Neuchâtel – Pontarlier railway line

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Neuchâtel – Pontarlier railway line
RABe 527 of the TRN in Neuchâtel on the way to Travers-Buttes
RABe 527 of the TRN in Neuchâtel on the way to Travers-Buttes
Timetable field : 221
Route length: 36.09 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system : 15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope : 25  ‰
Legend
Route - straight ahead
 SBB - Jura foot line from Biel and BLS - BN from Bern
Station, station
 75.29 Neuchâtel 479  m above sea level M.
Station without passenger traffic
 73.96 Neuchâtel-Vauseyon 475  m above sea level M.
   
 73.96 SBB- JN to La Chaux-de-Fonds
Station, station
 72.39 Neuchâtel- Serrières 476  m above sea level M.
Station, station
70.34
4.98
Auvernier 492  m above sea level M.
   
 SBB Jura foot line to Yverdon-les-Bains
Stop, stop
 8.37 Bole 544  m above sea level M.
Station, station
 13.65 Champ-du-Moulin 649  m above sea level M.
Station, station
 11/18 Noiraigue 728  m above sea level M.
Station, station
 22.45 Traverses 749  m above sea level M.
   
 TRN - RVT to Buttes / St-Sulpice
   
 04/26 Couvet CFF 775  m above sea level M.
   
 29.47 Boveresse 835  m above sea level M.
   
 35.54 Culminating point 938  m above sea level M.
   
 Les Bayards
Station without passenger traffic
 39.36 Les Verrières border station 931  m above sea level M.
border
41.07
464.84
State border CH – F 920  m above sea level M.
   
 SBB – RFF ownership limit
   
 RFF route Les Verrières – Frasne
   
 former route from Vallorbe
   
 453.56 Pontarlier 838  m above sea level M.
   
 former route to Gilley
   
 RFF route to Frasne

The Neuchâtel – Pontarlier line , also known as the Val-de-Travers-Line or Franco-Suisse-Line , is a single - track, standard - gauge railway line operated by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and the French state-run rail infrastructure company Réseau ferré de France (RFF).

history

Steam train in the Areuse Gorge between Bôle and Champ-du-Moulin
Steam train on the Couvet Viaduct
Locomotive Ae 3/6 I 10693 on the occasion of the opening of electrical operations between Neuchâtel and Les Verrières

The Auvernier - Pontarlier line opened on July 25, 1860. Even during construction there were disputes about where the Neuchâtel train station should be. An already built section was abandoned and used for the Neuchâtel – La Chaux-de-Fonds line. The line to the border station Les Verrières belonged to the Swiss Compagnie Franco-Suisse (FS), the section from Les Verrières to Pontarlier belonged to the French Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway (PLM). The section to Auvernier was opened as part of the Neuchâtel – Vaumarcus line by Franco-Suisse on November 7, 1859. Initially, PLM was responsible for operating the entire route.

The border town of Les Verrières gained notoriety when the worn-out Bourbaki army entered the Franco-German War in 1871. During the evacuation of the interned troops, a serious railway accident occurred near Colombier on March 22, 1871 .

The Swiss section merged into the Suisse-Occidentale (SO) on January 1, 1872, to the Suisse-Occidentale-Simplon (SOS) on June 28, 1881 and to the Jura-Simplon (JS) on January 1, 1890 . With the nationalization of the JS, the Swiss part of the line came to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) on May 1, 1903 , which has operated the line electrically with 15,000 V 16.7 Hz since November 22, 1942. In Les Verrières, steam locomotives of the French railway company Société nationale des chemins de fer français (SNCF) took over the trains for the time being.

The PLM as the owner of the French route section was nationalized on January 1, 1938 and integrated into the SNCF. To accelerate the electrification of Les Verrières via Pontarlier to Dole, the SNCF received financial support from Switzerland. The section from Les Verrières to Pontarlier has been equipped with the Swiss electricity system 15,000 V 16.7 Hz since June 3, 1956, so that the Swiss locomotives can drive through to Pontarlier again. On the route from Pontarlier to Dole, electrical operation with 25,000 V 50 Hz began on April 25, 1958.

Route description

Champ-du-Moulin station with Creux du Van in the background, around 1930
Elevation profile of the Neuchâtel – Pontarlier route
Station Pontarlier with railcars Z2 of TER Franche-Comté

As far as Auvernier, the trains going into the Val de Travers use the Jura foot line to Yverdon . The line then leads through the vineyards up to Bôle and offers a good view of Lake Neuchâtel . It continues uphill into the Areuse Gorge, where the route leads through rocks and over numerous bridges. In the station Champ-du-Moulin , where the famous cirque Creux du Van can see, crossing each regional trains themselves. The line continues via Noiraigue to Travers , where most trains continue on the TRN to Buttes . The line to Pontarlier continues to climb, past the former Couvet CFF, Boveresse and Les Bayards stops . In Les Verrières all passenger trains pass through; the border station only serves goods traffic. After going down to Pontarlier, the trains are already running on French soil, but still with the Swiss electricity system . Pontarlier is a system transfer station where the Swiss traction current system with 15,000 V 16.7 Hz and the French with 25,000 V 50 Hz collide.

business

Three RegioExpress connections Bern – Neuchâtel– Frasne with stops in Neuchâtel and Pontarlier connect Frasne to the TGV Lyria trains Lausanne - Dijon - Paris Gare de Lyon . RBDe 562 of the SBB regional traffic, suitable for France, operate .

On the stretch of Neuchâtel-Travers operates in cooperation with the transport Régionaux Neuchâtelois (TRN) hourly Regio to on the Regional du Val-de-Travers -distance on to Fleurier and Buttes to drive. Additional courses operate during rush hour. Are used RABe 527 of TRN and Domino trains of SBB.

The Les Verrières – Pontarlier section is the only route operated by the French infrastructure operator RFF that is electrified at 15,000 V 16.7 Hz and is therefore used for test drives with French multi-system vehicles. The then new four-current high-speed train Thalys and a variant of the Prima electric locomotive were tested here at 16.7 Hz.

literature

References and comments

  1. ↑ As of the 2014 timetable
  2. ^ Neuchâtel region. Timetables. SBB, accessed on April 18, 2014 .