Oberstdorf and Fischen: DB InfraGO's new interlockings enter service

Since the weekend of 11/12 July 2026, new electronic interlockings of DB InfraGO have been running at Oberstdorf and Fischen; the whole line from Immenstadt to Oberstdorf thus has modern control and safety technology, with signals and points operated centrally from the Immenstadt interlocking. The trigger was the failure of the old Oberstdorf interlocking at the end of 2024: the project began in early 2025 and was finished with the supplier Hitachi after about a year and a half, whereas such projects usually take six to seven years; DB invested about EUR 50 million, with the funds coming from the federal government. On Sunday an ICE L reached Oberstdorf for the first time, which would not have been possible without the new technology; further work continues on the line (level crossings, signalling and cable technology, improvements for passengers at Fischen, an outer platform at Altstädten), and the Free State has commissioned DB with planning, among other things, electrification, faster running, a double-track passing section and the new Sonthofen–Rieden halt. (LOK Report, 14 Jul 2026)