Weesen – Linthal railway line

Weesen-Linthal
Timetable field :	736
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Legend from Rapperswil S 6 Left bank Zurichseebahn S 25 57.15 Brick bridge to Sargans old route until 1931 Upper Linth Canal Bridge (53 m) 58.91 Lower and upper urns 427  m above sea level M. Weesen Linth Canal to Sargans 61.65 Näfels - Mollis 437  m above sea level M. 65.63 Netstal 68.60 Glarus 69.49 Ennenda 72.27 Mitlödi 73.82 Schwanden end point S 6 formerly Sernftalbahn to Elm 75.78 Nidfurn - Haslen 77.38 Leuggelbach 78.69 Luchsingen - Hätzingen 81.25 Diesbach - Betschwanden 82.89 Rüti Linthal Braunwaldbahn 84.45 Linthal end point S 25

The Weesen – Linthal or Ziegelbrücke – Linthal railway , also known as the Glarner line, was opened in two stages and by two railway companies. The route from Weesen via Näfels - Mollis to Glarus was opened on February 15, 1859 by the United Swiss Railways (VSB). The opening will take place together with the Rüti - Rapperswil –Weesen line. The line from Glarus via Schwanden to Linthal was opened on June 1, 1879 by the Swiss Northeast Railway .

On September 20, 1875, the left bank Zurichseebahn coming from Ziegelbrücke reached the Näfels-Mollis station, which was built by the Swiss Northeast Railway. This route diverted a large part of the traffic between Weesen and Näfels-Mollis, so that the old route became unprofitable. Therefore, the line was closed by the SBB on January 1, 1931 and later dismantled. Weesen station was relocated on the occasion of the opening of the double-track line on May 18, 1969.

In Schwanden there was a connection to the narrow-gauge Sernftalbahn between August 7, 1905 and May 31, 1969 .

The line was on May 15, 1933, 15,000  volts 16 ² / ₃  Hz electrified.

Train stations

Initially, all stations had at least one stump track next to the main track (only a switch on one side). Only Leuggelbach has always been a stop. Linthal Braunwaldbahn was also created as a stop . This could be opened on the timetable change on May 23, 1982, which was also the introduction of the clock timetable. This new stop is located right next to the valley station of the Braunwaldbahn , which made it easier to change from the train to the funicular to Braunwald.

No crossings were planned in Ennenda, Mitlödi and Rüti, as these would only have been possible with great effort because of the stump track.

A depot was set up in Glarus with two locomotive sheds and a turntable. Glarus railway station was extensively renovated in 2016 and 2017, platform 2 is now accessible via an underpass and the locomotive sheds were renovated. However, they can no longer be used to park trains because the tracks have been removed. The former Glarus depot was replaced by the Ziegelbrücke depot.

The stations served by Nidfurn-Haslen and Rüti were converted into unoccupied stops on June 2, 1984. The Mitlödi station followed with the timetable change in 1985.

With the exception of the tracks in Schwanden, all switches and additional track systems between Glarus and Linthal were expanded at the end of the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. Today there is only one track between Glarus and Linthal. The last remaining train stations with the possibility of crossing are Nieder- and Oberurnen, Glarus, Schwanden or Linthal. A train crossing in Näfels-Mollis or Netstal is possible and is also used in the event of a fault, but both stations only have a regular 55cm platform, so passengers can only get on and off on one of the crossing trains. Currently (as of April 2018) Netstal train station has an old platform on platform 2 that does not meet the standards; the use of this platform in the event of a malfunction would not be ruled out, but it would be subject to special regulations.

business

The route is served every hour by the S 25 of the Zurich S-Bahn . It replaced the Glarus Sprinter in June 2014 and serves all stations on this route as well as Siebnen - Wangen , Lachen , Pfäffikon SZ , Wädenswil and Zurich HB . This means that for the first time there is an hourly service to Zurich. In addition, the S 6 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn also serves the Ziegelbrücke-Schwanden route every hour, which results in a half-hourly service.

Plans to renew

An extension of the route south to Biasca in the canton of Ticino with a connection to the Gotthard Railway in the direction of Chiasso was already being considered around 1900. 1963 gave the Swiss action committee per Tödi-Greina train , the representatives of several cantonal governments belonged, a report commissioned by the potential profitability of a Tödi - Greina Bahn to consider. The plans were then not pursued.

literature

The source for the annual data and route kilometers was:

• Swiss Rail Network , 1980 edition

Web links

• Swisstopo, time travel through maps from 1854 to today with the changes to the route in the Weesen area

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Neuersbote for the Glarus Hinterland 1982, page 35
2. ↑ Neuersbote for the Glarus hinterland 1984, page 138
3. ↑ Course book entry  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.