München to Kufstein “Meridian vice turn” – May 2016 to December 2017

189 935 pauses at München Ost on the evening turn, 05/09/17 (Jordan Allen)

May 2016 to December 2017 saw an unusual loco-hauled passenger diagram in south-east Germany, born in tragic circumstances but which gave haulage enthusiasts something to plan their day around when visiting the area.

Firstly, a bit of background.  In December 2013, the private operator Meridian took over a number of routes in the Bayern region from the incumbent DB Regio, with a fleet of brand new Stadler FLIRT (“Flinker Leichter Innovativer Regional Triebzug”) EMUs.  Tragically, on Tuesday 9th February 2016, a mistake by a signaller led to a head-on collision between two such units on the single-line section at Bad Aibling – resulting in 12 deaths and 85 injuries, but also (trivially by comparison) the destruction of both units.

In order to plug this unforeseen rolling stock shortage, from May 2016, Meridian hired in electric locomotives and stock to work a train from Kufstein, just over the Austrian border, to München each weekday morning, returning in the evening.  This settled on the following diagram:

M79060 06:29 (SX) Kufstein – München Hbf
M79081 17:11 (FX) / M79077 16:09 (FO) München Hbf – Kufstein

It ran until 29th December 2017, by which point replacement EMUs for the pair written off in 2013 had been built, commissioned and were ready for service.

The particularly intriguing aspect of this operation was that it represented the only true “freight loco kick-out” left in western Europe.  Motive power was in the form of electric locomotives, primarily from the freight operator Lokomotion.  Locos often swapped at both the Kufstein and München end, and conceivably an appearance by a particular machine might even have reflected the only passenger train it ever hauls in its entire career.

Reports on this train have been inconsistent, however I am aware of 83 different machines working on the “Meridian vice turn” – 65 of which were known to be on hire to, or owned by Lokomotion at the time (exceptions are marked with an asterisk below).   The majority of them are brand-new machines – some of which literally only days old at the time of working – but the oldest, 139 177, dates from 1958.  12 of the locos recorded on the trains so far are ex-DB (the class 110, 139s, 151s, and 189 903-905); the rest have always been privately-owned freight machines.

The breakdown by class is as follows:-

Class 110 – 110 469*

Class 139 – 139 133, 139 177, 139 213, 139 311, 139 555

Class 151 – 151 056, 151 060, 151 074

Class 182 – 182 511*

Class 185 – 185 661, 185 662, 185 663, 185 664, 185 665, 185 666, 185 679, 185 686

Class 186 – 186 102, 186 107*, 186 110, 186 141, 186 251, 186 281, 186 282, 186 283, 186 284, 186 285, 186 286, 186 287, 186 290, 186 440, 186 441, 186 442, 186 443, 186 444

Class 187 – 187 308, 187 312

Class 189 – 189 151, 189 841*, 189 901*, 189 902*, 189 903*, 189 904*, 189 905*, 189 907, 189 912, 189 914, 189 917, 189 918, 189 924*, 189 926, 189 927, 189 935*

Class 193 – 193 208, 193 238*, 193 244*, 193 264, 193 286, 193 615, 193 661, 193 662, 193 663*, 193 664*, 193 666, 193 669*, 193 770, 193 771, 193 772, 193 773, 193 774, 193 775, 193 776, 193 777, 193 801, 193 804, 193 813, 193 824*, 193 873, 193 874*, 193 876

Class 471 – 471 502*

Class 475 – 475 404

The loco to have been reported most often is 185 662 (17 trains), followed by 186 286 and 193 772 (16 trains each).  However, as there are so many gaps in my workings record (below), the picture of what has actually worked may be different.  If you can fill in any gaps in the table below, please contact me, your help will be much appreciated!

Date	AM	PM
Tue 10/05/16	185 686	185 661
Wed 11/05/16	193 208	193 208
Thu 12/05/16	186 287	189 917
Fri 13/05/16	186 287	185 665
Mon 16/05/16	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 17/05/16		186 141
Wed 18/05/16
Thu 19/05/16
Fri 20/05/16
Mon 23/05/16
Tue 24/05/16
Wed 25/05/16
Thu 26/05/16	Holiday	Holiday
Fri 27/05/16
Mon 30/05/16
Tue 31/05/16		193 208
Wed 01/06/16
Thu 02/06/16		186 444
Fri 03/06/16		185 665
Mon 06/06/16	186 286	186 286
Tue 07/06/16		186 282
Wed 08/06/16	185 664
Thu 09/06/16		186 102
Fri 10/06/16
Mon 13/06/16
Tue 14/06/16		186 141
Wed 15/06/16		185 664
Thu 16/06/16	186 251	186 281
Fri 17/06/16	185 666
Mon 20/06/16
Tue 21/06/16	139 177	151 060
Wed 22/06/16	189 903	151 074
Thu 23/06/16	139 133	193 873
Fri 24/06/16	189 926	151 060
Mon 27/06/16
Tue 28/06/16		151 060
Wed 29/06/16		139 177
Thu 30/06/16	193 264	185 666
Fri 01/07/16	189 927	193 244 + 193 873
Mon 04/07/16
Tue 05/07/16	186 441
Wed 06/07/16		151 074
Thu 07/07/16	186 286	189 841
Fri 08/07/16
Mon 11/07/16	139 555	186 286
Tue 12/07/16		186 287
Wed 13/07/16	189 841	193 208
Thu 14/07/16		186 287
Fri 15/07/16	189 914	193 824
Mon 18/07/16
Tue 19/07/16	189 902
Wed 20/07/16		193 824
Thu 21/07/16		193 824
Fri 22/07/16	193 824
Mon 25/07/16
Tue 26/07/16
Wed 27/07/16		186 440
Thu 28/07/16	189 914	185 663
Fri 29/07/16	193 873	186 286
Mon 01/08/16
Tue 02/08/16		186 286
Wed 03/08/16	186 286	186 286
Thu 04/08/16	185 679	186 286
Fri 05/08/16	151 056	193 208
Mon 08/08/16	189 902	186 286
Tue 09/08/16
Wed 10/08/16
Thu 11/08/16
Fri 12/08/16
Mon 15/08/16	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 16/08/16
Wed 17/08/16		186 286
Thu 18/08/16		186 286
Fri 19/08/16
Mon 22/08/16	186 287	189 927
Tue 23/08/16	193 208	186 440
Wed 24/08/16	185 662
Thu 25/08/16
Fri 26/08/16
Mon 29/08/16	193 873	193 873
Tue 30/08/16		189 907
Wed 31/08/16	186 284	189 914
Thu 01/09/16	185 663	189 918
Fri 02/09/16		186 251
Mon 05/09/16	186 251	193 876
Tue 06/09/16	186 251
Wed 07/09/16		186 286
Thu 08/09/16		186 281
Fri 09/09/16		193 876
Mon 12/09/16
Tue 13/09/16		189 914
Wed 14/09/16		186 251
Thu 15/09/16
Fri 16/09/16
Mon 19/09/16
Tue 20/09/16		193 874
Wed 21/09/16		151 074
Thu 22/09/16
Fri 23/09/16		189 902
Mon 26/09/16	186 285	185 661
Tue 27/09/16		189 902
Wed 28/09/16
Thu 29/09/16
Fri 30/09/16	193 238	186 442
Mon 03/10/16	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 04/10/16
Wed 05/10/16
Thu 06/10/16
Fri 07/10/16
Mon 10/10/16
Tue 11/10/16	189 904
Wed 12/10/16	189 917
Thu 13/10/16		193 873
Fri 14/10/16
Mon 17/10/16		193 801
Tue 18/10/16	193 801
Wed 19/10/16		185 661
Thu 20/10/16		186 110
Fri 21/10/16	185 662	189 907
Mon 24/10/16	185 663
Tue 25/10/16	186 444
Wed 26/10/16	189 151	189 926
Thu 27/10/16
Fri 28/10/16		193 208
Mon 31/10/16
Tue 01/11/16	Holiday	Holiday
Wed 02/11/16	193 801	193 208
Thu 03/11/16
Fri 04/11/16
Mon 07/11/16
Tue 08/11/16
Wed 09/11/16		186 285
Thu 10/11/16		189 918
Fri 11/11/16		185 661
Mon 14/11/16
Tue 15/11/16	193 801	193 801
Wed 16/11/16	CAPED	186 290
Thu 17/11/16
Fri 18/11/16
Mon 21/11/16		186 440
Tue 22/11/16		151 060
Wed 23/11/16
Thu 24/11/16
Fri 25/11/16		189 151
Mon 28/11/16	186 441	189 907
Tue 29/11/16	151 060
Wed 30/11/16	189 907	189 907
Thu 01/12/16	189 907	189 907
Fri 02/12/16		186 110
Mon 05/12/16
Tue 06/12/16		186 443
Wed 07/12/16	189 907	189 907
Thu 08/12/16	189 907	186 110
Fri 09/12/16	189 905	189 901
Mon 12/12/16		189 907
Tue 13/12/16
Wed 14/12/16		182 511
Thu 15/12/16	186 102	189 151
Fri 16/12/16	139 311	139 213
Mon 19/12/16		110 469
Tue 20/12/16	110 469	110 469
Wed 21/12/16		187 312
Thu 22/12/16		189 912
Fri 23/12/16
Mon 26/12/16	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 27/12/16	185 666	185 661 + 185 662
Wed 28/12/16	185 661 + 185 662	185 661 + 185 662
Thu 29/12/16	185 661 + 185 662	185 661 + 185 662
Fri 30/12/16
Mon 02/01/17
Tue 03/01/17
Wed 04/01/17		185 661 + 193 772
Thu 05/01/17
Fri 06/01/17	Holiday	Holiday
Mon 09/01/17		193 772
Tue 10/01/17	187 308
Wed 11/01/17
Thu 12/01/17		193 772
Fri 13/01/17		193 772
Mon 16/01/17
Tue 17/01/17		189 917
Wed 18/01/17		186 283
Thu 19/01/17
Fri 20/01/17
Mon 23/01/17	189 912	189 912
Tue 24/01/17	185 663
Wed 25/01/17
Thu 26/01/17
Fri 27/01/17
Mon 30/01/17	185 663	185 663
Tue 31/01/17	193 772	193 772
Wed 01/02/17	193 772	193 772
Thu 02/02/17		187 312
Fri 03/02/17		187 312
Mon 06/02/17	189 907	189 907
Tue 07/02/17	187 312	189 901
Wed 08/02/17	185 662	189 914
Thu 09/02/17	185 662	185 662
Fri 10/02/17	151 074	151 074
Mon 13/02/17
Tue 14/02/17
Wed 15/02/17	186 441	185 664
Thu 16/02/17	139 177
Fri 17/02/17	185 662	187 308
Mon 20/02/17		187 308
Tue 21/02/17
Wed 22/02/17	151 074	151 074
Thu 23/02/17		186 286
Fri 24/02/17
Mon 27/02/17
Tue 28/02/17
Wed 01/03/17
Thu 02/03/17
Fri 03/03/17		186 441
Mon 06/03/17		186 441
Tue 07/03/17		186 440
Wed 08/03/17		139 555
Thu 09/03/17	185 664	151 074
Fri 10/03/17
Mon 13/03/17		186 443
Tue 14/03/17	139 133	189 902
Wed 15/03/17	185 662	185 662
Thu 16/03/17	185 662	186 284
Fri 17/03/17		185 662
Mon 20/03/17		189 914
Tue 21/03/17		189 905
Wed 22/03/17	193 771	193 208
Thu 23/03/17	193 208	193 208
Fri 24/03/17
Mon 27/03/17	186 290	187 312
Tue 28/03/17	187 312	187 312
Wed 29/03/17	187 312	185 663
Thu 30/03/17		189 914
Fri 31/03/17	185 661	186 441
Mon 03/04/17		193 772
Tue 04/04/17	185 661	185 661
Wed 05/04/17
Thu 06/04/17	193 772	186 281
Fri 07/04/17
Mon 10/04/17		185 662
Tue 11/04/17		193 813
Wed 12/04/17
Thu 13/04/17	CAPED	185 666
Fri 14/04/17	Holiday	Holiday
Mon 17/04/17	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 18/04/17	193 771
Wed 19/04/17	193 771	193 813
Thu 20/04/17
Fri 21/04/17		193 772
Mon 24/04/17		187 308
Tue 25/04/17
Wed 26/04/17		193 773
Thu 27/04/17		193 773
Fri 28/04/17
Mon 01/05/17	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 02/05/17		185 663
Wed 03/05/17
Thu 04/05/17	185 662	189 902
Fri 05/05/17
Mon 08/05/17		189 918
Tue 09/05/17		186 286
Wed 10/05/17		186 285
Thu 11/05/17		193 804
Fri 12/05/17
Mon 15/05/17	186 441
Tue 16/05/17	193 770	193 770
Wed 17/05/17		151 060
Thu 18/05/17	189 907
Fri 19/05/17	151 060
Mon 22/05/17		186 282
Tue 23/05/17		139 213
Wed 24/05/17
Thu 25/05/17	Holiday	Holiday
Fri 26/05/17		193 771
Mon 29/05/17
Tue 30/05/17	193 774	193 774
Wed 31/05/17		186 443
Thu 01/06/17	151 060	193 772
Fri 02/06/17	185 663	BLS 475 404
Mon 05/06/17	Holiday	Holiday
Tue 06/06/17		189 907
Wed 07/06/17
Thu 08/06/17		189 912
Fri 09/06/17		193 775
Mon 12/06/17
Tue 13/06/17		186 440
Wed 14/06/17
Thu 15/06/17	Holiday	Holiday
Fri 16/06/17		186 441
Mon 19/06/17		193 773
Tue 20/06/17	193 773	193 770
Wed 21/06/17	193 770	193 771
Thu 22/06/17	475 404	475 404
Fri 23/06/17		186 442
Mon 26/06/17
Tue 27/06/17
Wed 28/06/17
Thu 29/06/17
Fri 30/06/17
Mon 03/07/17
Tue 04/07/17
Wed 05/07/17		193 774
Thu 06/07/17		193 775
Fri 07/07/17		193 771
Mon 10/07/17		193 775
Tue 11/07/17		186 284
Wed 12/07/17
Thu 13/07/17
Fri 14/07/17	193 773	189 904
Mon 17/07/17
Tue 18/07/17
Wed 19/07/17	193 615	186 444
Thu 20/07/17	193 776
Fri 21/07/17	193 662	193 777
Mon 24/07/17
Tue 25/07/17
Wed 26/07/17	193 777	186 444
Thu 27/07/17	151 060
Fri 28/07/17
Mon 31/07/17
Tue 01/08/17	189 902
Wed 02/08/17		151 060
Thu 03/08/17	193 777	193 772
Fri 04/08/17	193 615	189 902
Mon 07/08/17
Tue 08/08/17
Wed 09/08/17		186 283
Thu 10/08/17		186 281
Fri 11/08/17		193 771
Mon 14/08/17		186 284
Tue 15/08/17
Wed 16/08/17		186 284
Thu 17/08/17	193 772
Fri 18/08/17	193 772	186 283
Mon 21/08/17
Tue 22/08/17		193 661
Wed 23/08/17		186 444
Thu 24/08/17	189 904	189 905
Fri 25/08/17	186 107	193 662
Mon 28/08/17	186 282	189 924
Tue 29/08/17	189 924	186 284
Wed 30/08/17	475 404	185 666
Thu 31/08/17	193 770	193 772
Fri 01/09/17		186 286
Mon 04/09/17	193 664	185 663
Tue 05/09/17	193 770	189 935
Wed 06/09/17	193 777	189 935
Thu 07/09/17		193 661
Fri 08/09/17	189 912	189 917
Mon 11/09/17	193 663	193 663
Tue 12/09/17	193 773
Wed 13/09/17	186 441	193 663
Thu 14/09/17	193 773	185 661
Fri 15/09/17		186 444
Mon 18/09/17
Tue 19/09/17
Wed 20/09/17		471 502
Thu 21/09/17		189 935
Fri 22/09/17
Mon 25/09/17
Tue 26/09/17		193 286
Wed 27/09/17
Thu 28/09/17
Fri 29/09/17
Mon 02/10/17
Tue 03/10/17
Wed 04/10/17
Thu 05/10/17
Fri 06/10/17
Mon 09/10/17	189 912
Tue 10/10/17
Wed 11/10/17
Thu 12/10/17
Fri 13/10/17
Mon 16/10/17
Tue 17/10/17
Wed 18/10/17
Thu 19/10/17
Fri 20/10/17
Mon 23/10/17
Tue 24/10/17
Wed 25/10/17
Thu 26/10/17
Fri 27/10/17
Mon 30/10/17
Tue 31/10/17
Wed 01/11/17
Thu 02/11/17
Fri 03/11/17
Mon 06/11/17
Tue 07/11/17
Wed 08/11/17
Thu 09/11/17
Fri 10/11/17
Mon 13/11/17	193 775
Tue 14/11/17	193 770	193 770
Wed 15/11/17	193 770	151 060
Thu 16/11/17
Fri 17/11/17
Mon 20/11/17
Tue 21/11/17		193 666
Wed 22/11/17	193 775	186 441
Thu 23/11/17	193 774	185 666
Fri 24/11/17
Mon 27/11/17
Tue 28/11/17
Wed 29/11/17	189 903
Thu 30/11/17		193 773
Fri 01/12/17
Mon 04/12/17	185 661	185 661
Tue 05/12/17		193 664
Wed 06/12/17
Thu 07/12/17		193 664
Fri 08/12/17
Mon 11/12/17	139 311
Tue 12/12/17
Wed 13/12/17
Thu 14/12/17
Fri 15/12/17	193 669	193 669
Mon 18/12/17
Tue 19/12/17
Wed 20/12/17
Thu 21/12/17
Fri 22/12/17
Mon 25/12/17
Tue 26/12/17
Wed 27/12/17
Thu 28/12/17
Fri 29/12/17		185 665

 

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