Rapperswil – Ziegelbrücke railway line

Rapperswil – Ziegelbrücke

Timetable field :

735

Route length:

25.02 km

Gauge :

1435 mm ( standard gauge )

Power system :

15 kV 16.7 Hz ~

Maximum slope :

10 ‰

Legend

	SOB from Pfäffikon SZ
59.35	Rapperswil end point S 6	408.6 m above sea level M.
	SBB to Zurich over miles
	SBB to Zurich via Uster
57.34	Blumenau	413.8 m above sea level M.
54.42	Bollingen	409.5 m above sea level M.
49.33	Schmerikon	408.1 m above sea level M.
46.33	Uznach change of direction S 4	410.3 m above sea level M.
	SBB to Wattwil S 4
43.39	Benken	415.9 m above sea level M.
37.10	Schänis	420.2 m above sea level M.
	SBB from Zurich via Pfäffikon
34.32	Brick bridge	425.0 m above sea level M.
	SBB to Linthal S 6
	SBB to Chur S 4

The Rapperswil – Ziegelbrücke railway is part of the route from Rüti to Glarus , which was opened by the United Swiss Railways on February 15, 1859.

history

The route is the continuation of the Glatthalbahn , which the VSB was able to extend from Wetzikon to Rüti on August 15, 1858 after the takeover. The line was opened at the same time as the Murg – Sargans line. The section between Weesen and Murg could only be opened on July 1, 1859. The route shortened the way from Zurich to Chur. In 1875 it had to give up its importance as a long-distance route to the left bank of the Zürichseebahn . This was built by the Schweizerische Nordostbahn , opened on September 20, 1875 and runs from Zurich via Pfäffikon and Ziegelbrücke to Näfels. The line was therefore never expanded to double track. Between Rapperswil and Uznach it was upgraded with the opening of the Ricken line on October 1, 1910.

The line between Rapperswil and Uznach was electrified in connection with the railway accident in the Rickentunnel on October 4, 1926 . Electrical operation with 15,000 volts 16.7 Hz was started on May 7, 1927. The route between Uznach and Ziegelbrücke (-Linthal) followed on May 15, 1933.

The Bollingen train station near Stafel , between Wurmsbach Abbey and the village of Bollingen, was abandoned as a commercial train stop in favor of the Blumenau stop , which was newly established in the 1980s .

Route

The route follows the right bank of the Obersee from Rapperswil to the upper end of Lake Zurich near Schmerikon . From there it leads in an easterly direction to Uznach, after the Uznach train station turns south-west towards Benken and goes east around the Benken Buckel and then in a south-south-west direction in a straight line across Gastermatt to Schänis and on to Ziegelbrücke. The route has no major engineering structures.

business

The entire route is used every hour by the S6 trains of the St. Gallen S-Bahn Rapperswil – Ziegelbrücke – Schwanden (–Linthal), before December 2013 always to Linthal. In Uznach there is a connection to the S4 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn in the direction of Wattwil – St.Gallen. The S6 trains turn in Rapperswil in the direction of Schwanden and cross at the Ziegelbrücke station on the hour.

The Uznach – Ziegelbrücke section has also been used by the S4 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn since December 2013. This is operated as a ring line, the trains change direction in Uznach to go through the Rickentunnel to St. Gallen. The S4 trains do not stop in Benken and continue from Ziegelbrücke to Sargans.

The Rapperswil – Uznach section is used by the Voralpen-Express (UAE), which runs hourly . This stops in Rapperswil, Schmerikon and Uznach. In Uznach there is a crossing with the regional train to and from Ziegelbrücke.

The S-Bahn lines and the Voralpen-Express complement each other, and there is a limping half-hourly service for the Schmerikon and Schänis stops, with or without changing trains in Uznach.

As a rule, there are no longer any freight trains passing through. However, the route is regularly used for night detours if the Pfäffikon-Lachen-Ziegelbrücke route is blocked due to construction. There has been no freight traffic on this line since 2006, as Uznach was closed to freight traffic.

Rolling stock

For decades after electrification, regional traffic between Rapperswil and Linthal was handled with fir-green trains hauled by Ae 3/6 I and Ae 4/7 locomotives. These were replaced in the late 1980s and early 1990s by the new commuter trains (NPZ) RBDe 4/4 , which are nicknamed "Kolibri" due to their colorful paintwork. In the meantime, the entire rolling stock consists of the local shuttle trains NPZ “Domino 3”, which are put together to form a six-car composition during rush hour.

literature

Swiss rail network, edition 1980