The Chemins de fer du Jura and the Regionalverkehr Bern - Solothurn

The Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ) are a railway operation in the sparsely settled French-speaking part of the Swiss Jura hills. The railways consist of a narrow gauge network of 74 km and a standard gauge network of 11 km. The company, therefore, has one of the longer narrow gauge transport networks. The railway lines are not always close to the small cities and villages of the region, so that they don't provide access to the whole area. Therefore buses also have to be operated. Trains are not long and normally not very full. In most countries such a railway would have been closed long ago, but in Switzerland it continues to serve as a beautiful example of a rural railway network.

The short standard gauge line runs from Porrentruy to Bonvol. It is not connected to the narrow gauge network and can only be reached by rail via the SBB line Delement - Delle. Both passenger and freight services operate on the line. A class 560 railcar stands at the station of Porrentruy. This railcar was bought from the SBB and is now in the livery of the Chemins de fer du Jura. [Aug 2015].

In the north the narrow gauge network of the Chemins de fer du Jura connects to the SBB line Delemont-Delle in Glovelier. Class BDe 4/4II railcar 614 in Glovelier. [Apr 2016].
A SBB FLIRT railcar arrives in Glovelier. On the left a railcar of the CJ awaits connecting passengers. [Apr 2016].
In a remote gorge at the foot of the Jura hills the trains reverse to ascend to the Jura plateau at Combe-Tabeillon. This view of the station is from the train ascending towards Saignlégier and La Chaux-de-Fonds, while the line on the left descends towards Glovelier. [Aug 2015].
Trains cross in the remote station of Bollement. Class De 4/4II baggage railcar exits the tunnel to cross a train. [Apr 2016].
Freight is also handled on the Chemins de fer du Jura. Standard gauge waggons are hauled on narrow gauge bogies. These two wood waggons are in a siding at La Combe and will be loaded with wood cut in the forest nearby. [Apr 2016].
A train with a class BDe 4/4II railcar near La Combe travels in the direction of Glovelier in the rain. The driving trailer is at the head of the train, but from Combe-Tabeillon the motor unit will head the train [Apr 2016].
Class De 4/4II baggage railcar No. 411 pushes its train between Pré-Petitjean and La Combe. The thtree railcars of class De 4/4I entered service in 1952 and 1953. One of the baggage railcars was modernised in 1986 and received the class designation De 4/4II and the No. 411. The other two baggage railcars were converted to dual energy (diesel/electric) in 2010. [Apr 2016].
Baggage railcar 411 near Pré-Petitjean. The area is also sometimes called free mountains, because the bishop of Basel promised that farmers settling in this inhospitable area would remain free of taxes. [Apr 2016].
Class BDe 4/4II railcar 611 is seen between La Combe and Pré-Petitjean. The five railcars of this class entered service from 1985 and always operate with a driving trailer, sometimes also with an intermediate carriage. [Apr 2016].
This is the view from the train at about the spot at which the previous three pictures were taken. The rolling hills with the clustered stands of pines is a typical landscape for the Jura. Deciduous trees have been cut down in the last few centuries, while the pine trees have been left standing. [Aug 2015].
Class BDe 4/4II railcar 614 near Pré-Petitjean. [Apr 2016].
To the north of Pré-Petitjean a train with a class BDe 4/4II railcar travels through this cutting in the direction of Glovelier. [Apr 2016].
Class De 4/4II baggage railcar 411 hauls a regional train from Glovelier to La Chaux-de-Fonds near Pré-Petitjean. [Apr 2016].
The hourly timetable between Glovelier and La Chaux-de-Fonds requires three trains. One of the trains with a class BDe 4/4II railcar stops at the station of Pré-Petitjean. [Apr 2016].
In Pré-Petitjean is the depot of the museum operation La Traction. La Traction regularly operates special trains on the narrow gauge network of the Chemins de fer du Jura, using both steam and old electric motive power. At the left is a class BDe 4/4I railcar. This class entered service from 1953 and continued in operation for the CJ until 2001. [Apr 2016].
Trains stop for several minutes in Saignlégier so that the arrival and departure times at other hubs can be coordinated. Class BDe 4/4 railcar 611 waits for the departure time towards La Chaux-de-Fonds. [Aug 2015].
For school traffic and the transport of garbage containers three of these class Be 4/4 railcars were purchased from the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn in 2013. There they had been in service from 1985. One of the railcars stands ready for departure at the station of Saignlégier. [Apr 2016].
The line from Tavannes meets the line from Glovelier to La Chaux-de-Fonds at Le Noirmont. Every hour trains from all directions of the narrow gauge network meet at Le Noirmont and then depart north, south and east. I took this photo from the train towards La Chaux-de-Fonds aufgenommen. In the central bay is the train towards Tavannes. On the right is the train towards Glovelier. [Aug 2015].
The Chemins de fer du Jura received five new railcars in 2016, also of the Be4/4 type. They are used in conjunction with older trailer cars. One of these trains arrives in Le Boechet. [Jan 2018].
In 2001 the CJ put in service four class ABe2/6 low-floor railcars, built by Stadler Rail. One of these railcars is shown here in Le Boechet. [Jan 2018].
This dual energy (electric / diesel) engine arrives with a track maintenance train in Les Bois. It has been rebuilt from a baggage railcar in 2010. [Jan 2018].
A class ABe2/6 railcar on its way from La Chaux-de-Fonds to Glovelier arrives in La Ferrier. [Jan 2018].
Just south of La Ferrier is this concrete bridge. A class ABe2/6 travels across the bridge in the direction of La Chaux-de-Fonds. [Jan 2018].
A train rolls in the opposite direction across the bridge towards La Ferriere. In large letters the freedom of the Jura is announced on the bridge. The Jura region was governed by the Canton Bern for many years and many people felt disadvantaged. There were even freedom fighters, political violence and protests. On 1 January 1979, the new canton of Jura came into existence. But to compare local politics in Switzerland as a freedom fight is probably a somewhat unreasonable view of things. [Jan 2018].
The new class Be4/4 railcars are coupled with the old class ABt driving trailers built in 1985. These compositions now operate many of the trains between Glovelier and La Chaux-de-Fonds. [Jan 2018].
A class Be4/4 railcar travels through the white landscape near La Cibourg. [Jan 2018].
Despite the arrival of the new railcars, I still saw an old class BDe4/4II railcar in active service. Here, one of the old railcars operates a train mainly used by school students. [Jan 2018].
The train leans into the curve at La Cibourg. [Jan 2018].
Beside the new class Be4/4 railcar and the class ABt driving trailer, this train also has a middle carriage. It travels through the Jura landscape north of La Cibourg. [Jan 2018].
One of the driving trailers was modernised at one point. Here it leads a train near La Cibourg. [Jan 2018].
This train of the Chemins de Fer du Jura is seen somewhere between La Chaux-de-Fonds and La Cibourg. [Jan 2018].
In La Chaux-de-Fonds the railway partly runs on the streets of the town. Car drivers may suddenly see a train coming towards them on the wrong side of the road. This is the view of the streets of La Chaux-de-Fonds from the train on a rainy evening. [Aug 2015].
A car had to move to the left side of the street to let the train pass, which is travelling on the wrong side of the road through La Chaux-de-Fonds. [Jan 2018].
At La Chaux-de-Fonds station a train of the Chemins de Fer du Jura is ready for departure. At the adjacent platform is a railcar of the transport company TransN, which is owned by the Canton Neuchatel. It travles from here to Les Ponts-de-Martel. Here in La Chaux-de-Fonds, there are connection to trains operated by the railway companies SBB CFF, BLS and TransN (standard gauge). [Jan 2018].
low-floor railcars entered service in 2001. are used on the entire narrow gauge network, but particularly on the line Le Noirmont - Tavannes. Through the front window of one of these railcars I have taken a photo of another class ABe 2/6 railcar in Tramelan. [Apr 2016].
In contrast, the Regionalverkehr Bern - Solothurn (RBS) operates a narrow gauge network in the heavily populated area near Bern. This area is largely German speaking. Most of the lines are part of the S-Bahn Bern. A Mandarinli railcar in Vechigen. [Jan 2018].
One of the RBS lines is the line from Bern to Worb. The S7 from Bern to Worb is the S-Bahn line in Bern with the highest number of passenger boardings. On a misty day a train is underway between Worb and Vechigen. [Jan 2018].
During rush hour two multiple units are coupled together to form a train . A train on its way to Worb has just departed from Boll and will pass Vechigen. [Jan 2018].
The Mandarinli railcars entered service from 1974. From 2001 a central low floor carriage was added to most of the railcars. The Mandarinli railcars received their names due to their distinctive colour. Today they just operate on the S7 between Bern and Worb via Bolligen. One of the railcars departs from Ittigen. [Sep 2015].
During rush hour, trains travel every 7.5 minutes on the S7 line between Bern and Bolligen (every 15 minutes to Worb). This is the highest frequency on any of the lines of the S-Bahn Bern. A Mandarinli railcar in Worblaufen. [Sep 2015].
From 1991 eleven La Prima railcars entered into service. These were modernised and enlarged in 2010 and are called Seconda since then. They are used on the S8 from Bern to Jegenstorf and on the S9 from Bern to Unterzollikofen. A train has just left Worblaufen. [Sep 2015].
For the Regional Express Bern - Solothurn the RBS introduced fourteen low floor railcars of the NExT series from 2009. The trains require 37 minutes for the trip from Bern to Solothurn. A train travels through Worblaufen, where these Regional Express trains normally don't stop. [Sep 2015].
A NExT railcar in the underground station at Bern. Even though for a year I travelled nearly daily on RBS trains on the S7 line, I only took my camera to the area one day after I no longer worked there. [Sep 2015].