Nyon – Crassier railway line
| Nyon-Crassier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Route length: | 9.15 km | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1435 mm ( standard gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 15 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minimum radius : | 300 m | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dual track : | No | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Nyon – Crassier railway is a railway line in Switzerland that connected Nyon with Crassier . Today only the Nyon – Eysins section is used for freight traffic. In Crassier, the line continued across the French border to Divonne-les-Bains , where it was linked to the Collonges – Divonne-les-Bains railway . Commissioning took place on May 1, 1905, the extension to Divonne went into operation on November 3 of the same year.
Route
The line has its origin in Nyon station on track 4. It runs in a south-westerly direction, about 250 m parallel to the Lausanne – Geneva railway line , then branches off in a westerly direction and turns into a gradient of 15 ‰. It serves several industrial connections here, including the Nyon slaughterhouse and the wine cooperative. At 2.5 km the railway line reaches Eysins station . After the route leads through fields, continuing on a 15 ‰ slope, it reaches the Borex - Arnex train station , at 4.5 km. After a right-hand bend, the route aligns with the Crassier train station. This is located 5.9 km from Nyon. After the road from Crassier to Bogis-Bossey has been crossed, it crosses the border. There was a breakpoint south of Vésenex (km 6.9), and finally Divonne-les-Bains is reached at km 9.145 after driving around the town to the south-east.
history
In 1893 there were first efforts on the part of the Nyon municipality to build a railway line from Nyon to Divonne via Crassier. These came to nothing, as the Federal Council rejected the construction for strategic reasons. In fact, a tunnel was planned under the Col de la Faucille , which would have given the route an important role. After the cantonal government had contacted France, it asked the Federal Council to approve the concession to build; the construction of the tunnel had been abandoned. On June 28, 1902, this was granted to the Société du chemin de fer Nyon - Crassier (NC) . Article 17 of the agreement of August 9, 1904 stipulates that the vehicles of the two railway companies (NC and PLM ) can run on the entire railway line. On the same day, SBB was commissioned to operate the route.
Construction work began in spring 1904, and the Nyon – Crassier section went into operation on May 1, 1905. This section cost 600,000 francs , which results in a kilometer price of 100,000 CHF. No noteworthy structures had to be built as the terrain is relatively flat. On November 3, the extension went into operation across the border, where it was linked to the Collonges – Divonne-les-Bains railway line .
During the First World War , all traffic collapsed, which led to financial difficulties. As a result, the Société du chemin de fer Nyon - Crassier (NC) had to file for bankruptcy on November 21, 1921. After a first unsuccessful auction, the canton of Vaud bought the route for CHF 50,000, the takeover took place on January 1, 1922. After the war, traffic increased again, but the growth of the pre-war years could not be matched. In 1931 four pairs of trains ran from Nyon to Divonne; the journey time is 25 minutes. On October 3, 1939, traffic from Crassier to Divonne was suspended because of the Second World War . From December 13th to June 22nd, 1940, trains ran across the border again. Because of the invasion of the German troops into the Pays de Gex , traffic was stopped again, two lengths of track were expanded and a barbed wire fence was erected. Meanwhile, traffic between Crassier and Nyon is increasing because petrol is limited. On November 18, 1944, the line across the border went back into operation, the top speed was 40 km / h due to damage to the superstructure. After the war there were plans to electrify the line, but these were abandoned because of the high costs. On August 11, 1950, the SBB announced to the cantonal government that the route was in high deficit, with an annual deficit of CHF 150,000. To counteract this, a diesel multiple unit was used to replace the steam operation.
At the beginning of the 1960s, it was decided to build the Geneva – Lausanne motorway . The cantonal government proposed to shut down the route to save the cost of an intersection. This proposal met with resistance in the neighboring communities, and Divonne-les-Bains also took part. The cost of the building was put at around one million francs, of which the cantonal government should have contributed 100,000 CHF. A project to maintain the route was worked out, this would have crossed under the motorway. Regardless of this, the cantonal government decided on November 14, 1960 to close the line. On September 30, 1962, the Eysins – Crassier – Divonne-les-Bains section was closed. This section was dismantled a short time later in order to be able to complete the motorway. A temporary level crossing was built during the construction phase of the motorway. The bus traffic, which is operated to replace the route, was also lossy. Most recently, six pairs of trains ran each day. A ticket from Nyon to Divonne cost 2.3 francs .
business
Various locomotives were used on the route. The series Eb 3/5 , Eb 2/4, Ec 2/5, Ec 3/4 were in operation as steam locomotives . Various diesel locomotives and railcars were used from the 1950s: Am 1001 , Em 3/3 , BFm 2/4 , RCm 2/4 . Freight traffic played an important role until the First World War, as train path fees were cheaper in France. Agricultural products were also transported. The trains ran mixed, the freight cars were attached to the passenger trains.
Infrastructure
The Borex-Arnex station had a siding and a one-story station building. The Crassier-La Rippe station, as a border station , had an alternate and a stump track. In addition to the goods shed attached to the station building, the station had a customs building. Divonne-les-Bains station had extensive tracks, including a two-tier engine shed and a turntable. In addition, the central platform was covered, which made it possible to change trains protected from the weather. There were five continuous tracks available.
Current condition
Nowadays, freight trains run as far as Eysins to load wood for paper manufacture and to serve some industrial plants. From there on, the line to Divonne station has been dismantled. The Crassier station building is still standing. No other engineering structures have survived on Swiss territory, and shortly after Crassier there is still a bridge over a railway line on French soil. From Crassier to shortly before Divonne, a cycle path was built on the former route.
literature
- Michel Dehanne, Daniel Croset, Michel Grandguillaume: Voies normales privées du pays de Vaud . BVA, Lausanne 1997, ISBN 2-88125-010-6 .
Web links
- Pictures of the route
- Chemin de fer Nyon - Crassier (NC) In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar
- Brief history (French)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d See M. Dehanne, p. 18
- ↑ a b c d e See M. Dehanne, p. 9
- ↑ a b c See M. Dehanne, p. 20
- ↑ a b c d See M. Dehanne, p. 32
- ↑ a b See M. Dehanne, p. 38
- ↑ a b c d e See M. Dehanne, p. 44
- ↑ a b c See M. Dehanne, p. 46
- ↑ See M. Dehanne, p. 22
- ↑ a b c See M. Dehanne, p. 48
- ↑ See M. Dehanne, p. 42
- ↑ Divonne prend de vitesse les villages suisses voisins 24 heures, January 30, 2013 (PDF; 418 kB)
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