Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line
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Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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metre gauge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Electrification | 900 V DC overhead line[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Highest elevation | 1,275 m (4,183 ft) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum incline | 73‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line is a metre-gauge electric railway line in Switzerland run by the
History
The first section of line opened on 18 December 1901, between Montreux and Les Avants. The line was further extended from Les Avants to Montbovon on 1 October 1903,[3] Chateau d'Œx on 19 August 1904, Gstaad on 20 December 1904, and Zweisimmen on 6 July 1905.[4] The extension between Zweisimmen and Lenk im Simmental opened on 8 June 1912.[5] Passenger service on the Lenk–Zweisimmen section was suspended between 1975–1979.[6]
Operations
Besides the GoldenPass Express, various regional trains run on the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line:
- and Saanenmöser.
- PE GoldenPass Panoramic and GoldenPass Belle Époque Montreux–Zweisimmen, between Fontanivent and Zweisimmen with stops (or request stops) at almost all stations
- Regio Montreux–Les Avants
- Regio Gstaad–Zweisimmen
- Regio Zweisimmen–Lenk im Simmental[7]
Connecting lines
In Chamby, the former Chemins de fer électriques Veveysans (CEV) line to Blonay branches off the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line. Since the 1966 suspension of passenger services on this line, the Blonay–Chamby Museum Railway has been running scheduled nostalgic trips on summer weekends. The line still belongs to Transports Montreux–Vevey–Riviera, the successor company to the CEV.
At
At the time when both lines were being built, there arose a genuine fight between the Fribourg railway project initiators and the Vaud-Bern-governed MOB. The former submitted a request for a concession to build a railway to Zweisimmen, wanting, as they did, to run through trains from Bulle, and perhaps even from Vevey through Montbovon to Zweisimmen, and in so doing take along through-running stock from Montreux. In response, the Swiss Railway Department implemented on 23 June 1899 negotiations whose goal was to reach an agreement or compromise between the two initiative committees, and with the cantonal governments that were affected.
Since the Bern and Vaud cantonal governments supported the Montreux committee, the project initiators from Fribourg agreed to forgo the concession, but at the same time were given the right to build the station at Montbovon (which to this day belongs to the TPF). Still left open by the Federal representatives, though, was the question of who should get ownership of the short stretch of the line from Montbovon to the cantonal boundary just before La Tine (a hamlet in
Meeting the line at Zweisimmen station is the standard-gauge Spiez–Zweisimmen railway, run by BLS AG. It affords links with Interlaken, Lucerne, Brig and Bern.
Since the 11 December 2022 timetable changes there has been a direct connection from Interlaken by way of Zweisimmen to Montreux. Acquired for this purpose, for the first time, were trains whose bogies can automatically be adjusted from standard gauge to narrow gauge.[10] From a tourism point of view, an onward trip to Lucerne on these trains would be desirable, but nevertheless not yet possible, as trains on the Brünig railway line not only need to be able to use metre gauge like the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line, but also have to be equipped with cogs to engage the racks.[10]
See also
- List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland
- List of narrow-gauge railways in Switzerland
- Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (the company that owns the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line)
Notes
- ^ Electrification voltage
- ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
- ^ Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 23.
- ^ Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 25.
- ^ Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 27.
- ^ Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 27, ff. 248.
- ^ 120 Montreux – Château-d'Œx – Gstaad – Zweisimmen – Lenk im Simmental. In: Offizielles Kursbuch, Fahrplanjahr 2023
- ^ Michel Grandguillaume et al.: MOB, du Léman au Pays-d'Enhaut *. BVA, Lausanne 1992, ISBN 2-88125-008-4, p. 51
- ^ Message from the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly about concession for an electric railway from Montbovon, or from the cantonal boundary itself as the case may be, by way of Château-d'Œx and Saanen to Zweisimmen (from 7 December 1899). Source: Bundesblatt Nr. 50 vom 13. Dezember 1899
- ^ a b "Interlaken – Montreux - Nach 100 Jahren wird die direkte Bahnverbindung Wirklichkeit" (in German). 2022-12-12. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
References
- Wägli, Hans G.; Jacobi, Sébastien (2010). Schienennetz Schweiz - Bahnprofil Schweiz CH+ [Swiss rail network] (in German) (3rd ed.). Zürich: AS Verlag. ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9.
Further reading
- Michel Grandguillaume, Gérald Hadorn, Sébastien Jarne and Jean-Louis Rochaix: Chemin de fer Montreux Oberland Bernois. Du Léman au Pays-d'Enhaut, volume 1. Bureau vaudois d'adresses (BVA), Lausanne 1992, ISBN 2-88125-008-4
- Michel Grandguillaume, Gérald Hadorn, Sébastien Jarne and Jean-Louis Rochaix: Chemin de fer Montreux Oberland Bernois, Du Léman au Pays-d'Enhaut, volume 2. Bureau vaudois d'adresses (BVA), Lausanne 1994, ISBN 2-88125-009-2
- 75 Jahre MOB, 75 ans MOB, 1901–1976. (bilingual: French and German), Chemin de fer Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB), Montreux, 1976, no ISBN.
- Edward W. Paget Tomlinson, Roger Kaller and Pierre Stauffer: Die Montreux-Berner Oberland-Bahn, Le Montreux-Oberland Bernois, The Montreux-Oberland Bernois Railway. (trilingual: English, French and German), Chemin de fer Montreux-Oberland Bernois (MOB), Montreux, 1985, no ISBN.
- Jean-Michel Hartmann: Zauber der MOB, Magie du MOB. (bilingual: French and German), Ott Verlag, Thun, 1985. ISBN 3-7225-6331-3