Porrentruy – Bonfol railway line

Porrentruy – Bonfol
Route map
Timetable field :	238
Route length:	13.5 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	28  ‰
Minimum radius :	200 m
Legend of dent 0.00 Porrentruy (Pruntrut) ⊙ to Delémont 4.15 All (Hall) ⊙ 4.71 Allaine 5.65 Connection to the "Center d'Ajoie" 8.38 Vendlincourt (Wendelinsdorf) ⊙ 10.89 Bonfol (Pumpfel) ⊙ 12.10 Connection to the Bonfol landfill 13.50 State border between Switzerland and France after Dannemarie

The Porrentruy – Bonfol line is a branch line in Switzerland . It runs from Pruntrut (official station name in French: Porrentruy) to Bonfol and on to the state border, where it was linked to the Dannemarie – Pfetterhouse railway in France , which was opened in 1910 . The originally 13.5 km long route went into operation on July 14, 1901. It was operated by the Régional Porrentruy-Bonfol (RPB) railway company and has been part of the Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ) since 1944 .

Route

The line leaves Porrentruy station in a southerly direction and follows the Delémont – Delle railway for 2.5 km. It then makes a left turn and now continues in a north-easterly direction, at 4.15 km the Alle train station is reached. After leaving Alle you will find the connection to the “Coopérative agricole Center d'Ajoie” at km 5.65. After the cut at the Bois Juré has been crossed, the Vendlincourt train station is reached at km 8.38 . The route now heads north to Bonfol station and reaches the latter at km 10.89. From there, the track continues northwards, after a right-hand bend you reach the Bonfol landfill site . This was bypassed to the northwest in order to finally cross the border at km 13.50.

history

First planning and opening

Bonfol train station (1910)

Porrentruy train station

After Porrentruy had received a railway connection via the Chemin de fer Porrentruy-Delle since September 1872 , the traffic conditions in the eastern Ajoie (Bonfol, Miécourt ) remained unsatisfactory. Since 1884 the area northeast of Porrentruy tried to get a rail connection. On March 4, 1890, the license application for a "Narrow Porrentruy - Bonfol" railway was submitted. Two variants have been suggested; on the one hand a 13.1 km long route via Alle - Miécourt - Vendlincourt and a 12.2 km long route without using Miécourt. The route should follow the road and have a minimum radius of 20 m and gradients of up to 36 ‰. The Decauville (600 mm) rail system was to be used as the track width, which was presented at the World Exhibition in Paris . In September 1890 the concession was granted after the gauge was changed to 750 mm. Execution was delayed because of the industrial crisis; after two extensions, the license expired in 1895.

The «Lützelthalbahn-Komitee Basel» gave the region new perspectives from 1895. It envisaged the construction of a 35.6 km long, single-track standard gauge railway from Porrentruy via Alle, Miécourt, Lützel and Kiffis to Laufen . Since the construction of this railway line was controversial for strategic reasons, the people of the "basse Ajoie" took the realization back into their own hands. In addition, since February 28, 1897, the canton of Bern has paid 50,000 francs in construction costs per km, if these do not exceed CHF 125,000 per km. The project developed into the construction of a standard gauge railway ; on April 29, 1897 new plans were published. There were still two variants to choose from, but without using Miécourt. The line was to begin either in Porrentruy or in «Noir Bois» between Porrentruy and Courgenay , on the Delémont – Delle railway line . The Council of States approved the license application on September 28, 1897 and the National Council on October 15, 1897. The variant with the start of the route in Porrentruy prevailed for operational reasons.

In May 1899, construction work began between Porrentruy and Alle. 14,000 sleepers , eleven switches and 600 tons of rails had to be installed. From April 1900, two identical reception buildings were built in Bonfol and Vendlincourt, each with an attached goods shed; the Courtételle station of the Jura-Simplon Railway served as a model. A one-story brick building was built in Alle. Commissioning was originally scheduled for June 30, 1901, but could not take place until July 10th due to inadequacies. The line opened on July 14, 1901. Regular operations began a day later. The operation was carried out by the Jura-Simplon-Bahn, this was stipulated in a contract on August 21, 1900. Two steam locomotives of the Ed 3/3 series were used, which were taken over by the Pont-Vallorbe Railway .

Extension to Pfetterhausen

From 1902, the first investigations into the route of a railway line Dammerkirch - Pfetterhausen took place. The County Council of Colmar expressed the wish to extend this to Bonfol. The project was approved by the Reichseisenbahn in July 1904 . On June 2, 1905, the RPB received the concession to build a 2.16 km long branch line; the construction costs were put at 1.5 million francs. On August 17, 1905, the State Treaty on the railway connection from Pfetterhausen to Bonfol was presented to the Federal Council. This was signed on May 7, 1906 and formed the legal basis for the construction of the railway line. As early as December 6, 1905, the German Emperor Wilhelm II had signed the decree on the construction of a railway line from Dammerkirch to Pfetterhausen and on to the Swiss border.

On February 12, 1908, the construction project and the cost estimate were presented to the Federal Council. The construction costs were estimated at 550,000 francs, the minimum radius 300 m and the maximum slope 16 ‰. The proposal from the German side to set up the border at kilometer 20.175 (from Dammerkirch) was accepted by the RPB on September 11, 1908. Construction work on the 2.7 km long border line began on January 3rd, 1909. At the end of 1909, all engineering structures (five bridges) and earthworks (two cuts) were completed. The track laying work could not be completed until October 15, 1910; Commissioning therefore took place a month later than planned, on November 1, 1910. In addition, the reception building of Alle and the goods shed, the locomotive depot and the reception building for the customs office in Bonfol were enlarged. The Largtalbahn went into operation on October 1st, 1910. The inauguration of the Grenzbahn took place on October 27, 1910, and despite the defects in the upper construction, it went into operation on November 1st.

Further development during the first half of the 20th century

From July 1, 1910, the RPB was in a joint venture with the standard gauge regional railway Saignelégier – Glovelier (RSG). The operating contract with the SBB had already been terminated on December 31, 1908. Through the connection to Alsace, the RPB made a profit of 17,000 francs in the same year. The traffic on the border railway was provided by both companies; the Swiss locomotives ran to Pfetterhausen, the French to Bonfol. Whenever possible, the passenger cars ran continuously from Dammerkirch to Porrentruy. In 1911 the Ed 3/4 1 of the Sensetalbahn was acquired; the timetable provided for seven pairs of trains a day, five of which continued to Alsace. A trip from Porrentruy to Bonfol cost 1.4 francs.

Border barrier on the route between Bonfol and Pfetterhouse during the First World War

On July 31, 1914, because of the outbreak of the First World War , the last train ran over the border railway. Military transports often took place on the RPB route over the next four years. The ELB went into the Réseau ferroviaire d'Alsace-Lorraine (AL) in November 1918 . After the Largtalbahn had been repaired again, the Grenzbahn could be reopened on July 14, 1919. After France regained Alsace, the route via Basel was preferred for freight traffic. In 1930 there were four trains per day on the Grenzbahn, in 1919 there were five. The years 1919 to 1922 were very difficult for RPB. Income fell to a minimum and at the same time maintenance costs rose, leading to a deficit of CHF 4,000 in 1919. In the years 1920/1921 the traction costs continued to rise and in 1921 the deficit increased to 95,000 CHF. As a result, the RPB had to be temporarily shut down on January 1, 1922 and the staff dismissed because the municipalities refused to increase their contributions. After negotiations with the communities and the staff, operations were resumed on April 1, 1922; the neighboring municipalities increased their payments and the staff was hired at 20% lower wages. At the same time, the timetable was thinned out, three pairs of trains ran to Bonfol, two of which continued to Pfetterhouse. The deficit shrank to 21,000 francs in 1922. In 1928 there was even a surplus of 10,000 francs.

Starting in 1933, there were first plans to switch the traffic on the Largtalbahn to bus operation. For the time being, this did not happen due to the deployment of the RPB operations manager. On September 2, 1939, the border was closed again because of the Second World War . On March 27, 1943, the first freight train ran again on the border railway, as the La Croix tunnel on the Delémont – Delle railway line had partially collapsed. This traffic lasted until July 14, 1943, after which the Deutsche Reichsbahn refused to maintain traffic due to bridge damage. On October 2, 1945, the Grenzbahn was able to reopen.

With retroactive effect to January 1, 1944, the Compagnie des Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ) emerged from the RPB, RSG, SC (Saignelégier-La Chaux-de-Fonds) and the CTN (Tavannes-Noirmont). The utilization of the trains on the section across the border was so unsatisfactory that on December 21, 1945 the CJ submitted a request to the Federal Office of Transport to suspend passenger traffic . In agreement with the SNCF , passenger and freight traffic was canceled on February 15, 1946. If necessary, freight trains still ran.

Modernization of the line and closure of the border railway

Freight shed at Bonfol station (2009)

Bonfol station (2013)

At the beginning of 1950, the submission to finance the CJ network was accepted by the canton of Albania. The Porrentruy – Bonfol line was to be electrified with 15 kV 16.7 Hz alternating current . The conversion work lasted a year, including the dismantling of the telegraph line, the renewal of the superstructure and the extension of the locomotive shed in Bonfol. The inauguration took place on May 17, 1952, there were two rail tractor-like locomotives Ce 2/2 available. After the Tm 2/2 No. 3 diesel tractor had been delivered, the last steam locomotive disappeared from operation. The Tm was available for freight traffic on the border railway. The modernization increased passenger traffic by 30%. On November 14, 1953, the CJ freight train and an SNCF steam locomotive collided at km 14.92. The shunting tractor was badly damaged. In 1961, the CJ found that 3,500 wooden sleepers on the border railway were in need of renovation, the costs to be raised were estimated at CHF 250,000, compared to transport income of only CHF 17,900.

From 1962 the CJ considered closing the border railway. In 1965, the SNCF made another attempt to shut down the Dannemarie – Pfetterhouse line, and with it the border railway. On the Nyon – Crassier (NC) railway line, traffic had already ceased in 1962, but the SNCF still had to approve the closure. As a result, it was decided on July 24, 1965 to shut down the NC and cease passenger traffic on the Largtalbahn. On October 30 of the same year, the last Autorail ran on the Largtalbahn. On January 4, 1970 the Largtalbahn was shut down; the Swiss route was dismantled to km 12.1.

The Ce 2/2 shunting tractors did not prove to be particularly effective; the maximum speed had to be reduced from 60 to 50 km / h to protect the tracks. Between 1961 and 1965 the rails were replaced by SBB profile V. From November 24, 1967, the ABDe 4/4 2, which came from the Martigny-Orsières-Bahn , was used; it was designated as BDe 4/4 111. On August 9, 1968, a modern shuttle train, BDe 4/4 101, went into operation. The Ce 2/2 locomotives that were no longer needed were sold to the Emmental-Burgdorf-Thun-Bahn (EBT). Freight traffic increased with the construction of sidings in Alle and Vendlincourt. The Tm IV 181 went into operation on February 16, 1969 to operate the connecting tracks ; it replaced the badly damaged Tm 2/2 3. In 1975/76 the tracks in Alle were further expanded. The modernization of the vehicle fleet continued with the commissioning of the BDe 4/4 102 on March 19, 1980 and the De 4/4 111 on November 26. The two vehicles had the light red CJ paint, in contrast to the previous red / cream paint. In May the BDe 4/4 102 got the coat of arms of Alle and the De 4/4 111 that of Vendlincourt. The coats of arms of Porrentruy and Bonfol had been on BDe 4/4 101 since 1969. Since September 17, 1982 the route has been controlled by a domino pushbutton interlocking.

As part of the renovation of the Bonfol landfill , 800 m of track had to be relocated. Since April 2010 a pair of trains has been running to Porrentruy every day during the week. The rubbish bins are transported on flat cars. In 2008, an NPZ shuttle train was taken over by the SBB . In 2008 and 2009 the train was used by the Travys on the Vallorbe – Le Brassus route . After extensive modernization and repainting, it has been in operation on the route since 2010.

business

The RBDe 560 141 railcar, alternatively the RBDe 566 222 or the BDe 101 during the school holidays, usually runs on passenger transport. The route runs every hour, after Alle there are repeater trains. In freight traffic, the Ee 936 151–153 and the De 4/4 111 are used for trips under overhead lines. The Tm IV 181, Tm 232 182 and Tem 225 183 are used as shunting tractors. The Tm 232 182 is used to operate the chemical waste dump in Bonfol.

• 

  BDe 4/4 577 "Bonfol" in Bonfol (2012)

• 

  CJ RBDe 560 NPZ on the PBr (2009)

• 

  Shunting tractor Tm 237 480 in Bonfol (2009)

Rolling stock

The following rolling stock was either owned by the Régional Porrentruy-Bonfol (RPB) from 1901 to 1944 , or was used regularly on the Porrentruy – Bonfol – Pfetterhouse route from 1944 under the Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ). The list of driving cars is incomplete, that of passenger cars is missing; Freight wagons are not listed.

• 

  Locomotive No. 751 "Allaine"

• 

  Steam locomotive Ed 3/4 No. 3, formerly RSG

model series		Manufacturer	Construction year	origin	number of pieces		Discarded	Remarks
series	Numbers				total	today
Steam locomotives
E 3/3	751	1886	SACM	JS (1901)	(Ex) 2 00	0	1929	«Allaine»; ex PV E 3/3 201 “Le Risoux”; sold to Dreispitz bonded warehouse, Basel; Canceled in 1948
	752						1924	«Vendline»; ex PV E 3/3 202 “Le Sentier”; sold as scrap to Italy
Ed 3/4	31	1903	SLM	STB (1911)	(Ex) 1 00	0	1954	scrapped
Ed 3/4	2	1903	SLM	RSG (1934)	(Ex) 2 00	0	1949	sold to Sulzer ; since 1972 DVZO
	3			RSG (1949)			1956	canceled
Steam railcar
CFZm 1/3	5	1913	SLM	RSG (1950)	1	0	1952	Work railcars for electrification
Electric railcars
BDe 4/4 BDe 577	101	1968	SWS / MFO		2	1	2013	"Bonfol"
	102	1980	SWS / BBC				2013	"All"; Broken axle, canceled in 2014
BDe 4/4	111	1910	SWS / BBC	MO (1967)	(Ex) 1 00	0	1980	ex MO BCFe 4/4 2
De 4/4 De 587	111 II	1910/1980	SWS / BBC		(At)0 1	1		«Vendlincourt»; Baggage rail car, conversion from BDe 4/4 111
RBDe 560	141	1984	FFA / BBC	SBB (2009)	(Ex) 1 00	1		«La Vouivre»; ex SBB RBDe 560 002
RBDe 566	222	1974	SWS / SAAS	RM (2013)	(Ex) 1 00	1		ex EBT RBDe 4/4 222; Reserve pendulum
Control car
Bt	121	1968	SWS / MFO		1	0	1995	scrapped after an accident in 1995
Bt	921	1963/1977		SZU (1995)	(Ex) 1 00	1		ex SiTB B 296, Bt 996
ABt	922	1974	SWS / SAAS	RM (2013)	(Ex) 1 00	1		ex EBT ABt 922; Reserve pendulum
Shunting locomotives, tractors and service cars
Ce 2/2	1	1952	SLM / SAAS		2	0	1971	on EBT sold
	2						1969	on EBT sold
Tm 2/2	3	1952	Asper / Saurer		1	0	1969	scrapped after an accident in 1970
Tm IV Tm 232	181	1971	SLM / MAN		1	1
Tm III	-	1956	SLM / BBC	private (1998)	(Ex) 1 00	0	1998	ex Perlen No. 5 (spare parts dispenser); 2008 sold to JÜST (spare parts donor)
Tm 237 Tm 231	480 180	1962	SLM / BBC	DSV (1998)	(Ex) 1 00	1	2012	ex Dreispitz No. 10; Moved to Glovelier in 2012 (shunting service)
Xm 1/2	182	1955	Robel	DB (1983)	(Ex) 1 00	0	2009	Catenary trolley; at DSF issued
Tm 232	182 II	1982	RACO / Saurer	JÜST (2008)	(Ex) 1 00	1		ex SBB 9595; Operation of the Bonfol landfill
Tem 225	183	1967/1980 1988	BLS / MFO / SAAS / Deutz	BLS (2009)	(Ex) 1 00	1		ex BLS 225 058, ex Tem 2/2 74; Replacement for Xm 1/2 182
Ee 936	151-153	1985	SLM / BBC	PTT (2010)	(Ex) 3 00	3		ex PTT 9-11
Ub = takeover from outside stock (used vehicle); Um = conversion from our own stock

Over the years several vehicles came to the CJ as spare parts donors. With regard to the standard-gauge rolling stock, this was first the sister vehicle (ex MO 1) of the BDe 4/4 111 (ex MO 2), which came in 1966 from the MO to the Régional du Val-de-Travers (RVT), where it was called Te 4/4 11 was classified; In 1978 it went to the CJ as a spare parts donor, who then converted the BDe 4/4 111 into the De 4/4 111 baggage railcar in 1980. The former number 4 of the MO, a practically identical BDe 4/4, went to the CJ in 1990, where it was broken off in 1991.

With a view to procuring more of its own diesel-electric shunting tractors, CJ acquired a prototype of the Tm ^III built for SBB in 1998 from the bankruptcy estate of Schmutz Acier SA in Orbe . This originally went to the Perlen paper mill in 1956 and was classified as "Perlen 5"; In 1993 he got dirt. The Tm ^III , which was built in 1962 for the so-called Dreispitzverwaltung - the management of the siding of the Basel customs warehouse - was in better technical condition and corresponded to the series vehicles of the SBB. As “Dreispitz 10” he suffered an engine failure in 1997 and was parked; the CJ bought it in 1998 and built the engine from "Perlen 5". After being repainted, it was used in 1999 as the Tm 237 480; towards the end of 2012 it was redrawn to Tm 231 180 and moved as a shunting vehicle to the roller bolster facility in Glovelier. The spare parts donor stayed with the CJ until 2008 before it could be resold to Stauffer.

After the SZU had taken over two DPZ compositions from SBB in the course of 2008 and the BDe 4/4 were no longer needed, in 2009 the CJ took over the former SiTB railcar 94 (BDe 576 594) as a spare part donor.

literature

• Christian Ammann, André Dubail: Porrentruy-Bonfol-Alsace . The history of the Jurassic-Alsatian railway line Porrentruy - Bonfol - Pfetterhouse - Dannemarie. Les Éditions du Cabri, 1983, ISBN 2-903310-33-5 .

Web links

Commons : Porrentruy – Bonfol railway line  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• CJ - standard gauge network on le-rail.ch
• Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ). Bonfol - Grenz - (Pfetterhouse, F) In: discontinued-bahnen.ch by Jürg Ehrbar

Individual evidence

1. ^ Thomas Frey and Hans-Ulrich Schiedt: Regional Porrentruy – Bonfol. ViaStoria, Foundation for Transport History, accessed on September 18, 2015 .  
2. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 87.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} See C. Ammann, p. 5.
4. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 7.
5. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 11.
6. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 13.
7. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 15.
8. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 16.
9. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 18.
10. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 19.
11. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 23.
12. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 25.
13. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 29.
14. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 31.
15. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 41.
16. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 45.
17. ↑ ^{a b c} See C. Ammann, p. 49.
18. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 53.
19. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 51.
20. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 57.
21. ↑ ^{a b c} See C. Ammann, p. 59.
22. ↑ ^{a b c} See C. Ammann, p. 61.
23. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 63.
24. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 69.
25. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 73.
26. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 79.
27. ↑ ^{a b} See C. Ammann, p. 83.
28. ↑ ^{a b c d} See C. Ammann, p. 85.
29. ↑ Horaires des transports spéciaux
30. ↑ ^{a b} The CJ's NPZ composition on le-rail.ch
31. ↑ Timetable field 238
32. ↑ ^{a b} The standard gauge tractors of the CJ on le-rail.ch
33. ↑ See C. Ammann, p. 95.
34. ↑ CJ - traction vehicles on juergs.ch, accessed on January 4, 2014
35. ^ Railway amateur 1/2014
36. ^ ^{A b} Alfred Moser: The steam operation of the Swiss railways 1847-1966 . 4th updated edition. Birkhäuser, Stuttgart 1967.
37. ↑ ^{a b} Theo Stolz: CJ Chemins de fer du Jura. The steam engines of the Chemins de fer du Jura. Retrieved September 30, 2015 . 
38. ↑ Eisenbahn-Amateur 2/2014, page 67

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