Five weeks of rail chaos: Mühldorf-Munich closed from August!

Five weeks of rail chaos: Mühldorf-Munich closed from August!

The Südostbayernbahn (SOB) will cause turbulence in train traffic between Mühldorf and Munich in the coming months. The route will be closed for five weeks from August 12th to September 15th, 2025. This measure is necessary to install four new electronic interlockings (ESTW), which are urgently needed to improve punctuality and operations on this busy route. In 2023, punctuality on the route to Munich was 87.28%, while the rest of the network achieved over 90%. This shows that the old technology, which causes around 30% of delays, urgently needs to be replaced. The “4 ESTW Munich – Mühldorf” project will be completed by 2027 and, in addition to the signal boxes, also includes the renewal of level crossings and signals.

In order to minimize the impact on travelers, the construction work was scheduled during the summer holidays. During the lockdown, buses will be used instead of trains. The direct bus from Mühldorf to the trade fair city of Munich takes 70 minutes, while the buses to Munich East take over two hours for the route. SOB boss Matthias Krause fears that the closure will lead to massive restrictions on operations.

Switching to hourly rates

However, there is already a ray of hope from December 2018: The Bavarian Railway Company (BEG) has introduced a new hourly service on the route between Mühldorf and Salzburg. The regional trains now run every hour from morning to night, which makes commuting much easier for working people and is intended to strengthen tourism in the Inn-Salzach region. Before the introduction of the hourly service, the route was only served every two hours. The last evening train from Salzburg to Mühldorf now runs two hours later than before, while on Sundays and public holidays the hourly service starts around an hour later.

The basis for this new timetable was created by converting and relieving heavily used route sections such as Mühldorf-Tüßling and Freilassing-Salzburg. Thanks to the permanent expansion of the infrastructure, technical limitations that previously affected punctuality are now history. The SOB and BEG expect an increase in passenger numbers, which should have a positive impact on the entire region.

Long-term perspectives and challenges

While the current construction work in the Mühldorf-Munich area is being pushed forward, the SOB is already looking ahead to future challenges. From February 2026, the route will become an alternative route during the general renovation between Regensburg and Nuremberg. From 2027 onwards, the route to Salzburg will also be affected by diversions and additional trains. These measures are part of the “SB²” initiative, which aims to stabilize rail traffic and increase punctuality through investments in infrastructure.

Deutsche Bahn is pursuing an approach to improving the quality of products and services with various programs, such as the “Strong Quality Management for DB” project. The aim is to identify weak points in the processes and to increase operational stability through coordinated investments. Anyone who thinks that railways are always ahead of the curve needs to be even more vigilant in the coming months, as developments will affect both passengers and commuters.