Simplon Railway

Simplon Railway
Simplon Railway
	standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Operating speed	160 km/h (99 mph) (Passenger trains) 140 km/h (87 mph) (Freight trains) 200 km/h (120 mph) (Planned for 2030)
Route map
	Legend
	France
	Switzerland
	SNCF
	SBB
	SBB
	SNCF
	national and
	property border
	6.9
	14.9
	12.9
	7.7
	8.03
	8.15
	3.76
	3.79
	1.52
	-0.05
	0.00
	0.00
	Switzerland
	Italy
	167.22
	19.06
	SBB
	RFI

The Simplon Railway is a line that links Lausanne in Switzerland and Domodossola in Italy, via Brig. The 20 km (12 mi)-long Simplon Tunnel (opened in 1906) is a major part of it. The line between Lausanne and Vallorbe is sometimes considered to form part of the line, making it 233 km (145 mi) long.

Together with the

Gotthard Railway

, which lies to its east and is about 240 km (150 mi) long.

ETCS level 2 is expected to be installed on the line between Lausanne and Brig before 2022.^[7]

History

Vallorbe–Lausanne

The

Jura Foot Railway.^[8] The Bussigny–Lausanne connecting curve was opened in 1856. The Jougne-Eclépens Railway started work on the Cossonay–Vallorbe section in 1870.^[9] A cross-border connection to the French rail network was opened in 1875 with the completion of the tunnel under the Col de Jougne. However, the trains from France to Switzerland had to make a zig zag turn until 1915, when the opening of the Mont d’Or Tunnel and the new line to Frasne created a direct route. The SNCF

initially maintained the line to Pontarlier via the Tunnel de Jougne, but this suffered significant damage in the Second World War, including the blowing up of the Tunnel de Jougne by the French army, and it was not rebuilt.

Lausanne–Brig

The first section of the line went in operation on 10 June 1857 when the Compagnie de l'Ouest Suisse opened the

Compagnie du chemin de fer du Simplon ("Simplon Railway Company") in subsequent stages, ending with the closing of the Leuk–Brig

gap in 1878. The upgrade to two continuous tracks between Lausanne and Brig was completed in 2004.

The construction of the

Lötschberg Railway was completed in 1913 and, in preparation, Brig was upgraded to be a junction station. After 1919, the Sion–Brig section was electrified at 3000 Volt 16 Hertz three phase, but between 1923 and 1927 the line was electrified throughout at the modern SBB standard single-phase 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC system.^[10]

With the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007, Visp station became an interchange station between services from the Bern region to Zermatt and services towards Sion. Since then all trains to and from the Base Tunnel have run over the Simplon line between Visp and Domodossola.

Brig–Domodossola

The first tube of the Simplon Tunnel was completed after eight years of construction and, along with the continuation of the line to Domodossola, it was opened in 1906. The connection to Domodossola included the Varzo elicoidale, which was probably the longest spiral tunnel in the world. The Simplon tunnel was electrified with 3000 Volt 16 Hertz three-phase AC power from the beginning of operations until 1930.

The second tube of the Simplon tunnel was built between 1912 and 1921 and opened to traffic in 1922.

In 1930, the route from Brig to Domodossola was electrified throughout with the standard Swiss system of

Ferrovie dello Stato (FS), which also provides the ground personnel. Even in the 21st century, with open access

, the majority of traffic on the Italian section is hauled by Swiss locomotives.

Since 1992, there has been a single-track link, electrified on the Swiss system, from Domodossola I station to the Domodossola II

marshalling yard

to provide access for Swiss locomotives. The marshalling yard mainly provides changes of traction for through freight trains.

Operations

Since the closure of the

ETR 610

stock.

Long-distance services

Between

Jura Foot Railway. Between Lausanne and Brig, InterRegio services run to and from Geneva Airport. Between Lausanne and Domodossola, EuroCity services run from Geneva to Milan or Venice. With the opening of the Lötschberg Base Tunnel in 2007, InterCity services running on the Romanshorn–Brig route and EuroCity services running on the Basel–Milan route use the section between the south portal in Visp and the north portal of the Simplon Tunnel

in Brig.

Regional services

In the Rhone Valley Regional services run from Brig to Sion or Saint-Gingolph. In addition, five of the seven lines of the RéseauExpressVaudois run on sections of the Simplon railway between Lausanne and Renens. The S2 runs between Vallorbe and Lausanne, the S1 between Cossonay and Villeneuve, the S3 between Renens and Villeneuve, the S4 between Renens and Lausanne and the S11 between Cossonay and Lausanne.

Freight

Freight trains run on the line.^[13]

List of Inter-City/Inter-Regional services


Station	French	German	Italian	Distance (km)	Lyria	IR90	EuroCity	IR (Lötschberger)
Vallorbe	Vallorbe	Vallorbe	Vallorbe	46.30	●
Lausanne CFF	Lausanne	Lausanne	Losanna	0.00	●	●	●
Vevey	Vevey	Vivis	Vevey	18.40	▲	●	｜
Montreux	Montreux	Montreux	Montreux	24.54	▲	●	｜
Aigle	Aigle	Älen	Aigle	39.31	▲	●	｜
Saint-Maurice	Saint-Maurice	Sankt-Moritz	Saint-Maurice	51.56	▲	●	｜
Martigny	Martigny	Martinach	Martigny	66.50	▲	●	｜
Sion	Sion	Sitten	Seduno	92.43	▲	●	●
Sierre/Siders	Sierre	Siders	Sierre	108.13	▲	●	｜
Leuk	Loèche	Leuk	Leuk	117.58	▲	▲	｜
Visp	Viège	Visp	Visp(a)	136.66	▲	●	｜
Brig	Brigue	Brig	Brig(a)	145.55	▲	●	●	●
Domodossola	Domodossola	Domodossola	Domodossola	0.00			●	●

Route

Vallorbe–Lausanne

The line includes the section from the border station of

Bussigny, where there is connection to the line to Geneva at a wye junction. This allows trains running between the Jura Foot Railway and Geneva to avoid reversing at Lausanne. The line reaches Lausanne via Renens

.

Lausanne–Brig

After Lausanne station, the line to Fribourg and Bern branches off to the left in the middle of the SBB rolling stock depot, while the Simplon line remains on the shore of Lake Geneva. Some Lavaux communities have stations on both lines, such as Pully (Pully and Pully Nord) or Lutry (Lutry and La Conversion).

Vevey is reached via Pully, Lutry and Cully. The Vevey–Chexbres railway line, which ends here, is a one-track connection to the line to Bern and can also function as a bypass of Lausanne for the Simplon Railway, but it is rarely used as such. In addition, the narrow-gauge Vevey–Les Pléiades railway line runs from here to Les Pléiades.

The line reaches Montreux via La Tour-de-Peilz, Burier, and Clarens (which is within the Montreux municipal boundary); it is the only Swiss station with three different gauges. Here, the Montreux–Glion–Rochers-de-Naye railway line branches off to Rochers de Naye and the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line to Lenk.

After Montreux, the line runs past

Lötschberg Mountain Railway

connects with the Simplon line towards the Upper Valais.

Brig–Domodossola

class Re 485

locomotive passing through Iselle.

After Brig, the line runs into the Simplon Tunnel, in the middle of which is the national border between Switzerland and Italy. The tunnel ends at Iselle di Trasquera where, as in Brig, there is a terminal for the carriage of cars through the tunnel. This is followed by the 1.7 km-long Trasquera Tunnel and the 3.0 km-long Varzo Spiral Tunnel. The line reaches Domodossola via the halts of Varzo and Preglia. The catenary of the section on Italian territory is built to the Italian overhead line standards—but it is charged at 15 kV / 16.7 Hz AC. The signals comply with SBB standards. The trains continue from Domodossola over the Domodossola–Milan railway, which is owned by the Italian infrastructure company RFI.

References

Footnotes

^ via Lausanne marshalling yard D
^ from Lausanne–Archy
^ via Prilly-Malley
^ via Lausanne-Sébeillon
^ "Territet–Mont Fleuri funicular" (in German). www.bahndaten.ch. Retrieved 12 August 2018.
ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7
.

^ "SBB steps up ETCS rollout". Railway Gazette.com. 16 Mar 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

^ Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Biel/Bienne – Lausanne" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

^ Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Lausanne – Vallorbe" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

^ ^a ^b Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Lausanne – Brig" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

^ Lämmli, Bruno (2017). "SBB CFF FFS C 5/6 Nr. 2951–2978". Betriebseinsatz 1921 - 1932 (in German). Lokifahrer.ch. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

^ "Timetable Paris–Venice". Thello. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

^ "Rail line to Italy reopens after derailment". worldradio.ch. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

Sources

Wägli, Hans G. (2010). Schienennetz Schweiz und Bahnprofil Schweiz CH+ (in German). Zürich: AS Verlag.
ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9
.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Simplon_Railway&oldid=1211225893"

[1] via Lausanne marshalling yard D

[2] rom Lausanne–Archy

[3] via Prilly-Malley

[4] via Lausanne-Sébeillon

[5] "Territet–Mont Fleuri funicular" (in German). www.bahndaten.ch. Retrieved 12 August 2018.

[Eisenbahnatlas-6] ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7
.

[7] "SBB steps up ETCS rollout". Railway Gazette.com. 16 Mar 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2013.

[8] Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Biel/Bienne – Lausanne" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[9] Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Lausanne – Vallorbe" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[br-la-10] Tanner, Olivier. "Bahnstrecke Lausanne – Brig" (in German). Retrieved 13 August 2018.

[11] Lämmli, Bruno (2017). "SBB CFF FFS C 5/6 Nr. 2951–2978". Betriebseinsatz 1921 - 1932 (in German). Lokifahrer.ch. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

[12] "Timetable Paris–Venice". Thello. Retrieved 14 August 2018.

[13] "Rail line to Italy reopens after derailment". worldradio.ch. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2013.

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