Lötschberg railway
Lötschberg railway line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minimum radius | 300 m (980 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest elevation | 1,240 m (4,068 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum incline | 2.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Lötschberg line is a railway in
The line is famous for its double loop of spiral tunnels in the
Location
The Lötschberg line, with the 14.6-kilometre (9.1 mi) long
The beginning of the Lötschberg line is in the rail node of
The Lötschberg line stretches over the
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Re 465s on the Kander viaduct (northern approach)
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Lötschberg Tunnel from Goppenstein (culminating point)
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Hondrichtunnel in Spiez
History
The railway from Bern to Münsingen and Thun was opened in 1859 by the
It was absorbed by BLS in 1913.Around 1890 the
In 1891 a small group of eminent persons obtained a concession for the construction of a railway line between Spiez and Frutigen with the option of later extending it into the Valais. A retired member of the cantonal government and judge, Wilhelm Teuscher studied route options and concluded that the current route was feasible. On 25 July 1901 the railway was opened from Spiez to Frutigen as the Spiez-Frutigen-Bahn (SFB) as the first stage of the Lötschberg line.
Meanwhile, a line from
Construction
The French consortium Entreprise du Lötschberg was awarded the contract for the entire Lötschberg line and construction commenced on 15 October 1906 with the drilling of the north portal of the Lötschberg tunnel.
It was originally intended that the line be built as a single track, but during construction a decision was taken to build the Lötschberg Tunnel with double track and to prepare the approaches for double track in the future. The track geometry of the approaches was redesigned to make possible a second track and buildings and tunnels made provision for a future second track. The maximum gradient was set at 27 per thousand (2.7%) and curves had a minimum radius of 300 m (980 ft). The builders established a 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in) gauge railway on both approaches to the tunnel.
During the construction of the Lötschberg line, there were several fatal accidents. On the evening of 29 February 1908 the construction caused an avalanche which hit a hotel and killed 12 of its guests who were eating dinner. On 24 July 1908 a collapse of weak strata caused a sudden flood in the Lötschberg tunnel killing 25 people, all but three of the workers on the shift. This disaster forced a realignment of the tunnel route bypassing the area of weak strata.
Originally it was planned to open the line on 1 March 1912, but this date was twice delayed by the decision to build a double track line through the main tunnel and make provision for future double track on the rest of the line. On 15 July 1913 electrification of the line was completed and a limited service began. On 16 September 1913 a more complete schedule began with 16 trains, including four international express trains.
Completion of tunnels
The dates of the breakthroughs of the approach tunnels were as follows.
North side
- Riedschuk tunnel,
- Felsenburg tunnel II, 28 December 1910
- Ronenwaldtunnel I, 15 September 1910
- Ronenwald tunnel II, 30 September 1910
- Rotbach tunnel, 9 September 1910
- Hemligen tunnel, 10 November 1910
South side
- Rotlaui tunnel, 3 April 1908
- Mittalgraben tunnel, 29 March 1908
- Luegje tunnel, 5 April 1908
- Hohegg tunnel, 30 November 1907
- Marchgraben tunnel, 13 December 1907
- Hohtenn tunnel, 10 March 1908
- Lidenplatten tunnel, 30 September 1907
- Blasboden tunnel, 6 February 1908
- Sevistein tunnel I, 17 March 1908
- Mahnkinn tunnel, 29 March 1908
- Stadel tunnel, 11 March 1908
- Viktoria tunnel, 5 November 1907
- Mundbach tunnel, 28 September 1907
- Stadel tunnel, 25 November 1910
- Schluchi tunnel, 8 April 1911
- Bietschtal tunnel I, 29 August 1911
- Bietschtal tunnel II, 21 February 1911
- Sevistein tunnel II, 30 December 1911
- Gründenrunnel, 11 March 1911
- Eggerberg tunnel, 24 March 1911
- Bad tunnel, 31 March 1911
- Sevistein tunnel III, 25 October 1915 (replacement for Sevistein tunnel I and II, damaged by a landslide)
Construction railways
For the construction of the Lötschberg line and the main tunnel two special railways had to be constructed to bring material from Frutigen or the junction at Naters near Brig to the portals of the Lötschberg tunnel. The gauge of the railways was 750 mm (2 ft 5+1⁄2 in), the maximum gradient was 60 per thousand (6%) and the minimum curve radius was 50 m (160 ft). On the northern approach the construction line was built on a different route from the permanent line, while on the south side the construction line followed the permanent line to a large extent.
The rolling stock for the construction lines consisted of 420 waggons and 32 small steam locomotives with Klien-Lindner axles, delivered from June to November 1907 by the German firm of Orenstein & Koppel. The trains reached a top speed of 15 km/h (9.3 mph) and their transport capacity amounted to an average of 13,000 t (12,795 long tons; 14,330 short tons) per month.
Northern approach
The engineer J. Seeberger was responsible for building a construction railway between Frutigen and the tunnel portal near Kandersteg; it was over 15 km (9.3 mi) long and climbed about 429 m (1,407 ft) in altitude. The earthworks and structures of the construction railway were completed on 30 June 1907 and on 19 August the first steam locomotive ran to the portal of the tunnel. The construction railway had numerous junctions to lines connecting to the various construction sites for the main railway. Several wooden viaducts had to be built to climb from Blausee to Kandersteg. The most impressive was the Aegerten viaduct which was 126 m (413 ft) long and had a gradient of 57 per thousand (5.7%) and a curve radius of 50 m (164 ft).
Southern approach
The building of the construction railway on the south side was delayed by many appeals and the groundbreaking ceremony near Naters took place on 12 February 1907. The line of the 28 km (17.4 mi) long construction railway, with an average gradient of 30 per thousand (3%) corresponded almost exactly to the alignment of the permanent railway line as built except that the deviations around many side valleys and spurs were bypassed by the actual line. Even so, the construction line had 34 tunnels with a total length of 5.3 km (3.3 mi), of which 13 tunnels were enlarged to become part of the permanent line.
Finally, in August 1908, almost two years after beginning of tunnelling of the south portal of the tunnel, the first supply train ran all the way from Naters to the portal at Goppenstein. Previously all the building supplies had to be laboriously hauled up by mule or by cart through the narrow Lonza gorge.
The footpath along the southern approach to the Lötschberg Tunnel in some sections follows the route of the construction railway, particularly in the Bietsch and Baltschieder valleys.
Expansion of capacity
The approaches to the Lötschberg tunnel were originally
In mid 2007, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel was completed between Frutigen and Visp. This was the first of two new lines through the Swiss Alps as part of NRLA. As a result, the old Lötschberg line between Frutigen and Brig is used much less intensively than previously.
Current operations on the mountain line
The new base tunnel has taken almost all the long-distance passenger and a considerable part of the freight from the original Lötschberg tunnel, but was immediately saturated because a single track section reduces its capacity. Some freight trains and hourly regional express trains between Bern and Spiez run on the mountain railway. In addition, the car ferry continues to operate between Kandersteg and Goppenstein; it is subsidized by the Swiss government to substitute for a road tunnel under the Rawil Pass that was planned in the 1970s but never built.
Data
- Gauge: 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
- Current: 15,000
- Length: 74 km (46 mi)
- Maximum gradient: 27 ‰ (2.7%)
- Height at northern end (Spiez): 630 m (2,067 ft) above sea level
- Height at southern end (Brig): 678 m (2,224 ft) above sea level
- Apex of the line in the Lötschberg tunnel: 1,240 m (4,068 ft) above sea level
- Opening the line Spiez-Frutigen by the Spiez-Frutigen-Bahn: 25 July 1901
- Start of construction of the line between Brig and Frutigen: 15 October 1906
- Takeover of the Spiez-Frutigen-Bahn by the BLS: 1 January 1907
- Breakthrough of the Lötschberg tunnel: 31 March 1911
- Opening of line: 15 July 1913
See also
- NRLA and the Gotthard railway, Switzerland's other major Alpine freight corridor.
- Lötschberg Base Tunnel
- The Lötschberger or BLS RABe 525
- BLS AG
References
- ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
- ^ map.geo.admin.ch (Map). Swisstopo. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "SBB: Timetable". Swiss Federal Railways. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
- ^ "The First UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in the Alps". Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. Archived from the original on 2014-07-13. Retrieved 2014-06-03.
- ^ Röll, V. Freiherr von: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens, Band 2. Berlin, Wien 1912, p. 256 on www.zeno.org/Roell-1912
- ^ Röll, V. Freiherr von: Enzyklopädie des Eisenbahnwesens, Band 2. Berlin, Wien 1912, p. 257/258 on www.zeno.org/Roell-1912
- ^ BLS. Archived from the originalon 16 June 2012. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
Literature
- Hartung, Karlheinz (1989). Bahn und Reisen Schweiz (in German). R. v. Decker's Verlag. ISBN 3-7685-1289-4.
- Belloncle, Patrick (1986). Die Geschichte der Lötschbergbahn (in German). Les Éditions du Cabri, 1986. ISBN 2-903310-49-1.
- Jeanmaire, Claude (1989). Lötschbergbahn im Bau (in German). Verlag Eisenbahn. ISBN 3-85649-058-2.