Bavarian Zugspitze Railway

Geschichte

The Bavarian Zugspitze Railway is one of four rack railways still working in Germany, along with the Wendelstein Railway, the Drachenfels Railway and the Stuttgart Rack Railway. The metre gauge line runs from Garmisch in the centre of Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. The line culminates at 2,650 metres above sea level, which makes it the highest railway in Germany and the third highest in Europe. It is also the railway in Europe with the biggest height difference: 1,945 metres, the lower half being open-air and the upper half being underground.The line is operated by the Bayerischen Zugspitzbahn Bergbahn AG, whose majority owner is the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Municipal Works. In 2007 the Zugspitze Railway was nominated for a Historic landmarks of civil engineering in Germany award.The Zugspitze is also accessible via the Eibsee Cable Car or Tyrolean Zugspitze Cable Car.HistoryOpening of the lineThe railway was built between 1928 and 1930 and opened in three stages. The first was the long centre section between Grainau and the Eibsee which went into operation on 19 February 1929. On 19 December 1929 it was followed by the long section between Garmisch and Grainau, including the important tourist connexion to the main railway network of the Deutsche Reichsbahn. On 8 July 1930 the last long section between the Eibsee and the – now closed – summit station of Schneefernerhaus was opened, including the final long Zugspitze Tunnel.