Furka vertex tunnel
| Furka vertex tunnel | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The apex tunnel 1981
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| use | Railway tunnel | |||
| length | 1874 m | |||
| Number of tubes | 1 | |||
| construction | ||||
| start of building | 1913 | |||
| completion | 1916 | |||
| business | ||||
| operator | Furka mountain line steam railway , previously Furka Oberalp railway | |||
| release | 1925 | |||
| location | ||||
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| Coordinates | ||||
| Portal Muttbach | 674206 / 157765 | |||
| Portal Furka | 675836 / 158659 | |||
Map with all coordinates: The Furka summit tunnel is a 1874 m long Swiss railway tunnel . It was completed in 1925 and connects the Muttbach and Furka stops of the Furka mountain line steam train , previously Furka-Oberalp-Bahn and is at 2160 m above sea level. M. the highest alpine cut in Switzerland.
Until the opening of the Furka Base Tunnel on June 25, 1982, the then Furka-Oberalp Railway (FO) operated with three timetable periods. The summer timetable corresponded to the European timetable at that time. The FO's winter schedule was divided into an autumn and winter schedule, because operations via the Furka could only continue until mid-October.
As soon as snow fell, the railway had to be ready for the rolling stock to be ready on both parts as required. Then the electrical contact line including the masts was dismantled for almost 15 km and the route made "avalanche-proof". All parts that rose more than 1 m above the ground were dismantled and stored. The tunnel portals were closed to prevent snow from entering. The Steffenbach Bridge on the Uri side, built as a viaduct, fell victim to an avalanche in the first winter after it was built. A folding steel bridge, which still exists today, was built there, which could be pulled back in three parts onto the abutment and thus brought to safety every autumn. For this work, only hand-operated cable winches were available at the time of the FO operation. Remember that a load of up to 200 t can move on this bridge. This annually recurring work meant considerable effort and led to corresponding operating costs.
Nevertheless, early onset of winter put the railway in a difficult position, as the staff had to clear the route under dangers and locomotives had to be transported from Göschenen or Chur on standard gauge vehicles to Brig or vice versa, namely to the side where it was necessary.
For the work, steam locomotives of the type HG 3/4 were used until 1968 , which were then replaced by modern diesel-electric locomotives FO HGm 4/4 . At the beginning of June, the line was able to reopen. To do this, snow plows and blowers had to be used. In many cases, the depths of snow in the narrow Alpine valleys were so high that the snow had to be removed in many layers by hand and with heavy construction machinery before the track blowers could be used. The construction machines had to be brought to the site on open rail cars. So you could open the railway line two weeks earlier. At a high price. In June 1963, the railway experienced the worst situation when the line opened. A team, with the steam locomotive on the snow front, was hit by an avalanche above Gletsch and torn down. There were several fatalities, including a journalist who made a report about the snow removal.
As a result, the construction of the Furka Base Tunnel was pushed ahead, which was finally opened in 1982. The mountain route should first be dismantled. Railway enthusiasts founded the Furka Mountain Line Association in 1983 , which enabled the mountain line to be gradually reopened. After its repair, the summit tunnel has been used again by the Furka mountain line steam train since 2001 .
literature
- E. Wiesmann: Restoration work and expansion of the Furka tunnel. In: Die Bautechnik , Volume 5, Issue 53 (December 9, 1927), pp. 792–794.