Switzerland - the country of railways

Nowhere else you'll find such a good rail system where the trains are punctual, travelling is a pleasure and freight traffic so well organised. In Switzerland the railways are supported by the people and the government. The whole public transport system is fully integrated. As far as railways is concerned this reaches from InterCity trains to little mountain rack railways. On top of that the rail lines pass through an amazingly beautiful landscape - at least as long as they don't disappear in one of the many tunnels.

The Rhätische Bahn in the East of Switzerland is definitely one of the world's most fascinating railway operations. This narrow gauge railway connects such important holiday resorts as St. Moritz and Davos. Across high viaducts, through narrow valleys, over spirals and loops and through many tunnels the trains run through a beautiful mountain landscape. The Rhätische Bahn is just about the ideal railway, the fulfilment of a railway dream. Our longings of a dramatic peace, of exciting regularity can easily be projected into this railway. The trains regularly connect the stations of even the smallest of villages. In most of the carriages the windows can be opened, so that a fresh breeze can enter or one can welcome or say goodbye to people and places. The progress of air conditioning has not yet sanitized this railway. Here there's still no separation between infrastructure and operation. It is still a holistic railway.

Nevertheless many of the vehicles are new. One of the modern Ge4/4III appears out of the cloud-covered mountain forest near Cavadürli, just up from Klosters. Darkness is already approaching as the train heads for Davos.

Trains on the Rhätische Bahn run on the hour, every hour until late at night. Between Davos and Landquart push/pull trains are used. Usually the new Ge4/4III locos are assigned to these trains. Many of these engines are covered with advertising and therefore appear in all sorts of colours. This example sports advertising for "Coop" a major supermarket chain in Switzerland, that's also present in smaller centres. Clouds hide the mountains as it heads its train near Klosters.
These driving trailers form one end of the push/pull train sets. Even though they're fairly modern one can still open the smaller windows. Apart from the locos with advertising most of the railway's rolling stock has a characteristic red colour. No wonder that it's often advertised as the small red railway. This train has just left Klosters station and is now heading down the valley towards Landquart. In the background is the catholic church of Klosters.
The reformed church of Klosters is the older of the two. It is right in the centre of the resort and its tower is visible from the station precinct. There I met this little rail tractor on a summer evening as the thunderstorm just had receded.
From Klosters station a curved bridge carries the tracks into a tunnel, or rather two separate tunnels. One of them loops around inside the mountain continuing the line up the valley towards Davos. The other tunnel turns east to exit at Selfranga after about 2 km. From there the line continues through the 18km long Vereina tunnel to the Engadin region.

A class Ge4/4II engine brings the train from Scuol into the Klosters station. This class was derived from the standard gauge class Re4/4II (420 according to the new scheme) of the SBB. At the moment this is the most numerous engine class of the Rhätische Bahn.

Regular car shuttles operate through the Vereina tunnel. There is a road over the Vereina pass, but it is fairly long and windy and at times inaccessible. The Engadin region is a remote mountain area. With its amazing mountains, small villages and quaint buildings it certainly is something special. In many villages the people still speak Romanche, a language derived from Latin that has still survived here. One of these villages is Susch. It is also the crossing station for trains between Pontresina and Scuol. One of these trains is seen trundling over the bridge in the centre of Susch.
The valley widens towards St. Moritz. Madulain is a small village close to the river. Farmers still cultivate their little holdings while tourists come here mainly to cycle in the surrounding area. A Ge4/4II engine hauls her train into Madulain. The new square headlights are quite noticeable on this loco.
Samedan is the major junction of the Engadin region. From here the lines divide to go to St. Moritz and Pontresina. As trains from the West do not stop in Bever it is also the junction for trains going up the Engadin towards Scuol and the line through the Albula tunnel towards Filisur.
An electric shunting engine stands in the yard of Samedan between freight wagons and passenger carriages.
West of the Albula tunnel the railway line descends the valley through loops, tunnels and viaducts that cross between the valley sides. In some areas galleries are required to protect against avalanche damage. One of the heavy Ge6/6II engines hauls a freight train up this section of line over one of the smaller viaducts. These locomotives were built from 1958 onwards and now mainly haul freight trains and heavy passenger trains. The front section has been rebuilt so that their appearance has certainly changed.
At the end of the forties the Rhätische Bahn got these little engines of the Ge4/4I class. They were able to haul light passenger trains at an increased speed. After a rebuilding programme these engines still fulfill their daily duties and reliably haul passenger trains.
Not far from the viaduct shown in the previous picture, this loco heads her train down the valley towards Filisur.
This Ge4/4III loco hauls the Glacier Express across the most visible viaduct in the upper Albula valley. Wagons from the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn form the front of the train. The colour scheme fits in fact quite well to the engine's which is resplendent in advertising for the cement company Holcim. The Glacier Express is probably the most well known of Switzerland's scenic trains. It connects Zermatt via the narrow gauge rail network through the Furka tunnel with St. Moritz and other resorts in eastern Switzerland.
The best known structure of the Rhätische Bahn is not far from Filisur. The Landwasser viaduct crosses the narrow gorge with gracefull stone arches. High above the mountain stream it clings to a vertical rockface where trains enter directly into a tunnel. A Ge6/6II loco running engine light crosses the viaduct.
From its base the viaduct looks even more imposing. Between rocks, cliff-faces and trees the structure rises from the valley, seeming to touch the sky. High above trains pass by.
Again it is a Ge6/6II crossing the viaduct, this time with a substantial train in tow.
Well, where is this tunnel in the rockface? I have to confess that I didn't get it in the picture in the previous photograph. Just to prove it, here's a picture taken from the train. Of course if you really are looking for it there's more of those photographs somewhere on the net. The line really disappears directly into the mountain side. It is interesting to note that between Thusis and Samedan cars are carried on the normal passenger trains.
Clinging to the mountainside the track descends via several smaller viaducts after the spectacular viaduct over the Landwasser gorge. Above the railway line the meadows so characteristic of the Swiss Alps can be seen. By caring for the land for centuries Swiss farmers continue to maintain the mountain landscape, even though it may be judged inefficient in international comparison.
An engine of the Ge4/4II class hauls a freight train towards Thusis. Freight trains on the Rhätische Bahn are not overly long, but are run according to local requirements.
The next viaduct is not far away. This one rises right out of the dense fir forest. A track maintenance vehicle hauls a short ballast train towards Filisur where it is required for track-work.
On this day the maintenance works actually closed one spur of the double track line so that trains had to depart Filisur several minutes later. This resulted in some delays on the otherwise punctual network of the Rhätische Bahn. It seems that the infrastructure of the Rhätische Bahn is kept in top condition.
For completeness' sake I have included a photo of Chur station.
These class Be4/4 railcars are used for local trains around Chur. The railcars have just one cab, so that they always run with a driving trailer.
In Filisur another line branches off towards Davos. Using this line one can complete the round trip of the Vereina mountains. On this line mainly push/pull trains with Ge4/4I locos are used.
One of these trains has just left Filisur and now heads towards Davos.

That's the last of the Rhätische Bahn pictures.

But there's more interesting narrow gauge lines in Switzerland. One of those is the Brünig line between the tourist centres of Luzern and Interlaken. For many years the line was the only narrow gauge railway operated by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). 2005 it was taken over by the Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn (LSE) and the new venture was renamed Zentralbahn (Central Railway). It now operates long distance, commuter and local trains.
Still in the colours of the SBB Brünigbahn this class 101 electric arrives with its train in Brienz. Over the Brünig Pass it operates as a rack railway. Here in the valley the loco just requires adhesion to haul the train. The carriages sport the livery of the Golden Pass Panoramic Express Tourist venture.
It is probably the same locomotive that hauls its train 50 minutes later in the opposite direction along the shore of Lake Brienz. On its way from Interlaken to Luzern, the train does not stop at the small flag station of Ebligen. I had to get my feet wet for this shot, but unfortunately didn't have my togs with me otherwise a swim would have just been the thing on such a hot day.
For local traffic the Zentralbahn has put into service a new railcar series in 2005. Designated SPATZ (Schmalspur-PAnorama-Trieb-Zug; Narrow gauge PAnorama Motor Train) it operates on the valley lines of the railway.
Between Meiringen and and Interlaken the trains provide a frequent service along the shore of Lake Brienz and in the upper Aare valley. Here a train arrives in Ebligen.
Swiss main lines use standard gauge. The biggest private railway company is the BLS (originally Bern – Lötschberg – Simplon). It maintains a network of railway lines around Berne and the transit corridors through the Lötschberg tunnels, both the old tunnel and the base tunnel recently opened to traffic. In its capacity as train operator BLS is responsible for the S-Bahn network of Berne and regional trains in the area. In conjunction with German Railway Deutsche Bahn, BLS Cargo is a involved in the line haul operation of freight trains. Here a class 465 loco hauls a regional train along the shores of Lake Thun towards Interlaken.
BLS originally ordered the class 465 locos for heavy freight trains and InterCity passenger trains. Since the company is no longer involved in InterCity passenger trains and uses other locos to haul freight, the class is now used for regional trains. Of course the engines are somewhat of an overkill for those trains.
For the increased requirements in regional passenger traffic, the BLS has purchased several class Re4/4iii locos from the Swiss Federal Railways. Reclassified as 420 and in new livery one of these locos arrives with a regional train in Leissigen on the shores of Lake Thun.
The old BLS Re4/4 express engines are now also used for regional trains. Now designated class 425, one of the class crosses another regional train in Leissigen. The distinctive Mt Harder can be seen in the background.
For the Bern S-Bahn, BLS has purchased these trendy low-floor railcars. Called NiNa, they provide maximum space and comfort for the extensive inter-urban operation. Here one of them is seen in Thun.
For its line-haul operation, BLS Cargo uses the versatile class 485. Developed from the German class 185, the locos can be used throughout central Europe. One of the class waits in Leissigen with a ballast train.