Cossonay funicular

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Cossonay funicular
Mountain station in Cossonay (April 2010)
Mountain station in Cossonay (April 2010)
Route length: 1,228 km
Gauge : 1000 mm ( meter gauge )
Maximum slope : 130  ‰
Top speed: 4.5 m / s = 16.2 km / h
Legend
End station - start of the route
 0,000 Cossonay-Ville 563  m above sea level M.
Blockstelle, Awanst, Anst etc.
 Alternative point 488  m above sea level M.
End station - end of the line
 1,228 Cossonay-Penthalaz 430  m above sea level M.
   
 Transition to the Jura foot line of the SBB

The Cossonay funicular ( French Funiculaire de Cossonay ) is a funicular in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland . It has been connecting the Cossonay-Penthalaz station on the Jura foot line with the town of Cossonay since 1897 . With a length of 1228 meters, it overcomes a height difference of 133 meters. It is operated by the transport company Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay .

description

The small town of Cossonay is located in the Gros de Vaud , right on the edge of an extensive high plateau. This drops steeply towards the east to the deeply cut river valley of the Venoge . There, in an industrial area on the territory of the neighboring municipality of Penthalaz, is the Cossonay-Penthalaz station on the Jura foot line of the Swiss Federal Railways , with connections to Lausanne , Yverdon-les-Bains and Vallorbe .

The maximum incline of the track is 130 per thousand, in the middle of the single-track, straight line there is a turnout . The mountain station is located a little southeast of the city center of Cossonay, next to the Hôtel du Funi on Avenue du Funiculaire. The valley station is about 50 meters west of the train station, on the opposite side of the street from Route de Gollion.

The funicular, which is part of the Mobilis transport network, runs daily between 5:00 a.m. and 12:40 a.m. As a rule, there is a ten-minute cycle, while during rush hour there is a drive every eight minutes. The journey time is six minutes. In 2016, 286,798 passengers were counted.

The funicular has the following technical data:

  • Length: 1228 m
  • Difference in altitude: 133 m
  • Track width: 1000 mm
  • maximum slope: 130 ‰
  • Switch: Abt switch
  • Vehicles: two cabins for 47 people each
  • Drive: asynchronous motor in the mountain station (110 kW )
  • Diameter of the pull rope: 19 millimeters
  • Speed: 4.5 m / s (16.2 km / h)
  • Travel time: six minutes

history

On May 7, 1855, the Compagnie de l'Ouest Suisse (OS) opened the first part of the Jura foot line between Bussigny and Yverdon-les-Bains , which also included the Cossonay-Penthalaz train station. However, this was down in the valley of the Venoge in the municipality of Penthalaz and did not adequately develop the then district capital of Cossonay. The Chemin de fer de Jougne à Eclépens (JE) opened on July 1, 1870 the line branching off north of Cossonay-Penthalaz to Vallorbe , but that did not change the poor development.

Share of 100 francs in the Compagnie du Chemin de fer funiculaire de la Gare à la Ville de Cossonay from March 1, 1897

In 1891 five residents of Cossonay formed an initiative committee that aimed to build and operate a funicular between the station and the town. The Federal Assembly , issued on June 26 of that year, a concession for a period of 80 years. On April 30, 1892, the company Compagnie du chemin de fer funiculaire de la gare à la ville de Cossonay (CG) was founded. The construction work came to a standstill after a short time when the route collapsed over a length of around 50 meters. It had been neglected to build barriers in the vineyards below the mountain station. The repair costs of CHF 200,000 exceeded CG's financial resources.

The CG asked for financial support from the Jura-Simplon-Bahn (JS), the successor to OS and JE. A corresponding agreement came about on January 28, 1897. JS granted a loan in the amount of 150,000 francs and assured the takeover of the business, while the board of directors of CG contributed 50,000 francs. On August 28, 1897, the funicular, which was built in the form of a water ballast railway, was opened. With the nationalization of JS in 1903, operational management was transferred to the Swiss Federal Railways . From 1930 the Société des Auto-Transports du Pied du Jura Vaudois was responsible, from 1966 the Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher-Bahn .

CG's financial situation was always tense. In 1928, the replacement of the two rail cars could only be financed through a mortgage loan from the canton of Vaud. At the same time, the company's capital was halved. The situation improved a little after that, especially when private motor vehicle traffic was severely restricted during World War II . Due to the onset of mass motorization , income began to decline after 1950, while staff costs rose at the same time. When parcel transport was discontinued in 1966, the continued existence of the funicular was in acute danger. The replacement by a post bus line was up for discussion. Instead, the railway was switched to automatic operation in 1969, which enabled significant cost reductions. At the same time, the cantonal and municipal authorities carried out a financial restructuring of the CG. In 1972 the company itself took over the management.

In 1982 Von Roll replaced the outdated water ballast drive with a more powerful electric drive, while Gangloff built new wagons. The funicular has been part of the Mobilis transport association since 2007 . In 2010, the CG company dissolved; Since then, the funicular has been a branch of the transport company Transports de la région Morges-Bière-Cossonay (MBC). Between April 2012 and June 2014, the funicular was temporarily replaced by a bus service in order to carry out a comprehensive renovation and modernization. This included the new construction of the route , new electrical systems and new Garaventa wagons . Since the end of 2014, the funicular has been remotely controlled from the operations control center of the Bière – Apples – Morges Railway in Bière, which is part of the MBC Group .

literature

  • Gérald Hadorn, Jean-Louis Rochaix: Voies étroites de la campagne vaudoise . BVA, Lausanne 1986, ISBN 2-88125-004-1 .

Web links

Commons : Cossonay Gare – Ville funicular railway  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Timetable Cossonay-Penthalaz - Cossonay Ville (2016/17). (PDF, 1.6 MB) Transports de la région Morges – Bière – Cossonay, 2016, accessed on August 19, 2017 (French).
  2. ↑ Rapport de gestion 2016. (PDF, 2.5 MB) Annual report 2016. Transports de la région Morges – Bière – Cossonay, 2017, p. 14 , accessed on August 19, 2017 (French).
  3. ^ A b Funiculaire Penthalaz – Cossonay. remontees-mecaniques.net, 2017, accessed August 19, 2017 (French).
  4. ^ Jura south foot line Biel / Bienne - Lausanne. Rail transport in Switzerland, accessed on August 19, 2017 .
  5. ^ Railway line Lausanne - Vallorbe. Rail transport in Switzerland, accessed on August 19, 2017 .
  6. ↑ a b c Message from the Federal Council to the Federal Assembly on the distribution of new concessions for the Biel – Leubringen and Cossonay-Bahnhof – Cossonay-Stadt funiculars. (PDF, 892 kB) In: Bundesblatt 122/45. Swiss Federal Chancellery , November 13, 1970, accessed on August 19, 2017 .
  7. ^ Message to the Federal Assembly regarding the takeover of the operation of the cable car from the station to the town of Cossonay by the Jura-Simplon Railway Company. (PDF, 94 kB) In: Bundesblatt 3/22. Swiss Federal Chancellery , June 2, 1897, accessed on August 19, 2017 .
  8. ↑ Historique. Transports de la région Morges – Bière – Cossonay, 2017, accessed on August 19, 2017 (French).

Coordinates: 46 ° 36 '32.3 "  N , 6 ° 30' 59.2"  E ; CH1903:  five hundred and twenty-nine thousand three hundred and fifty-one  /  162 384