SWITZERLAND | Railways

[Küsel]

This weekend they expect tenthousands for the big inauguration party of the NEAT Lötschberg tunnel that will connect Bern with Brig. Its total length is 34,6km and it will shorten down the the travelling time between these two cities from 1.5 hours to one hour! The Valais will be reachable from Zurich center in less than 2 hours!
http://www.loetschberg.ch/en/index-e.html

[WotaN]

I've been to Brig and Visp several years ago and seen the old pass. Never expected for it to change so quickly Hope that tourist trains will still take the old route - much more spectacular, especially the downramp towards Brig when passing Visp

[railcity]

Originally Posted by WotaN

I've been to Brig and Visp several years ago and seen the old pass. Never expected for it to change so quickly Hope that tourist trains will still take the old route - much more spectacular, especially the downramp towards Brig when passing Visp

The Intercity Trains will run through the new tunnel. For the old route, you can board a RegioExpress in Bern or Spiez.

Quoting the BLS webpage: "From the end of 2008 onwards, the journey will be even more pleasant with the introduction of modern carriages for the Lötschberg mountain route."

http://www.bls.ch/bahn/linien_regioex_loetsch_d.html

[railcity]

A collection of video-reports can be viewed here:

on Lötschberg:
http://www.sf.tv/sfwissen/dossier.ph...15&navpath=pol

on NEAT in general:
http://www.sf.tv/sfwissen/dossier.ph...07&navpath=pol

[Küsel]

BBC News 15.6.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6755953.stm

[Yardmaster]

Congratulations Switzerland! Never been there, but knew about the Lotchsberg railway in my childhood. I hope the mountain route survives.

[Küsel]

Originally Posted by Yardmaster

Congratulations Switzerland! Never been there, but knew about the Lotchsberg railway in my childhood. I hope the mountain route survives.

It will. Also in the future (the official change also by timetable is only in December) you can choose between the mountain route and the NEAT. BTW the trains will speed up to 250km/h through the tunnel!

[Insane alex]

Great news!

[Küsel]

I was there on Saturday But it was not a lot going on, so I went to the Jura Montains for in the Val de Travers was a Fete de l'Absinthe

[Coccodrillo]

Originally Posted by Kuesel

This weekend they expect tenthousands for the big inauguration party of the NEAT Lötschberg tunnel that will connect Bern with Brig. Its total length is 34,6km and it will shorten down the the travelling time between these two cities from 1.5 hours to one hour! The Valais will be reachable from Zurich center in less than 2 hours!

In fact travel time from Bern to Visp will be cut from 2 to 1 hours, this because on the old line ended in Brig and one needed to change train to go to Visp.

Originally Posted by Yardmaster

I hope the mountain route survives.

The new line has 22 km of single track without passing loops (even if it will be possible to double it later), so it can't handle all the existing traffic. The new line will be used by 40 InterCity and 70 freight trains daily, and the old one by the remaining 40 freight trains (plus the regional trains, called "RegioExpress").

[skytrax]

great!!

[Grotlaufen]

Originally Posted by Coccodrillo

The new line has 22 km of single track without passing loops (even if it will be possible to double it later), so it can't handle all the existing traffic. The new line will be used by 40 InterCity and 70 freight trains daily, and the old one by the remaining 40 freight trains (plus the regional trains, called "RegioExpress").

What, the rich gnomes of Switzerland can´t afford to construct double single-track tunnels? In Austria these days, they´re doing everything they can to build second tunnels if there is just one single lane/track tunnel, especially for road traffic (Tauern, Katschberg tunnels etc).

[Momo1435]

It's build efficient, traffic predictions were not high enough to build a new double track tunnel next to the old double track route that remains open. It's cheaper this way and the construction was faster.

But it remains a fact that the international rail freight is booming and the completion of the whole double track tunnel could well be used, even together with the old route.

[Coccodrillo]

Original plans were for only one new line between German and Italan border.
There were three proposed axis:
- Splügen (eastern Switzerland)
- Gotthard (central)
- Simplon-Lötschberg (western)

Politicians and engineers decided for the new Gotthard line but, as in Switzerland big projects must be approved by referendum, they proposed to build also the new Lötschberg (but not the new Simplon) to have more voters supporting the projects (people living along the Gotthard line would have never voted in favour of the new Lötschberg line, and viceversa, people living on the Lötschberg would have never voted for the Gotthard).

The new Lötschberg line will add little capacity (from 80 to 110 freight trains, each up to 1800 tons in weight) because the old Simplon line will retain its limits. With the new Gotthard line the capacity is expected to increase from 110-130 trains per day to 220, with the weight of each train increasing from 1800 t to 3000 t and maybe more.

==================

Tha layout of tracks of the new tunnel has probably been chosen considering the passenger timetable. That is, becaus of the symmetric timetable, all trains must arrive in Bern a few minutes before hh:00 or hh:30 and start a few minutes before. InetCity trains to the Lötschberg tunnel leave Bern at hh:07 and hh:35, and arrive at hh:23 and hh:55. Studying the timetable they noticed that there was no need of double track in the tunnel because a passenger train would never cross the one travelling in the opposite direction inside the tunnel. The remaining capacity will be used by freight trains. The problem is if a trains comes late to the tunnel...if this happens, it must be routed to the old line. And the trains coming from Italy are very often late...

==================

The new Lötschberg tunnel when completed will be used also by shuttle trains carrying trucks and cars betweeen the two sides of the mountain, because over the Lötschberg pass there is no road. Today cars and lorries are transporterd throught the old railway tunnel.

The new tunnel has been choses instead of a new highway project, but someone is asking yet to convert the old railway tunnel into a road tunnel, once the new line is double-tracked.

Originally Posted by Momo1435

It's cheaper this way and the construction was faster.

In fact, when the tunnel will be completed (and it will), they will have to rebuild a big yard because of the 7 km that have not been bored during the first phase. If they had bored these 7 km from the beginning, it would have been cheaper. The completion of the tunnel is estimated to 1 billion of swiss francs, or 625 millions of euro.

I hope it is clear

[Trainman Dave]

A very usefull analysis, Thank you

[Lake]

The Zurich mainstation is one of the biggest trainstations in the world.

Travellers/day: 360'000 (500'000 in 2020)
Tracks: 26 (16 for national and international traffic | 10 for S-Bahn | 4 additional tracks u/c)
Movements per day: 2915 trains (worldrecord!)
In the underground of the national/international and 4 S-Bahntracks is a shoppingcenter with over 100 shops, policestation, church and so on. 6 tracks for the S-Bahn are also undeground 4 additional tracks in the new station "Löwenstrasse" are under construction and will be opened in a few years, when the additional tunnel to Zurich-Oerlikon is ready.

From outside:image hosted on flickr



The old mainhall where in the 19th century the trains arrived and departed. It's now the biggest overroofed square in Europe housing a lot of events and markets
image hosted on flickr



The "Querhalle" between the mainhall and the intercity tracks
image hosted on flickr



aerial view:




Tramway stop:
image hosted on flickr




image hosted on flickr

[Yardmaster]

Good photos!

[earthJoker]

Nice pictures!

Here is my old thread in the rating sections:
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=221636

Lots of pictures there as well.

[city_thing]

I loved Zurich Haptbahnhoff. I have a few photos of it in my computer somewhere from when I was on holiday in Zurich, I'll try to find them and post them. The Christmas decorations/market was amazing ,and all inside one building.

The shopping centre underneath the station is great too.

[earthJoker]

Bernina railway chugs towards heritage status
The World Heritage Committee is meeting in Quebec, Canada, to decide which sites to add to UNESCO‘s World Heritage List. Switzerland is in the running with a mountain landscape in the Eastern Swiss Alps and the Albula and Bernina railway lines in the canton of Graubünden which it is presenting jointly with Italy. WRS’s Vincent Landon reports from the highest rail crossing of the Alps.

CAPREZ: I like the diversity. Every time I drive the Albula line, it‘s a different experience even for me after all those years.

Driver Gion Caprez of the Rhaetian Railways. Caprez has been driving the Albula and Bernina lines for more than 20 years. He‘s also a history buff who walked the length of the lines to help prepare the study submitted to UNESCO.

CAPREZ: The Bernina line is a survivor. The technology of the electric inter-urban railway was universal. Most of them are gone now but the Bernina line is stilll there.

The railway lines are the central element of the UNESCO listing. They run for 120 kilometres from Thusis via St Moritz to Tirano in Italy. But the application is also about the cultural landscape. The lines cross language divides - German, Romansh and Italian cultures.

In the Albula valley, an ingenious system of loops and spirals, tunnels and bridges allows the train to climb 700 metres in 12 kilometres, a feat which would not normally be possible without a cog-wheel railway. Higher and higher above the valley, the train enters tunnels whose exits are visible directly above us in the rock face. Caprez says the Bernina line is not only a great feat of engineering. It is more or less in its original state.

CAPREZ: In the case of the Bernina line, authenticity means it serves exactly the same function, it did 100 years ago. It still brings tourists to the spots where they can view the glaciers, take walks throught alpine meadows. The Bernina line still serves the valley of Poschiavo as its link to the rest of Switzerland.

UNESCO listing brings obligations as well as prestige. Caprez says the railway will have to seek expert historical advice when it carries out replacement work but otherwise maintains a fairly free hand.

CAPREZ: “In principle anything that is needed to keep the line working is fine with UNESCO. We are allowed to maintain our tracks, to use new rolling stock, to rebuild bridges, strengthen bridges, replace them if needed.”

The highest point on the journey is Ospizio Bernina, 2,250 metres above sea level. It‘s about two hours from the glaciers of the pass to the palm trees of Tirano in Italy. On the curved viaduct near Brusio, we go round in circles to lose height. Soon we are in the Italian speaking Poschiavo valley and before you can say “Arrivederci and goodbye” it’s Tirano and journey‘s end.

http://www.worldradio.ch/wrs/news/sw...us.shtml?11151

Edit: Added Pictures