List of mountain railways in Switzerland
Switzerland is a country of mountain railways, including modern new buildings and historically valuable cultural assets. This list gives an overview of mountain railways in Switzerland .
Aerial ropeways
The Wetterhornbahn , which opened in 1908, ceased operations during the First World War. New safety regulations made it more difficult to build more cable cars. Until 1935 only the cable cars to Trübsee and on the Säntis were opened. In 1945 the world's first detachable chairlift went into operation in Flims . After the Second World War, the boom-like development of the Alps with cable cars began. More than 500 pendulum , gondola and chairlifts operate in Switzerland .
Funiculars
The first tourist funicular was the Giessbachbahn, opened in 1879, to the hotel of the same name on Lake Brienz. The first Swiss funicular with an electric drive was the Bürgenstockbahn , which opened in 1888 . The world's steepest funicular is the Stoosbahn , built in 2017 with a 111% gradient. There are over 50 funiculars in operation in Switzerland.
Rack railways
Most of these railways are pure rack and pinion railways in which the gear drive is constantly engaged. Of the 30 pure cog railways remaining worldwide, 17 are in Switzerland. Only a few mountain railways are railways with mixed adhesion and gear drive . The oldest rack railway in Europe is the 1871 Vitznau-Rigi-Bahn . All Swiss mountain railways operated as cogwheel railways were put into operation before the First World War - some, however, were built as funiculars and were only later converted into cogwheel trains.
The list includes all existing and former cogwheel-operated mountain railways in Switzerland:
Remarks
-
↑ Lausanne Flon – Gare CFF – Ouchy: 1877–1958 funicular, 1958–2008 cog railway
Lausanne Flon – Gare CFF: 1879–1954 funicular, 1954–2008 cog railway - ↑ Pneumetro since 2008
- ↑ replaced by electric tram in adhesion mode
- ↑ The rack was not between the rails, as with all other rack railways, but on the side of the track.
- ↑ 1918 dismantling
- ↑ Originally a pure cog railway, now continuous trains Vevey – Blonay – Les Pléiades
- ↑ The Eismeer – Jungfraujoch section, which was opened in 1912, was only partially used by cogwheels until 1951.
- ^ 1959 Adhesion valley section abandoned
- ↑ according to the inauguration date, Europe's oldest cog railway, cf. Ostermundigen quarry line
- ↑ Classification as a mountain railway justified for historical reasons
- ↑ The Ruderbach – Walzenhausen funicular opened in 1896
- ↑ 1895–1972 funicular, 1972–1973 reconstruction / extension
- ↑ 1893–1949 funicular, 1949–1950 reconstruction
- ↑ 1975 conversion into an inclined lift
Adhesion sheets
Before the advent of the aerial cableway, individual adhesion lifts were also classified as mountain railways:
| Greater region |
Article (abbreviation) | Route, places | Gauge | opening | attitude | Operation through |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernese Oberland |
Lauterbrunnen – Mürren cable car (BLM) | Grütschalp– Mürren (2nd section) | 1000 mm | 1891 | today | Lauterbrunnen – Mürren cable car (BLM) |
| Central Switzerland | Rigi Scheidegg Railway (RSB) | Rigi Kaltbad – Rigi Scheidegg | 1000 mm | 1874 | 1931 | Rigi-Kaltbad-Scheidegg Railway (RSB) |
| Eastern Switzerland / Zurich |
Uetlibergbahn (UeB) | Zurich HB - Zurich Selnau - Uetliberg | 1435 mm | 1875-1990 | today | Sihltal-Zurich-Uetliberg-Bahn (SZU) |
Ventures
The ten largest mountain railway companies in Switzerland in terms of turnover (2007/08 financial year) are:
| train | Sales in CHF million |
|---|---|
| Jungfrau Railway | 132.3 |
| BVZ Holding | 122.0 |
| White arena | 82.1 |
| Davos Klosters mountain railways | 68.1 |
| Zermatt mountain railways | 67.0 |
| Télé verbier | 51.7 |
| Engelberg-Trübsee-Titlis mountain railways | 45.6 |
| Lenzerheide mountain railways | 36.2 |
| Arosa mountain railways | 28.4 |
| Samnaun mountain railways | 25.3 |
Source: Swiss Equity Magazin
See also
swell
- Hans-Peter Bärtschi: Mountain railways. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
- Claude Gentil: History of the cable cars in Switzerland. , accessed February 1, 2018
- Hans G. Wägli: Swiss rail network and Swiss rail profile CH + , in a slipcase. AS Verlag , Zurich, 2010, ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9
Web links
- Website of Seilbahnen Schweiz (SBS, Association of the Swiss Cable Car Industry)
- Directory of mountain railways in Switzerland
Individual evidence
- ^ Dolezalek: mountain railways. In: Viktor von Röll (ed.): Encyclopedia of the Railway System . 2nd Edition. Volume 2: Building Design - Brazil . Urban & Schwarzenberg, Berlin / Vienna 1912, pp 207 -223.