The tragic mountain railway accident in Italy is also occupying the mountain railway operators in the Bavarian Forest. Franz Dominik von Poschinger-Bray, the owner of the Geißkopfbahn, cannot imagine how such a disaster could happen in the first place. Markus Müller, the mayor of Neukirchen bei Heiligen Blut and responsible for the Hohenbogenbahn, says he doesn’t understand the accident. He assumes that the same safety standards apply in northern Italy as in Germany.
TÜV regularly checks the railways
The Hohenbogenbahn, for example, like all railways in the Bavarian Forest, has an annual general inspection by the TÜV. This also applies to the chairlift and drag lifts in the Mitterfirmiansreut ski center. On the Arber, all railways even have a thorough overhaul and approval by the TÜV every six months. “The highest safety standards” are always observed, according to a spokesman for the Arber mountain railway. According to the Geißkopfbahn, there is in principle “a four- or even six-eye principle” in the examinations through various points. Their lift, which was completely rebuilt last year, has a technical service with maintenance by the lift company every year, according to the owner Poschinger-Bray, as well as an external test by the TÜV. The test certificates then have to be forwarded to the state cable car supervisory authority.
Above all, the rope is carefully examined
According to Poschinger-Bray, the rope is not only examined visually from the outside, but also magnetically inductively at certain intervals, a method that has proven itself in railways, for example to detect internal damage such as wire breaks, clamping points or notches. The magnetic induction test, for example, can be done by the Silberbergbahn every four years for a lot of money, as the managing director Thomas Hüblein emphasizes. But security is extremely important. The chairlift cable on the Silberberg is visually checked every three to four weeks. Every year in November, all armchairs are removed, all clamps dismantled and wear parts replaced immediately if necessary. The TÜV also checks the railway every year.
Silberberg chairlift broke down
The Silberberg chairlift stopped a few years ago under a different previous owner. At that time, the passengers had to be rescued by the mountain rescue service. Every mountain railway needs an individual rescue concept so that rescue operations can be carried out quickly in an emergency, says Klaus Pister, the press officer for the Zwiesel mountain rescue service. This also applies to the Bavarian Forest. These concepts, which are worked out in detail for each lift, are also practiced regularly by the mountain rescue workers, at least once a year, says Pister.
Not all railways are in operation
At the moment only the Geißkopfbahn is in operation in the Bavarian Forest. The gondola lift on the Großer Arber opens on May 28th, the Silberberg chairlift next week or the week after that, and the Hohenbogen lift on June 26th. A mask is required for passengers and they need a current negative corona test if they have not yet been fully vaccinated or have demonstrably recovered. Mitterfirmiansreut has no summer operation. The lifts there are generally only open in winter.
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