Tamping on the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn.
Last year, JumboTec got a somewhat unusual job: Extensive tamping work was to be carried out on Bayerische Zugspitzbahn’s rack rail tracks. The core section of the contract extended from Grainau to Kleiner Tunnel.
The metre-gauge railway line, built from 1928 to 1930, is the highest railway line in Germany. The section between Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Grainau is designed as an adhesion section. The mountain section - the rack rail section with gradients between 40‰ and 250‰ - starts at Grainau railway station.
The construction work was preceded by months of preparation and planning to ensure the success of this extraordinary construction project. Only the Matisa B20 AC4 narrow-gauge tamping machine could be used for this work. A particular challenge was the fact that an additional backup locomotive was necessary from an uphill gradient of more than 70‰ as the brakes of the tamping machine were not designed for such steep slopes. The client provided a backup locomotive with the appropriate brake holding, to which the tamping machine was coupled. Thanks to the prudent preparations, both systems fitted together straight away and the works were completed on schedule. After completing the mountain section, the upgrade areas of the new Garmisch-Partenkirchen railway station were also tamped and handed over to Bayerische Zugspitzbahn to deadline.
The close coordination and excellent cooperation with the client, the Bayerische Zugspitzbahn, ensured the project was successful. JumboTec was also able to demonstrate its versatility as a Rhomberg Sersa Rail Group company.
