Kochelsee Railway

The Kochelseebahn ('Lake Kochel railway') is a branch line in Upper Bavaria (Oberbayern), Germany, that is just under 36 km long, single-tracked and fully electrified. It is operated by the Deutsche Bahn AG as route 961 in their List of German scheduled railway routes. The Kochelseebahn branches in Tutzing from the Munich Hauptbahnhof–Garmisch-Partenkirchen main line and runs from there via Penzberg to Kochel am See by the Kochelsee that gives the line its name.

Lake Kochel railway
A Talent on the Kochelsee railway
Overview
Native name	Kochelseebahn
Type	Heavy rail, Passenger rail Regional rail
Status	Operational
Locale	Bavaria
Termini	Tutzing Kochel
Stations	7
Line number	5453
Operation
Opened	Stages between 1865–1898
Owner	Deutsche Bahn
Operator(s)	DB Bahn
Rolling stock	Bombardier Talent 2
Technical
Line length	35.5 km (22.1 mi)
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC Overhead line
Route number	961

Lake Kochel railway

• Operating points and lines[1] from Munich 39.6 0.0 Tutzing terminus of 611 m above sea level (NN) to Garmisch-Partenkirchen 6.95 Bernried 633 m above NN 11.34 Seeshaupt 601 m above NN 17.17 Iffeldorf (formerly: Staltach) 599 m above NN 22.50 Penzberg Gbf (Goods station) 22.39 Penzberg 25.50 Schönmühl Isar Valley Railway 27.17 Bichl 615 m above NN 28.85 Benediktbeuern 618 m above NN 30.80 Ried (Oberbay.) 33.10 Ort b. Kochl 35.47 Kochel 606 m above NN

The section from Tutzing to Bichl is classed as a main line, the remainder as a branch line. The route was electrified on 4 March 1925 and is currently (2006) worked by electric multiples of the DBAG Class 425/426.

Apart from a few exceptions in the morning commuter services the trains run hourly, with a crossing in Bichl shortly before the half-hour and good connections in Tutzing in both directions. The commuter services run straight through to and from Munich Hauptbahnhof (main station), the crossing then usually takes place in Seeshaupt due to the change in frequency.

Stations

In a north-to-south order the line services stops in the following municipalities:

• Munich - Main station, northern terminus during "rush hours" (commuter traffic)
• Munich - Pasing
• Starnberg

These former three will be serviced during commuter traffic only. Such trains, headed northward to Munich may often be coupled with services reaching Tutzing via a more western line, servicing destinations as far south as Innsbruck (in Tyrol, Austria), Mittenwald or Garmisch. On their way down south towards Kochel they may be coupled off of such services. Otherwise, services start / terminate in Tutzing.

• Tutzing, northern terminus during the rest of the day and in the evenings
• Bernried
• Seeshaupt
• Iffeldorf, formerly "Staltach", after a stud near the station building
• Penzberg
• Bichl
• Benediktbeuern
• Kochel am See, southern terminus

References

1. Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland (in German). Köln: Verlag Schweers + Wall. 2007. p. 115. ISBN 978-3-89494-136-9.

External links

• Kochelseebahn