opened between Zorneding and Kirchseeon on 1 May 1893. The second track was opened between Kirchseeon and Aßling on 1 October 1893. Duplication of the last section from Aßling to Rosenheim was completed on 1 May 1894. The duplication cost a total of 2,778,400 marks, of which 92,300 marks was spent on the purchase of land. It cost 50,600 marks per kilometres.^[5]

The traffic on the line continued to increase so that around 50 trains ran daily between Munich and Rosenheim. During the First World War, traffic on the line was severely limited. Many trains were cancelled due to the coal shortage. Slower military trains meant that travel time of trains had to be extended. In 1917, only two pairs of expresses ran on the line, the others were cancelled due to lack of personnel, rolling stock, locomotives and coal.^[6] It was not until the 1920s that the number of trains returned to the level achieved before the First World War. In 1921, an office for managing new construction was established by Deutsche Reichsbahn in Rosenheim for the electrification of the line from Munich to Rosenheim, Rosenheim to Kufstein and Rosenheim to Salzburg. The plans were delayed, however, due to the poor finances of Deutsche Reichsbahn. In 1925, electrification began on the lines from Munich to Rosenheim and from Rosenheim to Salzburg. The construction work was very slow due to lack of money. The line from Munich-Rosenheim was finally operable by electric trains from 12 April 1927. 20 express trains, 12 semi-fast (Eilzug) and stopping trains and 22 freight trains ran on the line in 1927. The section from Munich to Grafing was also served by 28 local passenger trains daily. In Rosenheim an electrical sub-station was completed in 1928 to supply the increasing need for power for the electric locomotives.^[7]

TEE Rheingold, pulled by a class 112 locomotive on the Munich South Ring in 1986

In World War II, passenger services were again greatly reduced. The line was used for many military transports towards Eastern Europe and a delousing and "rehabilitation" facility was built in Rosenheim. After the end of World War II, the track had to be rebuilt quickly as an important supply line. The first train ran on 18 May 1945 for the United States Army.^[8] On 16 July 1945, a railway crash occurred at Aßling due to an error by a dispatcher in which a freight train carrying American tanks ran into a broken down passenger train carrying German prisoners of war and between 102 and 110 people were killed. In the early 1950s, passenger traffic increased strongly and the line became an important link for migrant workers from Eastern Europe in the late 1950s.^[9] In 1991, regular interval services were introduced so that commuter trains ran hourly between Munich and Salzburg. Long-distance trains run every hour alternately towards Salzburg and Kufstein.^[10] Since 1972, the section from Munich East to Grafing station of S-Bahn line 4 of the Munich S-Bahn operated.

Route

Regional-Express near Aßling

The line runs from Munich Central Station (Hauptbahnhof) on the Munich South Ring to Munich East station (München Ostbahnhof). Next, the railway line runs to the east to München-Berg am Laim station where the Munich–Mühldorf railway branches off. Shortly before Trudering a single-track line running from the Munich East–Munich Airport railway connects with the Munich–Rosenheim line. This connection is used only by freight trains bypassing Munich over the Munich North Ring. München Trudering station provides a connection with line 2 of the Munich U-Bahn towards Messestadt-Ost.

Between München Ost and Grafing the line runs next to the tracks of S-Bahn line 999.4 (S 4), which continues to Ebersberg on the Grafing–Wasserburg line. At Grafing an abandoned line to Glonn branches off.

At Rosenheim station the Munich–Kufstein line branches off towards Innsbruck and the Brenner line to Italy, while the Munich–Salzburg line continues to Salzburg. The two lines are connected east of the Rosenheim station by a single-track electrified bypass line (the Rosenheim Curve) which allows trains connecting Salzburg and Kufstein to avoid reversal in Rosenheim. This route is used mainly by Austrian domestic train services to run through without stopping in Germany. Rosenheim station is also served by services from Mühldorf and Holzkirchen (the Mangfall Valley Railway).

Current operations

S4 service between Trudering and Gronsdorf

The line is served by passenger and freight services.

Regional and local services

Between Munich and Salzburg the Munich-Salzburg-Express runs every hour as a Regional-Express. This stops outside of peak hour at all stations except the S-Bahn stations, that is at Munich Hauptbahnhof, Munich East, Grafing, Aßling, Ostermünchen, Großkarolinenfeld and Rosenheim. The train is operated with DB Class 111 locomotives hauling double-deck or Silberling carriages. In the peak hour, some trains stop only at Munich Hauptbahnhof, Munich East, Grafing and Rosenheim. In the peak hour trains there are additional trains running as Regionalbahn services between Munich, Rosenheim and Kufstein, operated with class 425 EMUs or with electric locomotives of class 111 locomotives hauling Silberling carriages. In addition, during peak hours the section of the route from Grafing to Munich is operated by extended services to and from Munich of the Filzen Express, which normally only operates on the Grafing–Wasserburg line. Line 4 of the Munich S-Bahn runs on the section from Munich to Grafing at 20 minute intervals, serving all stops.

Line	Route	Frequency
M	Meridian Munich – Grafing – Rosenheim – Traunstein – Freilassing – Salzburg	Hourly
M	Munich – Grafing Bahnhof - Rosenheim (– Kufstein)	Hourly
RB	Munich – Grafing Stadt – Ebersberg – Wasserburg (Inn)	Individual services
	Geltendorf – Türkenfeld – Grafrath – Schöngeising – Buchenau – Fürstenfeldbruck – Eichenau – Puchheim – Aubing – Leienfelsstraße – Pasing – Laim – Hirschgarten – Donnersbergerbrücke – Hackerbrücke – Hauptbahnhof – Karlsplatz (Stachus) – Marienplatz – Isartor – Rosenheimer Platz – Ostbahnhof – Leuchtenbergring – Berg am Laim – Trudering – Gronsdorf – Haar – Vaterstetten – Baldham station – Zorneding – Eglharting – Kirchseeon – Grafing – Grafing Stadt – Ebersberg	Every 20 minutes

Long distance services

EuroCity (EC) trains run between Frankfurt am Main and Salzburg via Munich every two hours with stops at München Ost, Rosenheim, Prien, Traunstein and Freilassing. Since the 2008 timetable change, these trains continue beyond Salzburg to Graz and Klagenfurt in alternation. In between the EC trains (offset by an hour), Railjet services from Munich to destinations in Austria and Hungary pass through without stopping between Munich and Salzburg. In addition, a pair of InterCity trains, named Königssee runs each day between Hamburg and Berchtesgaden via the line.

Line	Route		Frequency
IC 26	Königsee: Hamburg-Altona – Hamburg – Hannover – Göttingen – Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe – Würzburg – Augsburg – Munich East – Berchtesgaden		A single train pair
EC 32	Wörthersee: (Münster (Westf) –) Dortmund – Essen – Düsseldorf – Köln – Koblenz – Frankfurt – Mannheim – Heidelberg – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich Hbf – Munich East – Salzburg – Klagenfurt		A single train pair
IC 60	Karlsruhe – Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich Hbf – Munich East – Salzburg		Individual services
EC 62	Frankfurt – Heidelberg –	Stuttgart – Ulm – Augsburg – Munich Hbf – Munich East – Salzburg (– Klagenfurt / Graz / Linz)	Every 2 hours
	Saarbrücken – Mannheim –
EC 89	Munich Hbf – Munich East – Kufstein – Innsbruck – Bolzano – Verona (– Milan / Venice / Bologna)		Every 2 hours

Freight

In 2008, the Munich–Rosenheim line was used by up to 150 freight trains on weekdays. Approximately 50 of these freight trains run on the line from Munich to Salzburg and continue towards Turkey, Greece, Ljubljana and Trieste. But the line from Munich to Kufstein is served by about 100 freight trains daily. These trains run mostly from Munich East marshalling yard to Verona (Brenner traffic) and are operated by TX Logistik.^[11]

Upgrading

Several years ago, the existing four-track section between Munich East and Zorneding was extended to Grafing station. Thus the Munich S-Bahn traffic ran on its own tracks, completely separated from the long-distance and regional traffic.

An extension of the four-track section from Grafing to Rosenheim and possibly further towards Kufstein is discussed from time to time to deal with the expected increase in traffic after the opening of the Brenner Base Tunnel.

On the other hand, with the commissioning of the Brenner Base Tunnel, the east-west traffic between Munich and Salzburg may be displaced to the Munich–Mühldorf–Freilassing–Salzburg route (KBS 940 and 945), which would be upgraded for this (possibly including duplication and electrification). In this case, the Munich-Rosenheim line would be able to accommodate the additional traffic from Munich towards the Brenner.

This route is part of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) line 17 from Paris to Budapest. This could lead to further upgrading projects. This is promoted by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), in particular, as it hopes to reduce travel time for long-distance passenger trains between Salzburg and Munich to 1 hour from the current 1.5 hours.

Notes

1. "Photographs on lines 5510 + 5531 (KBS 950 + Güterverkehr / KBS 428)" (in German). tunnelportale. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
2. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (German railway atlas). Schweers + Wall. 2009. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
3. Bufe Siegfried (1995). Hauptbahn München–Salzburg (in German). Egglham: Bufe-Fachbuchverlag. ISBN 3-922138-57-8.
4. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 27 f., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
5. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 30 ff., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
6. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 41 f., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
7. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010). 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg (in German). München: PB Service. pp. 43 f. ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3.
8. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 49 fff., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
9. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 59 fff., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
10. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 75 f., ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 
11. Armin Franzke, Josef Mauerer (2010) (in German), 1860-2010: 150 Jahre Bahnstrecke Rosenheim – Salzburg, München: PB Service, pp. 100, ISBN 978-3-9812639-2-3 

References

• Bufe, Siegfried (1995). Hauptbahn München–Salzburg, (in German). Egglham: Bufe-Fachbuch-Verlag. ISBN 3-922138-57-8.