Voralpen-Express

Timetable field :	670, 870
Route length:	125 km
Gauge :	1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Power system :	15 kV 16.7 Hz  ~
Maximum slope :	50  ‰
St. Gallen – Rapperswil – Lucerne
Legend 0.00 Romanshorn until 2013 399  m above sea level M. SBB route to Winterthur 1.20 Romanshorn Süd until 2013 398  m above sea level M. SBB route to Rorschach 3.03 Neukirch-Egnach until 2013 412  m above sea level M. 5.31 Steinebrunn until 2013 448  m above sea level M. 7.29 Muolen until 2013 479  m above sea level M. 9.57 Häggenschwil - winches until 2013 512  m above sea level M. 12.84 Roggwil - Berg until 2013 560  m above sea level M. 15.62 Wittenbach until 2013 603  m above sea level M. Bruggwald 1731 m SBB- SGAE from Rorschach 19.13 78.16 St. Gallen St. Fiden until 2013 645  m above sea level M. Rosenberg 1466 m St. Gallen 670  m above sea level M. Connection to AB - TB and AB- SGA SBB to Winterthur Sitter BT 366 w Sturzenegg 247 m Thal 163 m Gossau SG – Wasserauen railway line Herisau 745  m above sea level M. Workshop Glattal 296 m Weissenbach 282 m Bühlberg 366 m Degersheim until 2013 799  m above sea level M. Degersheim West 763  m above sea level M. Schoren 141 m Wasserfluh 3556 m SBB route from Wil Wattwil 613.6 m from Ebnat-Kappel / Nesslau-Neu St.Johann Rickentunnel (8603 m) Kaltbrunn until 2013 469.6 m to Ziegelbrücke Uznach 410.3 m Schmerikon 408.1 m from Zurich via Uster from Zurich over miles Rapperswil 409  m above sea level M. Rapperswil lake dam bridge 115 m Hurden sea dam bridge 99 m Seefeld Bridge 67 m from brick bridge Pfäffikon SZ 412  m above sea level M. Left bank to Zurich A3 Wollerau (61 m) SOB from Wädenswil Siding 819  m above sea level M. Biberbrugg 829  m above sea level M. SOB to Einsiedeln Rothenthurm 923  m above sea level M. No. 1 53 m Tunnel No. 2, which was closed in 1975, 39 m No. 3 64 m Grümpeltobel 86 m Kapftobel I 54 m Kapftobel II 72 m No. 4 63 m Gotthard Railway Arth-Goldau 510  m above sea level M. from train Rindelfluhtunnel (200 m) from Rotkreuz Schwarzenbach 124 m Küssnacht am Rigi 457  m above sea level M. Latvians 37 m Meggen center Lerchenbühl 560 m Seeburg 113 m Schiltenneune 166 m Lucerne Museum of Transport Entrance to the Verkehrshaus Musegg (city tunnel) 2107 m Reuss Geissmatt 130 m to Rotkreuz and Lenzburg Gütsch to Bern , to Olten , Gütsch 326 m Heimbach 438  m above sea level M. Schönheim 199 m For example according to Horw Lucerne 436  m above sea level M.

Voralpen-Express , or UAE for short , is the name of a train operated by the Swiss Southeastern Railway (SOB) that has been connecting Lucerne with St. Gallen via Arth-Goldau , Pfäffikon and Rapperswil since 1992 . It operated to Romanshorn until December 14, 2013 . The train runs every hour. Up until December 2019, modernized and air-conditioned standard coaches I ( Revvivo coaches) were mainly used. Since the timetable change in December 2019, the Voralpen-Express has been on the move with the new Flirt-IC 160 rolling stock from Stadler Rail and is now running as the Panorama Express train category , PE for short .

history

Thanks to the close cooperation between the Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway (BT), the Swiss Southeast Railway (SOB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), express trains have been running between Romanshorn and Arth-Goldau since 1940, i.e. since the entire line was electrified. Rolling stock and staff were provided together. From 1947, a pair of trains was extended to Lucerne, the so-called "Direct Line Northeast Switzerland-Central Switzerland" was born. However, the number of direct trains remained small. In 1981 there were two trains up to and three trains from Lucerne, which ran to / from Arth-Goldau as regional trains with different train numbers (train pairs 966-1529 / 1532-975, Lucerne to / from 10.15 / 11.27, 1556-983 from 16.19, 980-1557 / 1564-987 to / from 16.05 / 17.42). The travel time St. Gallen – Lucerne or vice versa was 2:15 to 2:48 and only the pair of trains 980/987 led a buffet car (the BT). Other pairs of trains with buffet cars only ran on the (Romanshorn–) St. Gallen – Arth-Goldau section.

In 1982, the clock timetable was introduced across Switzerland and now a two-hour train pair Romanshorn – Lucerne, the travel time St. Gallen – Lucerne generally fell to 2:12, but the buffet car operation was abandoned. From 1991 onwards, the train was run with intercity cars behind a locomotive. In timetable 1992/93 the first time the name appeared "Pre-Alpine Express", as of May 1998, the trains were classified as Interregio. After regional trains of BT and SOB had already been tied through in Rapperswil in the intermediate hours, from May 1995 an express train ran in the intermediate hours with the same travel times as the UAE to / from Arth-Goldau; from 1997 Revvivo cars were used for this.

In 1999 the Voralpen-Express became a joint venture of BT, SOB and SBB (1/3 each; since the merger of BT and SOB in 2002: 2/3 SOB, 1/3 SBB) and the trains were operated every hour with "Revvivo" -Wagon in UAE design run as a locomotive pendulum. Thirteen train pairs were offered between Romanshorn and Lucerne (first train Romanshorn from 06.34, Lucerne from 07.40), plus two trains Romanshorn and St. Gallen – Rapperswil in the evening and two, on weekdays, three trains Rapperswil – Romanshorn in the morning.

Voralpen-Express with three green additional cars and a yellow / green BDe 4/4 as a push rail car.

Because of the 50 per mille steep ramps between Pfäffikon or Arth-Goldau and Altmatt, trains with more than six cars (basic composition plus one additional car) required leader or thrust. The provision or removal of the reinforcement trolleys made the operation more expensive. At first, an attempt was therefore made to sell the Revvivo cars that had not yet been written off, but this did not succeed. Finally, the Südostbahn was able to agree with the customers (the federal government and the cantons) that a transitional concept would be implemented from the start of the St. Gallen S-Bahn in 2013, which would largely dispense with reinforcements. New rolling stock was procured for the 2020 horizon.

Since December 15, 2013, responsibility for the entire course of the train has been with the Südostbahn. In the new S-Bahn concept, the Voralpen-Express turns in St. Gallen, freeing up one composition, which was not enough, however, to extend all compositions to seven cars (or two railcars plus six cars). It was therefore necessary to fall back on the last generation of NPZ cars, which were still procured by BT and the "old" SOB . The disadvantage was that this car was not air-conditioned (which until then only applied to the control car), which meant that full comfort was no longer guaranteed.

By December 2013, the Voralpen-Express took over the function of a regional train on the St. Gallen – Romanshorn section and stopped at most stations. In today's operational area (St. Gallen – Lucerne), the frequency of stops corresponds to that of a RegioExpress . The Voralpen-Express appeared in the timetable as InterRegio (IR) until December 2013 . With the timetable change in December 2013, the UAE was introduced as a separate train category.

Since the timetable change in June 2014 (opening of the diameter line in Zurich), the Voralpen-Express no longer stops in Wollerau , but in Rothenthurm .

Rolling stock

Use of rolling stock until 1991

Until 1999 BT and SOB used BDe 4/4 shuttle trains on the “Direct Line”. Four-part shuttle train with two reinforcement cars near Herisau.

In a first phase, Be 4/4 locomotives from BT, the "Glaswagen" and CFe 4/4 62 from SOB and the Fe 4/4 (previously RFe 4/4 ) acquired by the two railways from the SBB were used as locomotives. used. The SOB had two control cars, the BT none. From 1959 to 1966, SOB and BT then procured shuttle trains with high-performance BDe 4/4 multiple units for the “Direct Line” and provided them with a uniform green / cream paint. The SBB meanwhile used their (less powerful) BDe 4/4 , from 1982 RBe 4/4 with BDt. BT put its first buffet car into operation as early as 1944, followed by SOB in 1956, but this type of car disappeared again in 1982 with the introduction of the interval timetable. When the express trains were given their current name in 1991, their appearance also changed. SOB and BT procured crème / green standard coaches IV (air-conditioned intercity coaches, meanwhile sold to SBB). BT provided its Re 4/4 converter locomotives, which were new at the time (later Re 456, identical in construction to SZU and VHB locomotives) and SOB their Re 4/4 ^III, which is now (again) owned by SBB . These were replaced by the four former SBB Re 4/4 ^IV prototypes (now referred to as Re 446 ). Due to the 50 per mil steep ramps, the standard compositions were relatively short; on days with a lot of traffic, double traction had to be driven , with a leader or a push service.

Rolling stock used from 1999 to December 2013

SBB Re 4/4 ^II with Voralpen-Express between Biberbrugg and Rothenthurm. The control car is not yet in the UAE design.

Travelers can get hot and cold drinks from the vending machines in the Revvivo bistro car.

The Voralpen-Express has been a shuttle train again since 1999. The SBB provided two Re 4/4 ^II and the SOB four Re 4/4 (Re 446 and Re 456). The compositions were, with the exception of the control car exclusively from Revvivo-cars from Einheitswagen I have been converted. As a rule, a first class car (A) was lined up behind the locomotive, followed by a bistro car (BR) with vending machines, two second class cars (B) and a control car with a luggage compartment (BDt). With a reinforcement car, the locomotive's load limit was reached to 50 per thousand. If additional reinforcement wagons were required, a sliding service had to be performed between Pfäffikon or Arth-Goldau and Altmatt.

21 SOB cars were used

• 5 A 50 48 18-35 222 to 226
• 8 B 50 48 20-35 321 to 328
• 2 B 50 48 20-35 318 to 319 (with disc-braked Schlieren bogies)
• 6 BR 50 48 85-35 521 to 526

and 11 SBB cars

• 2 BR 50 85 85-35 700 to 701
• 3 A 50 85 18-35 700 to 702
• 6 B 50 85 20-35 700 to 705

Then there were the SOB control cars

• 9 BDt 50 48 80-35 191 to 199 (the last three only for multiple control IIId, all with disc-braked Schlieren bogies)

Rolling stock in use since December 2013

In order to be able to dispense with the increasingly necessary reinforcements, the train is run with seven cars and one motor vehicle at both ends. For this purpose, the 11 Revvivo wagons belonging to SBB were taken over by the SOB and the color of the NPZ rolling stock from the 1990s was adapted to the UAE design and equipped with new tables. The following rolling stock is used:

• 4 locomotives Re 446 : 91 85 4 446 015-018 (each in pairs or with RBDe 561)
• 6 locomotives Re 456 : 91 85 4 456 091-096 (each in pairs)
• 5 NPZ railcars RBDe 561 : 94 85 7 561 081-084 and 174 (each in pairs or with Re 446)

• 8 Revvivo-A 50 85 18-35 711-718
• A Bodan 50 85 17-35 719 (originally SBB B 6000, then BT B 350; reserve)
• 16 Revvivo-B 50 85 20-35 721–736 (735–736 with disc-braked Schlieren bogies)
• 8 Revvivo-BR 50 85 20-35 741–748 (741–744 originally BT AB 251–254)
• 6 NPZ-B (1991) 50 85 29-35 781-786 (use in pairs)
• 4 NPZ-ABt (1995) 50 85 80-35 181-184 (used as an intermediate car)
• 3 B EW I ex BT (1967-68) 50 85 20-35 753, 754, 767 (reserve)

The order in the compositions (5 rounds plus 1 reserve) is usually:

• Re – ABt – B – B – BR – A – B – B – Re (4 compositions)
• RBDe – A – B – B – BR – A – B – RBDe (2 compositions)

Since 2015 it has been possible for an RBDe 561 and a Re 446 to travel together after the multiple controls have been adjusted. In addition, the RBDe 561 174 was taken over by SBB as a reserve vehicle.

Rolling stock will be used from December 2019

New Flirt trains have been in use on the Voralpen-Express since the 2020 timetable.

Interior of the new Flirt trains (family compartment)

Six 8-part and five 4-part Flirt-IC 160 from Stadler Rail have been in use since December 2019 . The replacement of the Voralpen-Express triggered an investment volume of 170 million francs. The trains are called Traverso by the Südostbahn , they are equipped with first and second class seats (68 + 291 or 22 + 175 seats), family compartments, ski and bike areas as well as catering areas with drinks and snack machines and comply with the Disability Equality Act . The trains were painted copper with a red framed black window band. The first train was presented to the press on June 6, 2018.

gallery

• 

  Voralpen-Express in Pfäffikon , covered with a Re 446 in the SOB design from 2002 (former SBB Re 4/4 IV )

• 

  Even five-part VAE with NPZ power cars, reinforced for Olma traffic with additional wagons and BDe 4/4 thrust

• 

  Voralpen-Express in Pfäffikon

• 

  The former BT section contains many bridge structures, such as B. the Sitter Viaduct just before St. Gallen

• 

  A Voralpenexpress before the conversion to Traverso trains with advertising locomotive Re 446 017 "Fernweh" in Küssnacht

literature

• Gerhard Oswald, Kaspar Michel: The Southeast Railway - History of a Private Railway. Orell Füssli Verlag, Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-280-02048-4
• Gerhard Oswald: The Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway. History of a private railway company in Eastern Switzerland. Appenzeller Verlag, Herisau 2004, ISBN 3-85882-361-9

Web links

Commons : Voralpen-Express  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Homepage of the Voralpen-Express

Individual evidence

1. ^ Gerhard Oswald: The Bodensee-Toggenburg Railway. History of a private railway company in Eastern Switzerland. Appenzeller Verlag, Herisau 2004, ISBN 3-85882-361-9 , page 211
2. ^ Official timetable for Switzerland, summer 1981, timetable fields 70, 76 and 111
3. ^ Official timetable for Switzerland, summer 1982, timetable fields 600, 670 and 870
4. ^ Official timetable for Switzerland from 1991/1992 to 1999/2000 (timetable change at the end of May), timetable field 870
5. ↑ Press Communique of the SOB June 6, 2008
6. ↑ Swiss Railway Review 11/2010, page 552; Eisenbahn-Amateur 11/2010, pages 601 and 609
7. ↑ Südostbahn: Fleet
8. ↑ LITRA: New perspectives for and thanks to the Voralpen-Express; dated December 21, 2012 ( Memento of the original dated March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
9. ↑ SOB.ch fleet SOB Südostbahn , accessed on 14 December 2013
10. ↑ SOB procures rolling stock: new Voralpen-Express trains from Stadler. In: Bahnonline.ch. May 12, 2016, accessed May 6, 2018 . 
11. ↑ The new Voralpen-Express is on the move. In: Bahnonline.ch. June 27, 2016, accessed May 6, 2018 . 
12. ↑ The new Voralpen-Express. In: sob.ch. June 6, 2018, accessed June 8, 2018 . 
13. ↑ Traverso - Pictures. In: voralpen-express.ch. June 6, 2018, accessed June 8, 2018 .