Basel – Rodersdorf railway line

Basel Heuwaage – Rodersdorf
The station Leymen in France
Timetable field :	505 (line 10 Dornach – Rodersdorf) 506 (line 17 Ettingen-Basel Wiesenplatz)
Route length:	16.27 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	940 volts (until 1984) 600 volts (since 1984)  =
Maximum slope :	46  ‰
Dual track :	Heuwaage – Sonnenrain Witterswil-Bättwil
Legend Link to the Basel tram network (since 1986) 0.00 Basel hay scales with reversible loop Tram lines 1 and 8 0.49 zoo Strasbourg – Basel railway line Tram line 2 1.30 Dorenbach (since 1934) 1.63 Binningen Oberdorf 2.00 Binningen Castle 2.60 Bottminger Mill 3.12 Batteriestrasse (since 1962) 3.48 Bottmingen Castle 4.37 Stables 4.93 Oberwil center 5.93 Hüslimatt Depot, with reversible loop 6.77 Therwil center 7.28 Känelmatt (since 1990) 8.72 Ettingen train station with a reversible loop 10.10 Sonnenrain (since 1997) 10.67 Witterswil station 11.66 Bättwil village 12.42 Flüh train station with a turning loop 12.53 Switzerland / France border 13.72 Leymen Station 15.48 France / Switzerland border 16.17 Rodersdorf station with a reversible loop

The Basel – Rodersdorf railway , also known as the Birsigtalbahn , is a 16.27-kilometer railway line in Switzerland and France . It connects to the Basel tram network near Basel Heuwaage and leads to Rodersdorf . The route was previously operated by the Birsigthalbahn (BTB). The successor company Baselland Transport AG (BLT) has been responsible for the route since January 1, 1974 .

history

Beginnings

The first section of the railway line built by the Bern construction company Pümpin & Herzog, Gesellschaft für Specialbahnen, opened on October 4, 1887, ran from Basel to Therwil and was operated as a steam tram . The route was laid out by the later Basel government councilor Martin Stohler . The original terminus on the city side was in Steinentorstrasse and was called Vierlindenbrunnen. As early as October 11, 1888, the route to Flüh was extended. So that the Basel tram could open its tram line 4 to Morgartenring, the terminus of the Birsigthalbahn had to be relocated to Heuwaagplatz from April 2, 1900. A station building was also moved into there on August 2, 1900, and the associated goods shed a year later.

On June 2, 1905, steam operation was replaced by electric traction with 750 volts direct current . The extension to Rodersdorf, which was completed on May 1, 1910, made the line an international railway, as it runs almost three kilometers over Alsatian territory (at the start of operations it was still the German Empire ) and also serves a station there with the Leymen station. A planned continuation to Belfort , however, was never implemented.

After the operator change at the beginning of 1974, the route to Rodersdorf was referred to as line 17. The white BLT logo on the light blue painted former BTB vehicles was unusual, although the BLT's corporate colors were yellow and red.

Conversion to tram operation

1980: The Heuwaage terminus before it was linked to the tram network

From 1982 to 1984 the line was modernized, expanded to double lanes in sections and converted to operate with trams . At the same time, four new stops were set up . In the night from 26 to 27 October 1984, blue and white were bi-directional vehicles , the so-called "Blue Bähnli" by Standard Trams in facility construction replaced. Several companies were making the change that night. Among other things, the heart of all switches had to be replaced, and the driving voltage was reduced from 940 to 600 volts direct current . The shunting tracks in the Oberwil depot were dismantled, but numerous new points had to be installed at the Hüslimatt depot , which was newly built at the time (also located in Oberwil).

Reversing loops also had to be set up at the Heuwaage, at the new Hüslimatt Oberwil depot, in Ettingen, in Flüh and in Rodersdorf. Since then, yellow and red articulated multiple units have been running on the route, initially partly with green trailers taken over from the Basler Verkehrsbetriebe (BVB) . In this context, the first car class was also omitted .

On October 25, 1986, the Rodersdorf route was finally fully integrated into the Basel tram network. For this purpose, two connecting tracks had to be built between the former Heuwaage terminus and the Heuwaage tram stop. The tram line 10, which previously ran from Dornach to Aeschenplatz, was then extended to Rodersdorf. The connection with the Basel – Dornach railway line created a 25.952 km long diameter line . In return, line 17 was converted into a 12.322 kilometer long operational line between Ettingen and Schifflände or Wiesenplatz.

Today's operation and planning

Until Ettingen is a continuous 7.5-minute intervals, with the line 17 runs to Ettingen at peak times every 3.75 minutes a course. Up to Flüh there is a 15-minute service, Rodersdorf is served every 30 minutes or every 15 minutes at peak times.

In 2013, the preparatory work began on the double-track expansion in the Ettingen – Rodersdorf section. From June 2 to September 7, 2014, the line was completely rebuilt, including the expansion to double lane between Ettingen and Sonnenrain and between Witterswil and Bättwil.

This made it possible to introduce a 7.5-minute cycle to Flüh at the timetable change in December 2014, which will initially be implemented during rush hour. The Flüh – Rodersdorf section will continue to be served every 30 minutes or every 15 minutes during rush hour.

• 

  Witterswil crossing station

• 

  Flüh train station with a Stadler Tango Be 6/10 low-floor train

• 

  A Be 4/8 with a Be 4/6 as a motorized trailer in Leymen, 2009

• 

  A train in the Wendeschleife Rodersdorf, on the left the former station building

vehicles

In 1966, the rolling stock was replaced by more modern shuttle trains consisting of six motor cars (11-16), seven control cars (21-27) and two intermediate cars (61-62). Some of the old motor vehicles were sold to the Biel-Täuffelen-Ins-Bahn (BTI), some to the AOMC . The latter were only used on the "flat routes" between Aigle and Monthey due to the lack of a gear drive.

literature

• Claude Jeanmaire: The Development of the Basel Trams and Overland Railways 1840-1969 . Publishing house for railways and trams, Basel 1969
• Hansrudolf Schwabe, Rudolf Werder, Werner Heuberger, Paul Messmer, Rudolf Pleuler, Christian Siposs: BTB + BEB + TBA + BUeB = BLT, Baselland Transport AG, 100 years of regional public transport in Northern Switzerland , Pharos-Verlag, Basel 1987, ISBN 3- 7230-0222-6
• Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + , in a slipcase. AS Verlag , Zurich, 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9

Web links

• Association Pro Birsigthalbahn
• Birsigtalbahn - 100 years electric from Basel to Rodersdorf (line 10) ( Memento from May 13, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
• Description of the Heuwaage – Bottmingen section on www.g-st.ch

Individual evidence

1. ↑ http://www.blt.ch/Dokumente/PDF/netzzugang Leistungskatalog blt.pdf (link not available)
2. ↑ The Heuwaage station at www.g-st.ch
3. ↑ An overview of the BLT lines with the transfer connections at www.blt.ch ( Memento from November 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive )