It is a rather strange act that can be observed more than 120 times a day at the Feldmochinger Straße level crossing, right next to the Fasanerie S-Bahn station. The signal is red, a train is coming. Only then do you realize what the men in orange clothes have been waiting for on the side of the road. They grab the red and white barrier tape, fasten it on the other side of the street and set up a warning triangle so that nobody gets the idea of cheating their way through at the last second. That would be life-threatening.
But motorists, cyclists and pedestrians wait patiently. For them, the men in orange are the living barriers at kilometer 12.183 on route 5500 from Munich to Regensburg, where S-Bahn, freight and passenger trains rush through.
It’s been like this since the barrier was destroyed in an accident almost seven months ago. Around the clock, seven days a week, or 24/7, as the new-fangled term goes. But you don’t really feel like you’re in the modern age here, more like you’re on the set for a film that could be called “The Fifties in Feldmoching” – a time when manual work still counted, even at level crossings. Here, in the middle of the street, yesterday and today meet.
Unusual workplace: at the edge of the tracks, the men wait for the signal that a train is coming.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
Then they hang up the cordon.
(Photo: Robert Haas)
In addition to securing with the warning tape, a barrier system installed as a replacement after the accident also closes in front of the tracks, for which the signalman no longer needs a crank. A push of a button is enough, they are so up-to-date with Deutsche Bahn (DB). However, because these temporary barriers are too short, the railway cannot do without the safety rope.
Recently, the railway has now begun to repair the crossing. On August 24, 2022, an 80-year-old driver demolished the barriers. Anyone who thought at the time that the damage would soon be repaired was completely wrong. Because according to DB, such a system is a very complex matter, and a few new barriers are not enough. The entire technology of the level crossing including the control must be completely rebuilt and linked to the signaling and interlocking technology. And as is so often the case these days, the project takes a long time: plan to procure material, build, that just takes time.
The level crossing is not without danger. On January 3rd, a serious accident almost happened. The driver of an S 1 in the direction of Freising was able to avoid a collision with pedestrians and cars passing the open level crossing with an emergency brake. Luckily there was no catastrophe. However, the incident had taken the train driver so hard that he had to be replaced. Since then, the Federal Police Inspectorate has been investigating endangering rail traffic and negligent bodily harm, the investigations are not yet fully completed. However, everything points to the sole responsibility of the crossing guard, the federal police said when asked.
According to current knowledge, the incident went like this: At around 9:20 p.m., the dispatcher radioed two trains to the gatekeeper, one from Landshut and one from Munich. The level crossing was secured by three security guards who secured the crossing with tapes on the instructions of the gatekeeper. After the train from Landshut had passed, the gate keeper mistakenly gave the instruction to unlock the crossing again. The engine driver reacted with quick-wittedness, but according to the federal police, the S-Bahn only came to a halt after 17 seconds and a distance of 152 meters at the level crossing.
If the local residents had their way, it shouldn’t have existed for a long time. For decades they have been waiting for an underpass to replace the level crossing. You will also get them, even two of them: pedestrians and cyclists are to cross under the route at the current location in the future, cars about 270 meters southwest of it. The traffic jam on the busy Feldmochinger Straße would then be eliminated. The underpasses have long been decided. The building permit process is still ongoing, construction work is scheduled to start in 2024 and could be finished by 2030.
But the DB employees will not have to lend a hand at kilometer 12.183 for that long. According to DB, the repair of the level crossing should be completed by the middle of the year. Then the barriers could open and close automatically again. Feldmochinger Straße would then be poorer by its currently most well-known attraction.