GoldenPassLine
A train connection between Lucerne and Montreux that is jointly marketed by the Swiss railway companies Montreux-Berner-Oberland-Bahn , Zentralbahn and BLS is referred to as the GoldenPass Line , also known as the Goldenpass . This leads over the meter-gauge Brünigbahn to Interlaken Ost , then via the standard gauge lines Thunersee and Spiez-Erlenbach-Zweisimmen-Bahn to Zweisimmen and from there via the meter-gauge Montreux – Lenk in the Simmental to Lake Geneva . The entire connection is 189 kilometers long, 53 kilometers of which are standard gauge . The journey time, including the two transfers, is around four hours and 45 minutes.
Discarded third track concept
As early as the 1930s, the idea arose to offer a continuous meter-gauge connection on these lines by building a three- rail track . This was followed by several studies, most of which were put on hold due to lack of funds. The last study from 2005/06 mainly showed the problem that would arise in Spiez train station . There currently crossing the trains on the tracks of the Lötschberg axis. For safety and capacity reasons, the BLS refuses to allow the meter gauge to cross at the same level as the route to the Lötschberg base tunnel . This would have required an expensive unbundling structure in the Spiez area, for example in the form of an underground train station. This would have increased the necessary infrastructure costs to 205 million Swiss francs . In addition, the necessary costs for the vehicles would have to be added, because the MOB uses a driving voltage of 900 volts direct current , while the remaining lines are electrified with 15 kV 16.7 Hz alternating current . Furthermore, the rack sections in the course of the Brünig Railway would have to be included in the calculation. In September 2006 the consortium of BLS, SBB and MOB came to the conclusion that the necessary funds of around a quarter of a billion Swiss francs could not be obtained in the near future.
Common brand identity
In 2001/2002 it was decided to promote the connection with a common brand identity. Subsequently, MOB, BLS and SBB Brünigbahn vehicles were given the new white / gold / black color scheme. This performance ended in the course of 2013.
Planned lane change cars
On October 3, 2008, the MOB presented a new variant that promises massive savings potential compared to the concept of the third rail: the development of a new type of track- changing bogie for 1435 and 1000 millimeter gauges. This new development is necessary because the previous lane-changing bogies work in a much narrower range, for example the Talgo between 1668 millimeters wide and standard gauge. The swap bogie that comes closest to meeting the requirements comes from Japan . Bogies that can switch between the 1067 millimeter wide cape gauge and the normal gauge have been tested here since 1994 . These were scheduled to be used on the Hakata-Shin-Yatsushiro route in 2010/2011. Nevertheless, none of these existing bogie types could be transferred to or adapted to Swiss requirements. This was prevented primarily by the limited axle load of eight tons on the MOB; the existing swap bogies are all designed for an axle load of 16 tons or higher. The systems currently available would therefore be too heavy for use on the GoldenPass line. In addition, the existing rolling stock should continue to be used in order to keep costs low. So it was only possible to convert the bogie to the narrow-gauge wagon , which would guarantee that the wagon bodies could continue to be used.
The patent for the new bogie was applied for on February 18, 2008. This bogie has individual wheels , each of which is mounted on one side in a triangular half-frame. These are mutually plugged onto a stub shaft and connected to one another via a cross member. During the lane change process, this traverse is raised and then allows the half-frames to be moved and thus the track width to be changed. Due to the different heights of the support for normal and meter gauge, the car body can also be brought to two different floor heights , which is advantageous because there are different platform heights on the normal and meter gauge network. In the first test phase, no brake gear is installed. Therefore, in the first phase of deployment, the train route will be limited to the Montreux – Interlaken Ost section, which initially requires the installation of only one gauge change facility in Zweisimmen. The first bogie prototypes and a prototype re-gauge system were successfully tested in 2010. This variable bogie was conceived by MOB and implemented by Alstom . The plans of the participating railway operators BLS and MOB were approved by cantonal and federal authorities in 2011. Scheduled operation between Montreux and Spiez is to commence with three train compositions capable of changing lanes ; individual trains will run to Interlaken Ost. The total costs are estimated at 97 million Swiss francs, of which 42 million Swiss francs are earmarked for the infrastructure part.
In connection with the renovation of the Zweisimmen train station in 2015-2017, a gauge change system was built. In March 2019, 550 passages were made from standard gauge to meter gauge on the gauge change facility in Zweisimmen. No malfunctions were found. As of early 2020, it is planned that the Goldenpass Express will connect Montreux with Interlaken without changing trains from December 13, 2020. Any continuous connection to Lucerne is only possible if a gauge change system is also built on the Interlaken side.
literature
- pd / an: Golden Pass: Lane change car instead of third rail? In: Swiss Railway Review. Edition 11/2008, pp. 574-575.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Swiss Railway Review 11/2008, p. 574.
- ↑ Swiss Railway Review 7/2001, p. 330.
- ↑ http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=446078 (BLS shuttle train in GoldenPass paint)
- ↑ http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=441260 (SBB Brünigbahn composition in GoldenPass paint)
- ↑ Rolling stock that can be changed lanes instead of third rail - October 3, 2008
- ↑ Gauge change without having to change ( 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. (PDF; 107 kB) By.Rail.Now! 2011, p. 80
- ↑ TransGoldenPass - signals are on green Berner Zeitung, April 12, 2011
- ↑ Modernization of Zweisimmen station - station renovation is on track - travel without changing trains will be possible from the end of 2019. BLS AG, March 24, 2017, accessed on July 5, 2017 .
- ↑ bahnonline.ch: MOB - The tests for the Goldenpass Express are convincing from April 2, 2020
