Station Cat goes to the Tirol (again)

[station cat]

After thoroughly enjoying my trip to the Tirol in July (see http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/88536-a-trip-to-the-tirol-via-munich/) I decided to return for the opening weekend of Innsbruck Christmas market. As with my previous trip, I booked a bargainacious flights plus hotel package with British Airways. Since BA only fly to Innsbruck during the ski season, I had to find my own way from Munich airport to Innsbruck. Luckily there's a direct bus. But who cares about that when you can go by train? I didn't bother photographing my journey to Innsbruck as it was over rails I covered in the summer. But the return journey will be dealt with in some detail.There will also be photos of the Zillerthal bahn, Stubaital bahn (a gold star if you've heard of that one) and... stuff.

 

Kicking off with the Zillerthalbahn, which seems to be quite a popular subject on RM web. The Zillerthal bahn is a narrow gauge railway running between Jenbach and Mayrhofen. Unlike the Achenseebahn, which also connects to the standard gauge network at Jenbach, the Zillerthalbahn is a working railway rather than a preserved line. It is part of the Tirol transport authority and you can buy a through ticket from anywhere in Austria to anywhere along the line. The Zillerthal does have some steam services in the summer but the year round work is done by diesels. The railway posseses a fair amount of freight stock but I didn't see any freight trains.

 

Jenbach

 

 

 

 

Mayrhofen

 

 

I went for a wander round Mayrhofen, it wasn't very interesting but I did like this tree

 

 

Aschau, one of the intermediate stations

 

 

Aschau firestation stands next to the railway station. It's in a lovely chalet style building

 

 

Scenery en-route

 

 

[station cat]

Gold star for you then Dutch Master! It was originally a light railway but now it's part of the Innsbruck tram system. And at just over 10 euros for an all day ticket it's a bargain and I can't understand why it isn't better known. Unfortunately I was there on a very wet morning and so I didn't really capture how great it is. The route nowadays starts at the HBF and runs through the town center before joining the original route at the Stubatalbahnhof - now a railway museum but only open on Saturdays in the summer. From here, the line climbs into the Stubai Valley with trains variously terminating at Krieth, Telfes or Fulpmes. The route also takes in the neighbouring villages of Mutters and Natters. It's single track with passing places at various stations. This has some interesting effects on timetabling, such as the 40 minute turn around at Fulpmes.

 

An ordinary tram, on an ordinary day, on an ordinary route? I took this pic on a different day hence the lack of rain

 

 

Climbing the hill out of Innsbruck

 

 

I think this is Natters

 

Mutters station. The stations are an interesting mix of: tiny platforms with bus stop type signs, bus shelters, wooden shelters, proper stations.Note the  plaque at low level giving the altitude.

 

 

Krieth viaduct, one of the most impressive structures en-route

 

 

Hairpin bend between 'tennis camp' and Fulpmes

 

 

Fulpmes - a three platform terminus

 

 

[station cat]

This post will cover the journey from Innsbruck to Munich. The normal route is via Jenbach and Kufstein and normally takes just under two hours. It's a nice ride, especially coming from Munich and seeing the first outcrops of mountains coming up. Howver this time I decided to take the alternative route via Seefeld and Garmisch Partenkirchen. This route is longer, at just under 3 hours but I thought the scenery might be better. Recently Deutschebahn has put a lot of investment into this route, which is known as the Werdenfelsbahn. There's some shiny new (or at any rate newish) trains and they've hired more staff and invested in infrastructure.

 

My train at Innsbruck

 

Best route map ever! All the groups of 4 seats had a a table with one of these maps

 

Train interior. These trains are designed to be disabled accessible but have no catering. The computer screen type display only shows stations and expected arrival times. The scrolling display covers date and time, destination, next station and which side the platform is, outside temperature and train speed.

 

I was right about the scenery! Rather than run through the Inn Valley, the lines from Innsbruck to Seefeld runs along the side of the mountain. There's tunnels and avalanche shelters and breathtaking views.

 

 

HochZirl station, my train was marketed as a Regional Express but stopped everywhere between Innsbruck and the border (mostly by request) and thereafter at everywhere outside the limits of the Munich S-bahn system. Most of the passengers were making short journeys.

 

From Seefeld, the line runs through mountain passes and forests. The scenery isn't as breathtaking but it's still very attractive

 

 

 

Klais, Bavaria's highest station at 933m. Seefeld is at 1180m and is the highest altitude station served by ICEs.

 

The train makes a long stop at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and is coupled to another unit for the run down to Munich. There is a change of crew, meaning that tickets are re-inspected.

 

After leaving Garmisch, the scenery becomes less exciting and fairly typical of Germany's rolling farmland. But the train gets a lot faster, reaching a max speed of just under 140kph

 

Unusual brick-built station at Huglfing

 

At Munich HBF, the Werdenfelsbahn services are exiled to a rather distant corner of the station

[station cat]

Final installment, helpfully entitled 'stuff'

 

Alexrail loco at Munich HBF, celebrating German railway heritage

 

DB admits to being a circus

 

Innsbruck HBF

 

1144 class loco at Innsbruck

 

S bahn train crossing the Inn

 

Roundhouse and part of the yard at Innsbruck HBF, photographed from the Hungerberg

 

Mini skips in a small builders yard.

 

Mountains - because Innsbruck has a lot more than trains