Ramsei – Huttwil railway line

Ramsei – Huttwil
Route length:	19.5 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	25  ‰
Legend to Langnau 0.0 Ramsei 600 m from Burgdorf Dürrbach Hauptstrasse 23 2.4 Grünenmatt 624 m Hauptstrasse 23 4.63 Sumiswald -Green 663 m Hauptstrasse 23 0.14 BLS / ETB ownership boundary 1.6 egg 685 m 2.2 Courtyard 693 m RUWA siding 4.0 Upper egg 722 m 5.2 Wasen 744 m 4.89 BLS / ETB ownership boundary Sumiswald Tunnel (210 m) 5.78 Gammenthal 682 m 6.93 Griesbach 710 m 8.50 Vertex 741 m Hauptstrasse 23 July 9 Affoltern-Weier 735 m 10.94 House moss 710 m 13.17 Mustache 685 m 14.68 Dürrenroth 669 m Hauptstrasse 23 Rotbach 18.41 Huttwil sports center 18,475 ETB / BLS ownership boundary Bahnhofstrasse towards Langenthal from Langenthal 19.46 Huttwil 638 m to Wolhusen

The nearly 20 km long, single- track Ramsei – Huttwil railway with the Sumiswald-Grünen – Wasen junction represents a connection between the Burgdorf – Langnau railway lines (ex- Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn , EBT) in the area of ​​today 's Bern S-Bahn and Langenthal– Huttwil – Wolhusen on the Lucerne S-Bahn . The total length of the route was given in the 1943 annual report as 25 kilometers.

history

Share for 500 francs in the Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil railway company on April 1, 1908

The line from Ramsei to Huttwil with the branch to Wasen was built in 1908 by the Langenthal-Huttwil-Bahn (LHB), which was then also responsible for the operation of the Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil-Bahn (RSHB). On December 7, 1907, the Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil-Bahn and the Langenthal-Huttwil-Bahn published the operating license, which was issued by the Federal Council on November 14th of the same year.

From the beginning the company made no profits. The Basler Nachrichten wrote on July 20, 1924:

“Of all the Bernese decree railways, this one is the worst. The income statement closed on December 31, 1923 with a negative balance of CHF 486,793 compared to CHF 499,693 in the previous year. ... Remedial efforts have been underway for some time. According to the company's proposal, the share capital should be reduced from CHF 2,643,000 to CHF 1,691,520 by writing down the shares from CHF 500 to CHF 320. Then the 4½% mortgage loan of the first rate of CHF 500,000 should be reduced by June 30, 1923 deferred and the bond interest accrued from July 1, 1918 to June 30, 1923 is converted into priority shares with a non-cumulative preferred dividend of up to 4%. Furthermore, the fixed rate of interest was to be converted into a non-cumulative rate of interest dependent on the operating result of a maximum of 4½% from July 1, 1923 until the end of the term of the bond. The debt collection and bankruptcy chamber of the Federal Supreme Court found these restructuring proposals to be inadequate. It cannot be assumed with certainty that the operating costs can be extracted from the operation. In any case, the Federal Supreme Court considers it unlikely that the operating results will be sufficient to endow the renewal fund. In this situation, the reorganization of the company would prove to be impossible, unless the municipalities interested in maintaining rail operations were to undertake to cover any operating losses and to feed the renewal fund to the prescribed extent for a number of years, insofar as the operating surplus was not enough for that. ... For the reasons mentioned, the Federal Supreme Court has not granted the railway company's request to convene a general assembly. "

- Basler Nachrichten , original newspaper clipping without number or page number, July 20, 1924. Accessed in the Economics UB, Basel - Swiss Economic Archives on December 17, 2016

In 1944 the RSHB merged with the LHB and the Huttwil-Wolhusen-Bahn (HWB) to form the new company, United Huttwil-Bahnen (VHB). With the 40th annual report, the «Transport Quantities» were published. According to this, in 1943, out of a total of 295,000 people, 158,000 people (53.6%) were transported in 3rd class and 1,490 people (0.5%) in 2nd class for return journeys, compared with one-way journeys 51,650 (17.5%) in 3rd class and 450 people (0.15%) in 2nd class. In addition, 23,000 (7.8%) worker tickets were sold and 21,000 (7.1%) company tickets, both in 3rd class. The income totaling 171,000 francs was divided as a percentage of 56.9 percent round-trip tickets, 3rd class, 23.2% single-journey tickets, 3rd class, 4.6% company tickets and 1.9% workers' tickets. In addition, 12,000 animals, almost half of which were calves and large pigs, and almost 83,000 tons of other goods were transported. The income from animal and other goods transports amounted to 17,500 and 203,600 francs.

In 1945 the branch to Wasen was electrified, and a year later the line to Huttwil was electrified.

Passenger traffic to Wasen was switched to bus operation in 1994, the last time being 18 pairs of trains per day on the route.

In 1997 VHB merged with other railway companies to form Regionalverkehr Mittelland (RM). In mid-2006, the RM merged with the BLS Lötschbergbahn to form BLS AG , which became the operator of the routes.

On December 11, 2004, continuous passenger traffic on the route to Huttwil was discontinued. In its place the since 1937 in Affoltern i. E. Ending bus line extended from Hasle-Rüegsau to Huttwil. Until 2009, Affoltern-Weier was the end point of the hourly line S4 of the Bern S-Bahn. One pair of trains per day continued to run to Huttwil. In 2009, passenger traffic between Sumiswald-Grünen and Affoltern-Weier was discontinued.

Today, BLS AG only serves the nearly five-kilometer section from Ramsei to Sumiswald to Greens. The S44 runs from Sumiswald-Grünen via Burgdorf to Bern and from there via the Gürbetal to Thun . The Ramsei – Sumiswald-Grünen line and the Sumiswald-Grünen branch to the RUWA Drahtschweisswerk AG siding in Burghof are also used by occasional freight traffic.

The remaining stretch from Burghof to Wasen and the stretch from Sumiswald-Grünen to Huttwil were closed to all traffic because the overhead line was not approved. The overhead line built in the mid-1940s was no longer up-to-date and not safe for traffic. The route was then completely closed from 2012 to 2014. However, all other railway systems and infrastructure buildings were intact and operational. In autumn 2014 there were special trips with steam trains for the first time on the occasion of the slowUp Emmental-Oberaargau .

The Emmental Museum Railroad Cooperative , consisting of several railway associations, intended to take over the concession for the route between Sumiswald and Huttwil from BLS in 2012. In December 2013, the Federal Office of Transport on behalf of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communication awarded the concession for the operation of the Sumiswald-Grünen – Huttwil section and the Sumiswald-Grünen-Wasen branch from the BLS to the Handover of newly founded Emmentalbahn GmbH (ETB) cooperative . The ETB has undertaken to maintain the routes in such a way that freight traffic is also possible.

Shuttle train of the Pendelzug-Mirage (VPM) association with the BDe 4/4 II multiple unit above Gammenthal in spring 2016

The railway line has been in operation again since autumn 2014 and the Emmental Museum Railway Cooperative is planning regular trips. The route is also accessible to other railway companies and since August 10, 2015 it has even been possible to drive electrically again on the Sumiswald-Grünen-Huttwil route. From summer 2017, the museum railway will also be offering public steam trips again on the Sumiswald-Grünen-Wasen section, which has not been used continuously for several years.

Routing

Overview of the routes of the VHB

Sumiswald-Grünen station,
view towards Ramsei; the branch to Wasen branches off to the left; on the right the route leads to Huttwil

The route of the Ramsei – Huttwil route runs parallel to main road 23, first in the valley of the Dürrbach, later in the valley of the Griesbach and rising steadily, finally with a 25 ‰ gradient. Shortly before Affoltern-Weier , the watershed is crossed at 741 m before the Rotbach joins immediately after the hamlet of Weiler, which it follows to Huttwil.

In addition to the two separation stations, there are three stations on the route . All other stations are stops without a switch or train crossing , but with several adjacent tracks. In the last year before regular passenger traffic was discontinued, in 2002, the journey time was 27 minutes. There was an undocumented demand stop between Dürrenroth and Huttwil. At rail kilometer 16.65 there was a platform ( location ) a little more than a meter long , but was not considered an official stop because it was not included in any timetable. It was used to accept and drop off students.

The most important station is Sumiswald -Grünen, which today is the end point of the Bern S-Bahn . In Sumiswald, the branch line, which is only 5.2 kilometers long, branches off to Wasen. Immediately after this separation station, the train travels through the only tunnel, the 210 m long Sumiswald Tunnel. This is the only significant work of art.

On the route to Wasen, the Ei and Burghof stops follow after the exit in Sumiswald-Grünen. The largest freight customer on the former RSHB network, RUWA, can be found in Burghof. Then the line along the green passes the Oberei stop and a little later reaches Wasen station.

Train stations

Sumiswald-Grünen station;
Despite the modern extensions, the original unit type is still clearly recognizable

Hüttenmoos train station; Station building with a typical crooked roof and a goods shed attached to the side (left)

Griesbach stop
(between Sumiswald-Grünen and Affoltern-Weier)

All station buildings are of the same design: the gable, protruding crooked roof of the three-storey main building is the more dominant component. The single-sided, eaves-mounted goods shed is pleasantly noticeable in comparison with other village stations because of its harmonious proportions.

The ground floor housed the service rooms and was not open to the public. From the platform, passengers could be provided with the essentials by opening a window. The official apartment was on the one and a half floors above. The toilet was built on the opposite side of the goods shed, which has now changed in favor of other additions such as weather protection or the like.

The stops have wooden bus shelters, which were also built in this special architectural style.

Trivia

Very few passengers are aware that there is a tunnel between Sumiswald and Gammenthal. But when a special train pulls into the single-lane tunnel in the most beautiful sunshine and the lights aren't on, things get scary, especially if the train stops ... (since there are no more scheduled trains, this is easily possible).

literature

• Otto Schuppli: The United Huttwil Railways. Minirex Verlag, 1989

Web links

• Website for the Affoltern-Huttwil line
• BLS AG website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Private homepage on discontinued railway lines, Sumiswald-Grünen-Wasen line
2. ^ Official timetable for Switzerland, timetable field 341, from December 12, timetable field 304.2
3. ↑ RUWA - Company / History (with current picture of the facility in Burghof) , accessed on June 18, 2017
4. ↑ Private homepage on discontinued railway lines, Sumiswald-Grünen – Huttwil
5. ↑ Sleeping Beauty ends in September . In: Berner Zeitung, August 20, 2014
6. ↑ The nostalgic train is picking up speed . In: Der Bund, April 15, 2012
7. ↑ The Emmental Railway stays in the depot longer than planned . In: Berner Zeitung, 23 August 2012
8. ↑ Route profile of ETB GmbH (PDF) accessed on September 1, 2015
9. ↑ Slow-Up: Successful renaissance of the steam locomotive romance . In: Wochen-Zeitung, September 18, 2014
10. ↑ The Emmental Railway makes steam . In: Berner Zeitung, March 19, 2015
11. ↑ Network description Emmentalbahn GmbH . (PDF) accessed on September 1, 2015
12. ↑ The steam train passed the Oberei stop . In: Wochen-Zeitung, June 15, 2017
13. ↑ Photo of the stop from 2011
14. ↑ Blue arrow drives through the green country - drive into the black . In: Berner Zeitung, October 31, 2016