Lauterbrunnen – Mürren cable car
The Lauterbrunnen – Mürren ( BLM ) mountain railway , also known as Mürrenbahn , in the Bernese Oberland in Switzerland connects the two towns of Lauterbrunnen ( 797 m above sea level ) and Mürren ( 1639 m above sea level ). The railway was opened on August 14, 1891, and winter operation has also been possible since 1910. The operation takes place over two differently designed sections, which are connected in the station Grütschalp ( 1487 m above sea level ). During the day, the BLM runs every half hour with a connection in Lauterbrunnen to the Berner Oberland-Bahnen (BOB). During the winter and summer seasons, the BLM runs every quarter of an hour during the tourist rush hour.
The majority of BLM is owned by Jungfraubahn Holding (JBH), which was founded in 1994 and, like its sister railways , is managed by Jungfraubahnen Management AG in a joint venture between Berner Oberland-Bahnen (BOB) and the group companies of Jungfraubahn Holding.
Lauterbrunnen – Grütschalp
Funicular
 Former Lauterbrunnen – Grütschalp funicular |
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| Route data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Route length | 1.42 km | |
| Gauge | 1000 mm | |
| Drive system | Ballast (water) (1891) electric (1902) |
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| Rack |
Riggenbach expanded in 1949 |
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| Stations | ||
| Lauterbrunnen | 790 m above sea level M. | 0.00 km |
| Grütschalp | 1486 m above sea level M. | 1.42 km |
A funicular with a maximum gradient of 60 percent led up from Lauterbrunnen to the Grütschalp mountain station. The Lauterbrunnen valley station is directly opposite the train station of the Berner Oberland-Bahnen (BOB) to Interlaken and the Wengernalpbahn (WAB) to the Kleine Scheidegg and to Grindelwald .
Due to the problematic location of the funicular on a sliding slope, extensive renovation work has already been necessary to stabilize the route . At the most active slide on the slope, the track body has meanwhile shifted sideways by around two and a half meters and downwards by a good three meters. In order to rule out any future risk to passengers, the responsible Federal Office of Transport had therefore limited the operating license for the funicular railway to mid-2006.
In retrospect, it turned out that a broken water pipe running in the slide area accelerated the landslides.
A statement by the cantonal government about the definitive fate of the railway, which was scheduled for autumn 2005, did not materialize. The Lauterbrunnen – Mürren cable car and Jungfraubahn Holding had meanwhile decided in favor of a Lauterbrunnen – Grütschalp cable car and finally shut down the funicular on April 23, 2006 to start work on the cable car construction.
Cable car
The evaluation of BLM together with Jungfraubahn Holding turned out to be in favor of an aerial cableway as a replacement for the funicular railway, which was at risk of slipping. The advantage of this solution is the possibility of spanning the parts of the slope at risk of slipping and of placing the masts in geologically stable locations.
In the course of November 2005, BLM submitted the building application to the Lauterbrunnen municipality, the application for funding to the Canton of Bern and the application for a license to the Federal Office of Transport and published the plans at the end of the year. BLM started construction in April 2006. This was inaugurated and put into operation on December 16, 2006.
Since the aerial cableway was supposed to run in the axis of the route of the funicular and thus also took over the existing terminus, the funicular made its last trips on April 23 and was then shut down. During the construction phase, the Stechelberg –Mürren– Schilthorn aerial cableway (LSMS) - also known as the Schilthornbahn for short - remained Mürren's only transport link to the rest of Switzerland. As a popular starting point for hikes, the Grütschalp remained accessible during the summer months with the narrow-gauge railway from Mürren with a reduced timetable.
The cable car was realized as a single-lane winch pendulum lift with a cabin. The cabin is designed for 100 people (around 8 t) and 6 tons of payload for goods. The total weight under full load, including its own weight, is around 26 tons. The cargo handling, which is elementary for Mürren, is carried out in regular operation at 12-minute intervals, which corresponds to a capacity of 500 people and 30 tons of goods per hour and direction - without goods handling, a 10-minute cycle (600 p./h) would theoretically be possible. This is a significant increase compared to the funicular (320 people per hour and direction) and even exceeds the narrow-gauge railway (360 p./h).
The cost of the project is estimated at 23.4 million CHF , of which 2.9 million are due to the (partial) dismantling of the old funicular. BLM can raise CHF 3.5 million from its own resources and Jungfraubahn Holding has approved a loan of CHF 4.2 million. The remaining CHF 15.7 million is expected to be taxed by the federal government (4.3 million) and the canton of Bern (11.4 million) in the form of conditionally repayable loans. With regard to the costs of the dismantling, it is assumed that these will not have to be repaid, but will be borne entirely by the federal government and the canton.
Grütschalp – Mürren (narrow-gauge railway)
| Lauterbrunnen-Mürren cable car | |||||||||||||||||
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 Winteregg station
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| Timetable field : | 313 | ||||||||||||||||
| Route length: | 4.27 km | ||||||||||||||||
| Gauge : | 1000 mm ( meter gauge ) | ||||||||||||||||
| Power system : | 560V = | ||||||||||||||||
| Maximum slope : | 50 ‰ | ||||||||||||||||
| Grütschalp – Mürren | |||||||||||||||||
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A 4 km long narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 1000 mm and a maximum gradient of 5% leads from the Grütschalp station to Mürren. The route is single-lane, except for the Winteregg station ( 1578 m above sea level ), which is located approximately in the middle of the route and has a siding.
The isolated narrow-gauge railway does not have a track connection to the other railways in the Bernese Oberland, so the rolling stock must be maintained on site. The three-lane station Grütschalp has a small workshop for this. The rolling stock, consisting of five railcars, is parked in the Grütschalp station and the two-lane Mürren station.
Rolling stock
The BLM narrow-gauge railway never had a large fleet of vehicles due to its short length. When operations began in 1891, only the third electrified railway in Switzerland, the BLM received three two-axle Ge 2/2 1-3 electric locomotives and originally two two-axle passenger cars (so-called Rowan suits ) for operation under 525 volts direct current , but not in this form satisfied. It was not until the two temporary four-axle passenger cars, each with a locomotive, were converted into rowan trains that the operation was trouble-free and comfortable for the passengers.
In 1913 the two railcars BDe 2/4 11 and 12 from SIG and MFO replaced the electric locomotives, one of which remained as a reserve until it was hit by an avalanche in 1923. As a short-term replacement, the two-axle Eiger steam locomotive was procured from the BOB.
In 1925 the railcar BDe 4/4 13 (again SIG and MFO) was delivered, which differed somewhat from its two predecessors. The railcar had an accident in 1964 and was then broken off.
In 1967 the three Be 4/4 21 to 23 railcars - built by SIG, BBC and SAAS - were finally put into service, which are still in daily service today. In the same year, railcar No. 12 was canceled, while No. 11 remained as a reserve. No. 11 can now be seen in regular operation in the off-season. It can also be booked for special trips.
In 1997, four low-floor wagons No. 13 to 16 were put into operation for the transport of goods. They are coupled to the railcars on the Grütschalp side, have a payload of 6 t and transport most of the goods to supply the car-free resort of Mürren.
In 2010, ASM acquired the Be 4/4 102 (ex OJB 82, SWS and MFO 1966). It was adapted in the Zweilütschinen workshop for use on the BLM and, when there was no snow, it was brought in a special transporter from a cable car construction company (from Rotz Seilbahnen AG) over a forest path from Isenfluh (where another road leads) to Winteregg. This railcar was put into operation in January 2011 and bears the new number 31.
photos
Grütschalp station
View of Wengen between Grütschalp and Winteregg
Historic BDe 4/4 11 railcar in front of Jungfrau
Railcar Be 4/4 22 in Mürren station
Terminus in Mürren (road access autumn 2015)
Photo from 1973
literature
- Wolfgang Finke: The vehicles of the Jungfrau Railways 1 . A book on DVD, Verlag tram-tv, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813669-2-1
- Hansruedi Brawand: Lauterbrunnen-Mürren cable car . Prellbock Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 2006, ISBN 978-3-907579-41-1 .
Web links
- Lauterbrunnen – Mürren cable car
- Lauterbrunnen - Grütschalp funicular at www.standseilbahnen.ch
- Funimag (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swiss Railway Review 4/2010, page 167