Bavarian Forest Railway

Bavarian Forest Railway
Overview
Native name	Bayerische Waldbahn
Line number	5634
Technical
Line length	71.7 km (44.6 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Maximum incline	1.25%
Route number	905
KBS 905 - Stations and Structures from Landshut from Regensburg 62,9 Plattling(Landshut km 0) to Passau 66,6 Pankofen Bundesautobahn 3 Danube (365 m) from Hengersberg from Metten 72,4 Deggendorf Hbf 79,7 Grafling-Arzting 82,2 Ulrichsberg Kühberg tunnel (475 m) 89,5 Grafling Hochbühl tunnel (569 m) 95,9 Gotteszell to Viechtach (formerly Blaibach) 102,7 Triefenried Ohe (315 m) 110,5 Regen Regen (119 m) Regen (79 m) 116,3 Bettmannsäge Regen (131 m) from Bodenmais from Grafenau 120,7 Zwiesel (Bayern) Deffernik bridge (118 m) 126,4 Ludwigsthal 134,6 Bayerisch Eisenstein/Železná Ruda-Alžbětín 722 m (Gemeinschaftsbahnhof DB/ČD) to Plzeň

The Bavarian Forest Railway (Bayerische Waldbahn often just called the Waldbahn) (KBS 905) links the heart of the Bavarian Forest around Regen and Zwiesel to Plattling and the Danube valley on one side, and the Czech Republic through Bayerisch Eisenstein on the other. In the Danube valley it forms a junction with the Nuremberg–Regensburg–Passau long distance railway (KBS 880) and, to the south, regional lines to Landshut and Munich (KBS 931).

In 1867 the Bavarian state began first investigating the possibility of a railway link from Plattling via Deggendorf, Regen und Zwiesel to the Bohemian border to provide transportation for the industries there. The Bavarian-Austrian state treaty of 21 June 1851 envisaged a junction with the Bohemian railway network at Eisenstein in addition to the existing connexions to Bohemia at Furth im Wald and Passau. The Pilsen–Priesen(–Komotau) railway was prepared to extend their Pilsen–Dux line as far as the border at Eisenstein.

On the initiative of several local people the Bavarian Eastern Railway Company (Bayerische Ostbahn) were given authority by the Bavarian concession of 25 November 1872 to build the railway line. As a result, the Ostbahn dropped plans under a previously granted concession of 3 August 1869 for the construction of a route from Straubing to Cham. Preparation for construction of the new line began as early as 1873. The search for a suitable route was extraordinarily difficult due to the steep climb from the Danube into the Bavarian Forest and the numerous valleys that had to be crossed. This promised to make the line expensive to build and not particularly profitable. On the other hand, with a better link from the new line from Plattling through the Isar valley to Munich there was the attraction of a lucrative connexion with Bohemia. In 1874 work started on its construction.