Langenthal-Huttwil Railway

Huttwil – Wolhusen
Poster promoting the Langenthal – Huttwil – Wolhusen railway line
Timetable field :	440
Route length:	14.09 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Dual track :	Madiswil - Lindenholz (since 1996)
Legend SBB (ex SCB ) from Olten ASm (ex LJB ) from Niederbipp and (ex LMB ) from St. Urban 0.00 Langenthal starting point S 6 S 7 472 m above sea level M. SBB (ex SCB) to Bern 1.62 Langenthal South 483 m above sea level M. 3.42 Lotzwil 502 m above sea level M. 4.39 Gutenburg 512 m above sea level M. 6.04 Madiswil 534 m above sea level M. 7.52 Limewood 545 m above sea level M. 8.44 Kleindietwil 558 m above sea level M. 10.54 Rohrbach 583 m above sea level M. Galliker Holz AG siding ETB (ex RSHB ) from Ramsei 14.09 Huttwil end point S 7 638 m above sea level M. ex VHB ( HEB ) to Eriswil BLS (ex HWB ) to Wolhusen S 6

The Langenthal-Huttwil-Bahn (LHB) was a railway company in Switzerland . On January 1, 1944, the LHB merged into part of the United Huttwil-Bahnen (VHB), which was merged into BLS AG .

Project and opening

The Langenthal-Huttwil-Bahn was originally conceived as part of an ambitious plan in the 1870s. The Jura-Gotthard Railway should have been a transit axis that would connect France from Delle via Delémont , Balsthal , Langenthal , Huttwil , Wolhusen , Lucerne and Stans to the Gotthard Railway (GB) near Altdorf via the shortest route . On November 1, 1889, the LHB was able to put its standard gauge line from Langenthal to Huttwil into operation. The opening trip took place the day before, although the operating license did not arrive until the evening.

Operational community

Locomotive No. 2 of the LHB in Wolhusen

Since the opening on May 9, 1895, the LHB has been running the Huttwil-Wolhusen-Bahn (HWB). The rolling stock of the two railway companies could thus be used continuously on the entire route from Langenthal to Wolhusen . The LHB was also responsible for operating the Ramsei-Sumiswald-Huttwil Railway (RSHB), which opened on June 1, 1908 .

On January 1, 1927, the LHB merged with the Huttwil-Eriswil Railway (HEB), for whose operation it has also been responsible since it opened on September 1, 1915. The economical steam railcars operated by HEB also ran on the Langenthal – Wolhusen route.

Operating results

Although the LHB never got beyond the status of a local railway, it was always able to report positive operating results. Until the First World War, the income from passenger and freight traffic was roughly equal.

Merger to form the United Huttwil Railways

In order to receive federal aid for electrification , the LHB merged with the HWB and the RSHB on January 1, 1944 to form the United Huttwil-Bahnen (VHB), which immediately merged with the Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn (EBT) and the Solothurn-Münster-Bahn (SMB) formed an operating community called the EBT Group. On July 8, 1945, the VHB on the Langenthal – Huttwil line began electrical operation with 15,000 volts 16 ⅔ Hertz , and on June 18, 1996, they opened the Madiswil – Lindenholz double-track section . In 1997, VHB merged with the other railways in the EBT Group to form Regionalverkehr Mittelland (RM), which in turn was merged into BLS AG in 2006.

Today's operation

The Langenthal – Huttwil route is served hourly by the S6 of the Lucerne S-Bahn , which runs between Lucerne and Langenthal as part of a wing train. The other part of the train runs from Wolhusen to Langnau . With the S7, which also operates on working days, the timetable is condensed at half-hourly intervals. During the rush hour , the S7 runs continuously between Langenthal and Lucerne. It is winged in Wolhusen, the other part of the train runs as RegioExpress to Bern . The S6 and S7 use low-floor trains of the Nina type . The railway line between Langenthal and Wolhusen is also important for freight traffic with gravel and wood.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 100 years LHB - at the inauguration the operating license was missing , in Berner Zeitung, November 3, 1989
2. ↑ As of: 2017 timetable year
3. ↑ S-Bahn Central Switzerland: Rolling stock overview regional traffic. Verkehrsverbund Luzern, accessed on October 1, 2017 . 
4. ↑ The station is to be expanded for 32 million. In: Willisauer Bote from February 15, 2017

swell

• Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + . AS Verlag, Zurich 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9 .
• Langenthal-Huttwil Railway. In: Via Storia, Center for Transport History. University of Bern, accessed on September 1, 2015 .