Frauenfeld-Wil Railway

Frauenfeld-Wil Railway
Timetable field :	841
Route length:	17.45 km
Gauge :	1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Power system :	1200  V  =
Maximum slope :	46  ‰
Wil-Frauenfeld
Legend SBB from St. Gallen / Wattwil 0.00 Wil end point S 15 571  m above sea level M. Depot and workshop Thurbo Weinfelden – Wil SBB to Winterthur 2.35 Schweizerhof 531  m above sea level M. 3.89 Münchwilen 516  m above sea level M. Murg 4.66 Münchwilen nursing home 509  m above sea level M. 6.50 Rose Valley 487  m above sea level M. Murg 7.95 Wängi GB 474  m above sea level M. 8.27 Wängi 470  m above sea level M. 9.01 Meadow ground 465  m above sea level M. 9.81 Jakobstal 460  m above sea level M. 11.49 Matzingen 447  m above sea level M. 12.62 Matzingen weaving mill 440  m above sea level M. 13.92 Murkart 431  m above sea level M. 15.13 Lüdem 423  m above sea level M. 16.85 Frauenfeld market square 417  m above sea level M. SBB from Winterthur 17.45 Frauenfeld end point S 15 405  m above sea level M. SBB to Weinfelden

historical logo Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn

The Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn , abbreviated FWB or FW , is a meter-gauge railway in Switzerland that connects the Murgtal in the canton of Thurgau with the cities of Frauenfeld and Wil . Their track width is 1000 mm. The almost 17.5 km long line opened on September 1, 1887 . On November 20, 1921 , electrical operation was started with 1,200 V DC . The Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn carried 1.19 million people in 2007 and is part of the Ostwind tariff association . There are three shuttle trains running every 30 minutes, which cross in Matzingen and Schweizerhof for the usual symmetry minutes .

history

Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn train in Rheinstrasse in Frauenfeld

The Murg valley gained more and more industry from the middle of the 19th century. A fast and effective means of transport was needed in order to be able to keep up with other industrial regions. Because of the simplicity of construction, the railway should, if possible, be on the road and connect to the standard-gauge railway in Frauenfeld and Wil. The Frauenfeld-Wil railway was opened on September 1, 1887. Initially, the FW mainly served the transport of consumer goods (milk, firewood, etc.) and animals. At the beginning of the 20th century, passenger transport also gained priority in the Murg Valley.

In order to meet the new requirements in passenger and freight transport, the railway line was electrified from 1920. From November 20, 1921, the FW was operated electrically with three BCe 2/4 railcars and one locomotive for freight train service. On May 16, 1978 the roller-trestle traffic between Wil SG and Matzingen was started, but in 2000 it was stopped again and with it the goods traffic as a whole. The trestle system was still in place until 2011 and could be used for transporting gravel. In 1984 FW purchased the Be 4/4 11 to 15 railcars and the associated Bt 111 to 114 control cars. The 16 and 17 railcars were added in 1992. The railcars, together with the control cars, carried the bulk of the passenger traffic.

Vehicle renewal 2013-14

ABe 4/8 on the Bahnhofplatz in Frauenfeld

In the summer of 2011, the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn ordered five new articulated railcars worth CHF 34 million from Stadler Rail . The five new railcars consist of three car parts, twelve seats, which are arranged at the end of the train on the Frauenfeld side, are first class and replace the aging Be 4/4 11 to 15. The cars 16 to 17 remain in the stock for the time being. They were permanently coupled and together received a new train protection system housed in carriage 16. The first train has been in Wil since March 27, 2013, and passenger service began in June 2013. At the end of November 2013, all vehicles had already been delivered and were also in use in passenger traffic. Since then, the Be 4/4 have not been used in normal timetables.

Four of the first-generation Be 4/4 railcars are sold to Chemins de fer du Jura . At the end of December 2013 there were already two vehicles in Tramelan , but at that time they were still owned by the FW. The fifth first-generation railcar was sold to Aare Seeland mobil (14 and 112) together with a control car and transferred to Langenthal in 2013 . Two control cars were demolished in October 2013. The last control car was used as a training object in a rescue exercise and was scrapped in Altstätten SG in December 2014.

Planned expansion every 15 minutes

An expansion step is planned for 2030/35, which provides for a cycle consolidation at quarter-hourly intervals and new stops.

Appenzell Railways

The Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn has been working closely with the Appenzeller Bahnen since 2003 . These carry out the business for the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn on a mandate basis. Most of the employees are provided by the Appenzeller Bahnen. The company employs 17 of its own employees, primarily train drivers and cleaning staff. All other employees (experts for infrastructure, marketing and management) are provided by the Appenzeller Bahnen. According to hallowil, there are 200 people. It is planned that the two railway companies will merge in June 2021. The federal government is the main shareholder of the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn. Other shareholders are the canton of St. Gallen, the canton of Thurgau, the cities of Wil and Frauenfeld and other communities along the route. Only a small number of shares are privately owned. The majority of the Appenzeller Bahnen are owned by the federal government and the canton of St. Gallen as well as the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Appenzell Innerrhoden .

Vehicle fleet

Vehicles in italics are no longer in use.

Be 4/4 11 in Münchwilen (2011)

Railcar

• Be 4/4 11 to 15 (1985) FFA / BBC (11-13 and 15 sold to CJ, 14 sold to ASm )
• Be 4/4 16 and 17 (1992) Stadler / ABB 2014 equipped with ZSI-127
• ABe 4/8 7001-7005 (2013) Stadler

Control car

• Bt 111-114 (1985) FFA / BBC (112 sold to ASm, remainder canceled in 2013/14)

The Friends of Swiss Narrow Gauge Railways Association (FSS) owns historical FW rolling stock; the FW anniversary train consisting of the BCe 2/4 1 (1921), the BC 16 (1887), the L 105 (1887) and the K 164 (1891). While the railcar is parked in the canton of Solothurn, the freight and passenger cars are parked in Wil next to the armory.

literature

• Hans Waldburger: The Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn. History of a regional train 1887–1987. Minirex AG, Lucerne 1987, ISBN 3-907014-00-6 .

Web links

Commons : Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn  - collection of images

• Website of the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn
• History of the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn
• Meter-gauge low-floor articulated multiple unit ZEBRA for Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn AG, Switzerland. Datasheet from Stadler Rail Bussnang, on reference archive. Stadler Rail website, accessed June 30, 2018

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Hans G. Wägli: Rail network Switzerland / Réseau ferré suisse - rail profile Switzerland CH + / Le rail suisse en profile CH +. AS Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9 , page 101
2. ↑ Annual Report 2011 of the Fraunfeld-Wil-Bahn, page 6
3. ↑ Jürg D. Lüthard: New EMUs For Fwb . In: Railvolution . No. 3 , 2013, p. 8 .
4. ↑ Eisenbahn-Amateur 2/2015, News in Brief, page 64.
5. ↑ May 9, 2017: Narrow-gauge railway has big plans , Tagblatt
6. ↑ [1]
7. ↑ AB and FWB examine merger
8. ↑ FW anniversary train with BCe 2/4 1. (No longer available online.) In: Freunde Schweizer Schmalspurbahnen. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018 ; Retrieved July 21, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.