Court clears Kampenwand cable car rebuild and orders review of night trips

The Bavarian Administrative Court has cleared the rebuild of the Kampenwand cable car in the town of Aschau im Chiemgau, while requiring a review of some planned night services, BR reported.

The court dismissed a challenge by conservation group Bund Naturschutz Bayern to an amended approval. It said there was, in principle, nothing to prevent the project from going ahead, but ordered the Rosenheim district office to set a new limit on trips outside normal operating hours to protect the local black grouse population.

The group said the court had partly overturned the rules for special night trips. It said the judges questioned trips during the birds’ winter, breeding and rearing periods and required a fuller explanation for the number planned in the second half of the year. The court did not accept the argument that the black grouse had become accustomed to regular night services, according to the group.

The cable car’s operators, the Zbil family, welcomed the ruling. They said the court had upheld the project’s main principles and rejected the group’s central objections, including its call for a daily passenger limit.

The family said it had worked on the renewal for more than 12 years. New services, cost calculations and contracts still need to be prepared, so construction will not begin immediately.