Riffel Alptram
| Riffel Alptram | |
|---|---|
 Riffelalptram with Matterhorn, June 2003
| |
| Gauge : | 800 mm ( narrow gauge ) |
| Power system : | 550 V / 40 Hz (until 1961) ∆ |
| Maximum slope : | 50 ‰ |
| Top speed: | 10 km / h |
| Route length up to 1961 : | 469 m |
| Route length from 2001 : | 675 m |
| Motor car until 1961 | |
| Number: | 2 |
| Length: | 4.76 m |
| Width: | 1.70 m |
| Weight: | 2.3 t |
| Manufacturer | Eisenwerke Bern |
| Construction year: | 1899 |
| Motor car from 2001 | |
| Number: | 2 |
| Length over buffers: | 5.3 m |
| width | 1.5 m |
| Empty weight | 3.3 t |
| Seats | 12 |
| Standing room | 10 |
| battery | 80 volts 320 Ah = |
| Manufacturer | STIMBO electric vehicles Zermatt |
| Freight / baggage wagons (from 2001) | |
| Number: | 1 |
| Length over buffers | 5.82 m |
| Loading weight | 2.5 t |
| battery | 80 volts 320 Ah = |
The Riffelalptram ( RiT ) is a 675 meter long narrow-gauge railway in the Swiss canton of Valais , which is advertised as “Europe's highest tram line ”. It leads from the Riffelalp station of the Gornergratbahn to 2211 m above sea level. M. Höhe to the Hotel Riffelalp and is only open from mid-June to mid-October. The track width is 800 millimeters.
history
When planning the route for the Gornergratbahn, the Hotel Riffelalp could not be connected directly. The cogwheel railway has passed a few hundred meters from the hotel since 1898. In order to give guests a comfortable way to the hotel, the hotel pioneer Alexander Seiler planned a short connection road to the nearby mountain railway station. However, disputes between Seiler and the municipality of Zermatt prevented the acquisition of the land intended for the road. As a result, Seiler applied for a license for a railway line, which was immediately granted to him by the Federal Council. Now the people of Zermatt had to give in and sell Seiler the land he needed, as the concession also gave him the right to expropriate the land he needed.
The Riffelalptram was opened on July 13, 1899 after a short construction period. The line originally had a length of 469 meters and was operated via a two-pole catenary with 550 volts three-phase current.
Until 1960, the railway only ran in the summer season, in winter - provided the Gornergrat Railway was also in operation - horse-drawn sleighs drove. After the hotel burned to the ground on the night of February 14th to 15th, 1961, rail operations were stopped; the last day of operation was on September 30, 1960. The vehicles survived the fire undamaged and were subsequently set up in Zermatt.
During the construction work for a new hotel, which began in 1998, the Riffelalptram should also be put back into operation. However, due to the long break in operation, a complete renewal of the tracks was necessary. The track width was retained, but the route was extended to its current length and provided with a turning loop . The overhead line could not be restored because of the legal requirements that have now existed. The two rebuilt vehicles therefore draw their energy from accumulators . The line was reopened on June 15, 2001, and the train runs from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
literature
- Wolfgang Finke: The vehicles of the Zermattbahnen in over 1100 vehicle drawings. (A book on DVD). Tram-tv publishing house, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-9813669-0-7 .
- Florian Inäbnit: Riffelalp Tram; Then and now . Buffer stop Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 2005, ISBN 3-907579-34-8 ,
- Florian Inäbnit: Mürren tram, Riffelalp electric tram and Bellavista horse-drawn tram . Prellbock Druck & Verlag, Leissigen 1995.
- 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
Existing routes: Jungfrau Railway 1898 | Gornergratbahn 1898 | Chemin de Fer de la Rhune 1914/24 | Corcovado mountain railway 1910
Lines that were later re-electrified: Veltlinbahn | Ferrovia Alta Valtellina | Mont Cenis Railway | Trento burner | Bolzano – Merano | Firenze-Bologna | TEL Tram Lugano 1896–1910 | StEB Stansstad – Engelberg 1898–1964 | BTB Burgdorf – Thun Railway 1899–1933 | SSS / SStB Schwyzer trams 1900–1914 | SBB / BBC three-phase operation Brig – Iselle 1906–1930 | Great Northern Old Cascade Tunnel 1909–1927 | RhW Tram Rheineck 1909–1958 | RENFE Gérgal – Santa Fe-Alhama 1911–1966 | SBB Sion – Brig 1919–1927 | EB Hasle-Rüegsau – Langnau 1919–1932
Earlier three-phase electrifications : Riffelalptram 1898–1960 | Hotel tram Évian-les-Bains 1898–1908 | Wöllersdorf military track 1902–1911 | BrMB Brunnen-Morschach Railway 1905–1969 | CFHMP Luchon – Superbagnières de Luchon 1912–1966 | Mühleggbahn 1950–1975 | RAG cog railway opencast mine Gruhlwerk 1927–1949
Test operations: Three-phase test operation from Siemens & Halske | Ganz test track on Óbuda Island | Three-phase test operation Brig – Iselle
Coordinates: 46 ° 0 '11 " N , 7 ° 45' 5.5" E ; CH1903: six hundred and twenty-four thousand two hundred thirty-nine / 94659