Albula Railway

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thusis – St. Moritz
Route of the Albula Railway
Timetable field : 940
Route length: 61.67 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system : 11 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope : 35 
Route - straight ahead
from Landquart
Station, station
41.26 Thusis 697  m above sea level M.
   
Hinterrhein (228 m)
Station without passenger traffic
43.08 Sils in Domleschg 735  m above sea level M.
   
Lehnen Viaduct (56 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (44 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (41 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (9 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Campell (32 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (19 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (20 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Campi (218 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (39 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (25 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Runplanas (502 m)
   
Outer Cugniel Viaduct (24 m)
   
Inner Cugniel Viaduct (22 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Cugnieler (39 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Versasca (694 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (25 m)
   
Versasca Viaduct (58 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Plant Garden I (39 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Plant Garden II (98 m)
   
Bendertobel Viaduct (57 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Passmal (420 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (32 m)
   
Tschuggentobel arch bridge (22 m)
   
Lochtobel Viaduct (102 m)
   
Muttnertobel Viaduct (45 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Solis (986 m)
Station without passenger traffic
49.33 Solos 851  m above sea level M.
   
Alte Kantonsstrasse viaduct (54 m)
   
Solis Viaduct (164 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (52 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Alvaschein (609 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (17 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Nisellas (274 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (72 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (74 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Salons gallery (7 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Salons (60 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (29 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (24 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Mistail (300 m)
   
Mistailtobel Viaduct (32 m)
   
Valmala Viaduct (30 m)
Station, station
53.95 Tiefencastel 884  m above sea level M.
   
Lehnen Viaduct (27 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (68 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Tiefencastel (26 m)
Station, station
58.13 Surava 939  m above sea level M.
   
Ava da Crappa Naira (15 m)
   
Per quarta (32 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (34 m)
Station, station
60.78 Alvaneu 999  m above sea level M.
   
Schmittentobel (137 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Zalaint (27 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (21 m)
   
Landwasser Viaduct (136 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Landwasser (216 m)
   
Savings sheet (31 m)
   
from Davos Platz
Station, station
64.36 Filisur 1080  m above sea level M.
   
Val Nova Viaduct (44 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Greifenstein (698 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Schlossberg (56 m)
   
Faleinertobel Viaduct (50 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Faleinerweg (36 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Ruegna (21 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Little Cruschetta (74 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Small Cruschetta Gallery (37 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Great Cruschetta (417 m)
   
Surmintobel Viaduct (34 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Surmin (224 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Bellaluna (28 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (31 m)
   
Bellaluna (46 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Stulsertobel I (84 m)
   
Stulsertoblel I Viaduct (43 m)
   
Stulsertoblel II Viaduct (41 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Stulsertobel II (103 m)
Station without passenger traffic
70.19 Stugl / Stuls 1277  m above sea level M.
   
Streda Viaduct (28 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Streda (74 m)
   
Ava da Lungia Viaduct (14 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Bergünerstein (409 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Glatscheras (334 m)
Station, station
73.14 Bergün / Bravuogn 1372  m above sea level M.
   
Val Tuors Viaduct (42 m)
   
Clix Viaduct (72 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
God (487 m)
   
Sagliaz I Viaduct (17 m)
   
Plaz Viaduct (96 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Plaz (262 m)
   
Sagliaz II Viaduct (14 m)
   
Val table (102 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Prasegras (34 m)
   
Blais Leda Viaduct (14 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Chanalletta Gallery (117 m)
Station without passenger traffic
79.30 Muot 1575  m above sea level M.
   
Muot Viaduct (17 m)
   
Fuegna Viaduct (13 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Fuegna Gallery (53 m)
   
Savings sheets (30 m)
   
Albula Viaduct I (60 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Rugnux (662 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Rugnux Gallery (30 m)
   
Rugnux Viaduct (74 m)
   
Ava da Rot's Arch Bridge (17 m)
   
Albula Viaduct II (95 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Toua (677 m)
   
Albula Viaduct III (138 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Maliera Gallery (220 m)
   
Albula Viaduct IV (44 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Zuondra (535 m)
   
Ava da Zavretta Bridge (25 m)
Station, station
85.71 Preda 1789  m above sea level M.
tunnel
Albula Tunnel (5865 m)
   
Beverin Bridge (14 m)
Station, station
91.80 Spinas 1815  m above sea level M.
   
Beverin I arch bridge (27 m)
   
by Scuol-Tarasp
Station, station
95.60 Bever 1710  m above sea level M.
   
Beverin II arch bridge (23 m)
Station, station
97.71 Samedan 1705  m above sea level M.
   
to Pontresina
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Sper l'En (100 m)
   
Ava da Schlattain (10 m)
Station, station
100.32 Celerina 1730  m above sea level M.
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Charnadüra I (449 m)
   
Lehnen Viaduct (37 m)
Tunnel - if there are several tunnels in a row
Argentieri (114 m)
   
Via Serlas Bridge (22 m)
   
Bernina Railway from Tirano
End station - end of the line
102.93 St. Moritz 1775  m above sea level M.

The Albula Railway , also known as the Albula Line , is located in the Swiss canton of Graubünden and connects Thusis ( 697  m above sea level ) on the Hinterrhein with the health resort of St. Moritz ( 1775  m above sea level ) in the Engadine . The 61.67-kilometer route, which with its 144 bridges spanning over two meters and 42 tunnels and galleries is one of the most spectacular narrow-gauge railways in the world, is part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB) network.

Construction of the Albula Line began in September 1898, and the opening took place on July 1, 1903. The extension to St. Moritz went into operation on July 10, 1904.

On July 7, 2008, the Albula and Bernina Railway were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List .

route

Location map of the Filisur train station, the Landwasser Viaduct and the Greifenstein tunnel

The Albula line begins in Thusis, where it connects to the Landquart – Thusis railway line, which was built in 1896, and takes over its kilometers. Behind the Thusis train station, the route crosses the Hinterrhein and the A 13 motorway and enters the Schin Gorge , where it passes numerous bridges and tunnels. After the Solis station , eight kilometers from Thusis, the Albula is crossed for the first time on the 89-meter-high Solis Viaduct . It is the highest bridge on the Rhaetian Railway and the widest spanning viaduct of the Albula Railway.

Map of the Bergün – Preda section

Between Tiefencastel and Filisur , the train travels over the 35 meter high and 137 meter long Schmittentobel Viaduct until it reaches the 65 meter high Landwasser Viaduct shortly before Filisur . It runs in a circular arc of about 100 meters radius , and leads on the opposite cliff directly in a tunnel.

The feeder line from Davos Platz joins the Albula Railway at Filisur station . The train climbs 292 meters between Filisur and Bergün and goes through the first spiral tunnel . The most demanding section of the Albula Railway follows between Bergün and Preda: In order to overcome the difference in altitude of 417 meters between Bergün and Preda - at just 6.5 kilometers as the crow flies - without forcing steep gradients or radii, the route was made twelve kilometers by means of engineering structures extended. This is done with the help of three spiral tunnels , two spiral tunnels and four viaducts that cross the valley . Immediately after leaving Bergün train station, the route rises again at 35  per mil . The route crosses itself several times through the above-mentioned engineering structures. The Preda – Bergün section is also brought closer to the public interested in rail technology through a railway adventure trail .

Aerial view of the Preda-Bergün route.

At the hamlet of Naz near Preda, the train travels on a short plateau where there is a double track section about one kilometer long. Immediately after the Preda station, the highest stop on the Albula Railway at 1789 meters above sea level, is the north portal of the Albula tunnel . After crossing it and the Spinas station , the train in Val Bever reaches the Upper Engadine over a gradient of up to 32 per thousand at Bever . This is where the Engadine line from Scuol-Tarasp joins . The line to Pontresina branches off at Samedan station and is served by the Bernina Railway to Tirano . The Glacier Express follows the route via Celerina to St. Moritz, the end point of the Albula Railway.

The original plan was to extend the route over the Malojapass to Chiavenna, Italy . There she should get a connection to the Italian railway, which runs along Lake Como to Milan . For this reason, the St. Moritz train station is designed as a through station . While the plans for the route through the Bergell were well advanced on the Swiss side , there were only vague declarations of intent on the Italian side from the border near Castasegna . The First World War and the subsequent economic recession prevented the project. Today a cross-border post bus line operates on this route .

history

prehistory

The panorama cars acquired in 2006 on the Landwasser Viaduct near Filisur

By 1890, the south-east of Switzerland was of Railways extremely poorly developed. The Gotthard Railway attracted transit traffic , so that the construction of transcontinental railways in Graubünden did not appear economically viable. Only the success of the line from Landquart to Davos opened in 1890 by the narrow-gauge railway Landquart – Davos AG (LD) brought the turning point. The LD changed its name to Rhaetian Railway (RhB) in 1895 and two years later the people of Graubünden decided in a poll to make the RhB a state railway. This created the prerequisites for the rapid construction of further routes that would open up large parts of the canton.

In 1890, the Davos hotelier Willem Jan Holsboer presented a report that provided for a rail connection ( Scalettabahn ) from Chur via Davos and through a tunnel under the Scalettapass to St. Moritz and further over the Malojapass into Chiavenna, Italy. In favor of the route through the Albula Tunnel, Holsboer later had to forego planning the Scalettabahn. In 1895, the Zurich railway pioneer Adolf Guyer-Zeller presented the idea of ​​an Engadin-Orient railway that would connect Chur via Thusis and the Engadin to the Vinschgau and Trieste via the Ofen Pass . Zeller had it designed as a standard-gauge railway, which envisaged crossing under the Albula Alps through a twelve-kilometer tunnel from the confluence of the Val Tisch to the Inn valley below Bever. As the Ofenbergbahn , the Engadin-Orient-Bahn should have made the connection to Val Müstair . It was not until June 30, 1898, that the Swiss Federal Assembly finally decided to build the Albula Railway and thus against a standard-gauge transit railway and a railway line over the Julier Pass, which was also being considered .

construction

After the construction of the Chur-Thusis line , the Rhaetian Railway began laying the Albula Railway on October 15, 1898 . Unlike the Bernina Railway, which was built a good ten years later from St. Moritz to Tirano and was fully electrified when it opened , the Albula Railway was still designed for steam traction and, unlike the Bernina Railway, should be able to be used for freight transport. The steam locomotives of that time were not yet very powerful and therefore, in order to be able to achieve the highest possible speeds, the maximum gradient was limited to 35 per thousand and the curve radius was kept as large as possible. The Albula Railway does not exhaust the technical possibilities of an adhesive railway in favor of greater efficiency .

Such a style of construction required a variety of engineering structures. The viaducts were built exclusively in solid construction. The incline between Bergün and Preda proved to be particularly problematic , where over a distance of five kilometers as the crow flies there is an altitude difference of over 400 meters. In order to maintain the maximum specified gradient, the construction manager Friedrich Hennings devised a winding line that extended the route to twelve kilometers. Two turning tunnels and three spiral tunnels as well as a number of bridges mastered this task by turning the route upwards like a screw. The construction of the 660 meter long Rugnux spiral tunnel in particular caused problems on this section of the route, because the four degrees cold mountain water made it difficult for the workers to work. Another difficulty was securing the route from avalanches and rockfalls - especially in the upper Albula valley between Bergün and Naz. Several galleries and avalanche barriers were built for this purpose. The focus was on completely securing the steep slope (from around 1500 meters above sea level up to around 2500 meters, width around 1.5 kilometers) on Piz Muot (2670 meters), the slope of which has three wide, dangerous avalanches and rockfall trains. Dry stone walls, metal / wood constructions, a gallery and a tunnel were built to secure it, and extensive reforestation was carried out. The dry stone walls alone have a total length of around eleven kilometers. The avalanche protection on Piz Muot was the largest avalanche barriers in Switzerland when it was built.

Slope diagram of the Albula Railway

Behind Preda, the heart of the route was built, the 5866 meter long Albula Tunnel, which crosses under the watershed between the Rhine and Danube a few kilometers west of the Albula Pass . With a culminating point of 1820 meters above sea level, it is the second highest Alpine breakthrough in Switzerland. The construction of the tunnel caused extraordinary problems due to inrushing water, which led to the bankruptcy of the construction company. A total of 1316 people were employed in the construction of the Albula Tunnel. There were a total of 16 fatal accidents at work. On May 29, 1902, at 3:30 a.m., the two aligning tunnels broke through in the middle of the mountain.

Freight train between Tiefencastel and Surava

On July 1, 1903, the section from Thusis to Celerina was opened. Because the RhB and the municipality of St. Moritz still had to agree on the location of the local train station, the inauguration of the almost three-kilometer-long remaining piece was delayed until July 10, 1904. The lack of coal during the First World War prompted the RhB to Tackle electrification . On April 20, 1919, the Bever – Filisur section, the first section of the line, was electrified with the proven alternating voltage of 11  kV 16 2/3  Hz on the Engadine line. The continuation to Thusis followed on October 15.

Further development

The Glacier Express has been using the Albula Railway since 1930, and the Bernina Express was added after the Second World War . As the figureheads of the Rhaetian Railway, both trains established the railway company's legendary reputation among railway enthusiasts all over the world.

Since the line was equipped with a route block in 1969 , train operations can be remotely monitored at most stations. In 2005 the Landquart Rail Control Center took over the tasks of the Filisur remote control center.

The Bever substation was modernized in 1973. In 1980 the 32 meter long Pro Quarta underpass was built between Surava and Alvaneu , over which the cantonal road runs. The gradually expanded sidings at the stations are now all over 260 meters long, which corresponds to an express train with 13 cars. In 1985 the Maliera-Galerie, built between the Muot and Naz stations, was expanded considerably. The extension towards Bergün was necessary in order to better protect the railway line from avalanches and falling rocks. Since then, the upper old part of the Maliera-Galerie has been made of masonry, the lower, new part of concrete. Since the late 1990s, the RhB has been creating three short double-track sections  - at Thusis, at Filisur and below Preda - in order to be able to handle the hourly train crossings more smoothly. The rest of the route is still single-tracked and largely in the same condition as in 1904.

In recent years, the Rhaetian Railway has invested millions in the renovation of the line, especially the structures. In 1997 the Solis Viaduct , in 2009 the Landwasser Viaduct and the Albula III Viaduct were renovated and modernized. In 2010 the Argentieri tunnel in front of St. Moritz and the Clix viaduct were renovated. In 2010 the cultural and industrial historical hiking trail Via Albula / Bernina was opened.

On the route to St. Moritz, a level crossing was lifted immediately after the Samedan train station, in which the track was lowered. The new 100 meter long tunnel was inaugurated in December 2011; at the same time the Samedan train station was renovated. From 2010 to 2012, Bergün train station, along with the tracks and platforms, was extensively rebuilt. The work was carried out in several construction phases. The platforms were renewed in 2010, track 1 was dismantled and track 2 was swiveled. A new siding was built with a platform for the toboggan train and goods loading. In 2012 the Albula Railway Museum opened in the former Bergün armory. A siding had to be created beforehand.

The Charnadüra tunnel near St. Moritz was renovated from summer 2011 to the end of 2012 . The tunnel floor was lowered and a new reinforced concrete ballast trough was installed to increase the clearance profile. In 2011 the Rugnux Viaduct was completely renovated. All masonry joints were repaired, new tracks and a new reinforced concrete gravel trough were installed. The work was carried out during ongoing operations, so that work was often carried out at night. Since the viaduct cannot be reached by road or road, most of the material and all the large machines had to be brought by rail.

The largest project is the rehabilitation of the Albula tunnel. In 2009 the Rhaetian Railway examined whether it would be more economical to extensively renovate the tunnel or to replace it with a new building. In spring 2010 the RhB announced that a new building was planned. The costs are put at 260 million Swiss francs. According to the RhB, the new building is 20 million more expensive than the repair, but the new building can provide advantages in terms of safety, operation, scheduling and construction technology. The biggest advantage is that train operations can be maintained throughout the construction work. The new tunnel was erected on August 31, 2015 and a construction period of six and a half years is expected. The new building should be compatible with World Heritage status .

Accidents

On August 1, 1952, a train with the Ge 4/4 I 602 derailed near Bever due to excessive speed and crashed onto the cantonal road . Two people were killed on the train, one on the street. Four people were seriously injured.

On August 13, 2014, train 1136 Samedan – Chur between Tiefencastel and Solis, with around 140 passengers, was hit by a landslide, with three passenger cars derailing. One person was killed and four seriously injured, resulting in major property damage.

Train operation

On the Preda – Bergün route, a train traveling downhill leaves the Toua spiral tunnel after having passed Albula Viaduct III shortly before.

Express trains run every hour between Chur and St. Moritz  - officially RegioExpress since December 2004 , called InterRegio since December 2017 - every hour. For the section Thusis – St. Moritz they need one hour 34 minutes, so they drive at an average speed of 39 km / h. Only the express train stations are served, trains have not stopped at the smaller stations since the 1990s, and Surava and Alvaneu only have occasional train services in the off- peak hours . In the summer high season, special trains with panoramic carriages , such as the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St. Moritz and the Bernina Express from Chur via Samedan - Pontresina to Tirano , run for tourist purposes . Throughout the year, selected regular express trains also run through coaches to Zermatt and Tirano.

Mostly the modern electric locomotives of the Ge 4/4 III series , which are also used on the Vereina line, as well as Allegra compositions are used. The Albula Railway was once the main area of ​​application for the RhB crocodiles ( Ge 6/6 I ). The remaining locomotives of this series and the historic Ge 4/6 still run before special trains.

Almost all stations on the route are served by freight trains; the larger ones have at least one shunting locomotive of their own . The most important transport goods are wood, cement and other building materials, petroleum products and food.

Train on the Albula line near Bever

Toboggan runs run on the Bergün – Preda section in winter . It is a shuttle train that brings tobogganers and tobogganists from Bergün to Preda, who toboggan on the Albula pass road, which is closed to traffic and used as a toboggan run , to Bergün.

literature

  • Gian Brüngger, Tibert Keller, Renato Mengotti: Adventure Albula Railway . Publishing community Desertina - Terra Grischuna, Chur 2003, ISBN 3-85637-279-2 .
  • Gion Caprez, Peter Pfeiffer: Albula Railway. Harmony of landscape and technology . AS-Verlag, Zurich 2003, ISBN 3-905111-89-6 .
  • Hubertus von Salis Soglio: Preda – Bergün railway history educational trail. 5th edition. Published by the Bergün Tourist Office. Thusis 1997 (purchase from the RhB train shop or Bergün train station).
  • Henning Wall: Albula - Graubünden's artery . Schweers and Wall, Aachen 1984, ISBN 3-921679-33-8 .
  • Railroad Journal. Special edition Rhaetian Railway (I) . Hermann Merker Verlag, Fürstenfeldbruck 1.1988, pp. 34-102. ISSN  0720-051X
  • Friedrich Hennings: Project and construction of the Albula Railway . Chur 1908.
  • Hennings: The new lines of the Rhaetian Railway. In: Schweizerische Bauzeitung . Volume 37/38, 1901, ISSN  0036-7524 , pp. 5-7 ( PDF; 2.3 MB ).

Movie

Web links

Commons : Albulabahn  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. RhB breaks down barriers in Samedan. (PDF) Press release. In: Rhaetian Railway. December 16, 2011, accessed January 5, 2016 .
  2. RhB press release. Retrieved October 13, 2015
  3. A quarter of a billion for a new Albula tunnel. In: Tages-Anzeiger . April 6, 2010. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
  4. Marcel Manhart: List of the most serious rail accidents in Switzerland up to May 2006 from SBB Historic. Retrieved October 26, 2013 .
  5. Vaz / Obervaz: Railway accident causes several injuries. Cantonal Police of Graubünden, August 13, 2014, accessed on August 13, 2014 .
  6. August 13, 2014, Tiefencastel GR, derailment. Brief description. (No longer available online.) Swiss Accident Investigation Bureau (SUST), archived from the original on August 26, 2014 ; accessed on August 23, 2014 .
  7. ^ Vaz / Obervaz: man died after rail accident. Cantonal Police of Graubünden, August 22, 2014, accessed on August 22, 2014 .
  8. Verkehrsclub der Schweiz (Ed.): Kursbuch 2018 . S. KBS 940 .
This article was added to the list of excellent articles on February 20, 2009 in this version .

Coordinates: 46 ° 41 '  N , 9 ° 41'  E