Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム

Jump to content

Jungfrau Railway

Edit links

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mountain cogwheel railway in Switzerland

Jungfrau Railway

Train on the open-air section of the line, overlooked by theEiger andMönch

Overview

Native name

Jungfraubahn JB

Status

operating daily

Owner

Jungfraubahn AG

Locale

Bern andValais, Switzerland

Termini

Stations

Website

Service

Type

Mountain rack railway

Services

Operator(s)

Depot(s)

Kleine Scheidegg railway station

Daily ridership

max. 1 Million p.a.

History

Opened

1912; 113 years ago (1912)

Technical

Line length

9.34 km (5.80 mi)

Character

Touristic, mainly underground rack railway

Rack system

Strub

Track gauge

1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge

Minimum radius

100 m (328.08 ft)

Electrification

3-phase, 1,125V AC, 50Hz,overhead wire

Highest elevation

3,454 m (11,332 ft)

Maximum incline

25%

Route diagram

Legend

elev.

inM

Wengernalpbahn

toWengen &Lauterbrunnen

2,061

Kleine Scheidegg

Wengernalpbahn

toGrindelwald

workshops

2,320

2,864

3,159

3,454

This diagram:

Jungfrau Railways

Legend

			ToSpiez,Thun andBern (BLS AG)
Interlaken Ost	567m

Brünig line			Ferry toBrienz

		548m	Wilderswil
		1542m	Breitlauenen
Zweilütschinen	653m	1987m	Schynige Platte

Sandweid	727m		Lütschental
Lauterbrunnen	796m		Burglauenen
Wengwald			Schwendi
Grütschalp	1487m	1275/1034m	Wengen /Grindelwald
Winteregg	1578m	1479/943m	Allmend /Grindelwald Grund
Mürren	1639m	1874/1332m	Wengernalp /Brandegg
Kleine Scheidegg	2061m	1616m	Alpiglen
Eigergletscher	2320m

Eigerwand	2864m
Eismeer	3158m
Jungfraujoch	3454m

TheJungfrau Railway (German:Jungfraubahn,pronounced[ˈjʊŋfʁaʊ̯ˌbaːn]^ⓘ,JB) is a mountainrack railway in theBernese Alps,Switzerland, connectingKleine Scheidegg in theBernese Oberland to theJungfraujoch, across theValais border. It isthe highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, running 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the station ofKleine Scheidegg (2,061 m (6,762 ft)) to theJungfraujoch (3,454 m (11,332 ft)), well above the perennialsnow line. As a consequence, the railway runs essentially within theJungfrau Tunnel, built into the neighbouringEiger andMönch, to protect the line from snow and extreme weather.

The Jungfrau Railway got its name from the highest of the three high peaks above it: theJungfrau (English:Virgin; 4,158 metres (13,642 ft)), which was the initial goal of the project. A lift connecting the summit of the Jungfrau with an underground railway was planned.^[1] In 1912, the project ultimately ended at the Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau. It wasone of the highest railways in the world at the time of its inauguration.

At Kleine Scheidegg the Jungfrau Railway connects with theWengernalpbahn (WAB), which has two routes down the mountain, running respectively to the villages ofLauterbrunnen andGrindelwald. From both villages, branches of theBerner Oberland-Bahn (BOB) connect to theSwiss Federal Railways atInterlaken.^[2]

The line is owned by theJungfraubahn AG, a subsidiary of theJungfraubahn Holding AG, a holding company that owns several mountain railways, cable railways, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies in the same region. Through that holding company it is part of theAllianz - Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately ownedBerner Oberland-Bahn andSchynige Platte-Bahn.^[3]

History

[edit]

Map of the Jungfrau Railway project in 1903

1860 (approximately) – Many different plans for a mountain railway on theJungfrau exist, but fail due to financial problems.
1894 – The industrialistAdolf Guyer-Zeller receives a concession for a rack railway, which begins from theKleine Scheidegg railway station of theWengernalpbahn (WAB), with a long tunnel through theEiger andMönch up to the summit of theJungfrau.
1896 – Construction begins. Construction work proceeds briskly.
1898 – The Jungfrau Railway opens as far as theEigergletscher railway station, at the foot of theEiger.
1899 – Six workers are killed in an explosion. There is a four-month strike by workers.Adolf Guyer-Zeller dies inZürich on 3 April. The section from Eigergletscher station toRotstock station opens on 2 August.
1903 – The section from Rotstock station toEigerwand station opens on 28 June.
1905 – The section from Eigerwand station toEismeer station opens on 25 July.
1908 – There is an explosion at Eigerwand station.
1912 – On 21 February, sixteen years after work commenced, the tunneling crew finally breaks through the glacier in Jungfraujoch.Jungfraujoch station is inaugurated on 1 August.
1924 – "The house above the clouds" atJungfraujoch is opened on 14 September.
1931 – The research station at the Jungfraujoch is opened.
1937 – The Sphinx Observatory is opened. A snowblower is purchased, resulting in year-round operation.
1942 – Company offices are relocated fromZürich toInterlaken.
1950 – The dome is installed on the Sphinx Observatory.
1951 – The adhesion section between Eismeer station and Jungfraujoch station is converted to rack operation.
1955 – A second depot atKleine Scheidegg is constructed. The post office inaugurates its relay station on the Jungfraujoch.
1972 – The panoramic windows are installed at Eigerwand and Eismeer. The Jungfraujoch mountain house and tourist house are destroyed by fire on 21 October.
1975 – A new tourist house is opened.
1987 – A new mountain house is opened on 1 August.
1991 – A new station hall is opened at the Jungfraujoch.
1993 – The small Kleine Scheidegg depot is extended.
1996 – The covered observation deck at the Sphinx Observatory is opened.
1997 – The number of annual visitors exceeds 500,000 for the first time.
2000 – On 1 June, a daily record number of 8,148 visitors is achieved.
2016 – Eigerwand station is closed.

Operations

[edit]

The Jungfrau Railway has four operational stations, a previous station atEigerwand having closed in 2016. The base station hub of Kleine Scheidegg is the highest starting point for a railroad in Europe, and the top terminus of Jungfraujoch is the highest railway station in Europe. The initial open-air section culminates just afterEigergletscher station, at around 2,350 metres, which makes the line the second highest open-air railway inSwitzerland.^[4] The other station isEismeer, located in the Jungfrau Tunnel, where passengers travelling towards Jungfraujoch can disembark for a short time to observe the neighbouring mountains through windows built into the east face of the Eiger, overlooking the Eismeer (the "sea of ice").

Stations

[edit]

Jungfraujoch railway station on theBern/Valais border

Kleine Scheidegg, 2,061 m (6,762 ft)
Eigergletscher, 2,320 m (7,612 ft)
Eismeer, 3,158 m (10,361 ft).
Jungfraujoch, 3,454 m (11,332 ft)

Source:^[5]

Additional locations along the line include Rotstock Station, at 2,520 m (8,268 ft), which was closed in 1903, and Stollenloch,^[6]^[7]^[8] a person-sized tunnel-opening which exits directly onto the north face of the Eiger.

Characteristics

[edit]

Close-up ofpantographs atop a train on the Jungfrau Railway

Strub rack system underneath a railcar (Rowan locomotive He 2/2 no. 6)

The line uses a1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)metre gauge and uses aStrub rack.

The Jungfrau Railway is electrified and one of only four lines in the world withthree-phase electric power.^[9] The line runs using a 3-phasealternating current (AC) system which requires the trains to collect power from twin overhead wires using twopantographs (the third phase is earthed to the track).

Altitude (top station)	3,454 m (11,332 ft) above sea level
Elevation gain	1,393 m (4,570 ft)
Operational length	9.3 km (5.8 mi)
Gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Rack rail type	Strub
Operational speed	12.5 kilometres per hour (7.8 mph) (25 kilometres per hour [16 mph] on shallower gradients, such as above Eismeer)
Steepest gradient	25%
Smallest curve radius	100 metres (330 ft)
Tunnels	3 tunnels: longest 7,122 metres (23,366 ft); shortest 110 metres (360 ft). Tunnels make up 80% of length of the entire railway.
Power system	3-phase, 50 Hz, 1,125 volts

Lift proposal and aerial cableway

[edit]

In early 2008, Jungfraubahn Holding AG announced it was exploring the idea of an efficient fast form of access to the Jungfraujoch, using the world's longest tunnel-lift system, as an alternative to the rack railway. A feasibility study was undertaken to determine if and how such a system—for example, as a fast lift orfunicular—from theLauterbrunnen Valley to theJungfraujoch could be realised without disturbing the unique landscape of theUNESCO World Heritage Site. These plans were abandoned and in 2017 the company announced plans to build an aerial cableway betweenGrindelwald Terminal, a new station on the Interlaken-Grindelwald line, andEigergletscher from where the Jungfrau railway could be joined for the journey to the summit.^[10] This aerial cableway, known as theEiger Express, opened to the public on 5 December 2020^[11] and provides an alternative, faster way to access the Jungfraujoch from the valley.

Rolling stock

[edit]

Snowblower at Kleine Scheidegg railway station

Since most of the railway is inside a tunnel, it was designed to be powered by electricity from conception. The current rolling stock consists oftwin-unit motorcoaches carrying up to 230 people per train which operate at 12.5 kilometres per hour (7.8 mph) on the steepest parts of the ascent. The motors function at two speeds which allows the units to operate at double this speed on the less steep part of the ascent (above Eismeer station).

The motors operate in a regenerative mode which allows the trains to generate electricity during the descent, which is fed back into the power distribution system. Approximately 50% of the energy required for an ascent is recovered during the descent. This generation regulates the descent speed.

Motive power delivered since 1992 (numbers 211–224) no longer has directly-fed three-phase motors but is equipped similarly to a normal single-phase locomotive. This rolling stock can travel at variable speeds, which enabled a reduction in journey time from 52 to 35 min with the timetable starting 11 December 2016.^[12] Pre-1992 rolling stock can no longer be used in regular traffic and most of the earlier trains have been scrapped.

Snow clearing equipment is essential on the open section of line betweenKleine Scheidegg railway station andEigergletscher railway station. Originally snow ploughs were used, but more recently snow blowing equipment has been brought into service.

The railway also operates some dedicated freight vehicles to supply the visitor facilities atJungfraujoch, including a tank to transport additional water.

Notes

[edit]

References

[edit]

^Jungfrau Railway: Rocky road to the project of the century
^Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. p. 82.ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
^"Companies". Interlaken, Switzerland: Jungfraubahnen Management AG. Archived fromthe original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved2017-05-17.
^After theGornergrat railway (3,090 m)
^Between Heaven and Earth. History and technology - science and research on the Jungfraujoch - Top of Europe, Jungfraubahnen.
^"The Eiger the Hard Way: Britain's Boldest Take on the North Face". Rock and Ice. 8 January 2014. Archived fromthe original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved2 June 2018.
^Daniel Anker and Rainer Rettner (2 September 2014)."Chronology of the Eiger from 1252 to 2013". Archived fromthe original on 18 January 2022. Retrieved2 June 2018.
^"Eiger North Face – Stollenloch".Switzerland Tourism. Retrieved2023-01-30.
^"The Jungfrau Railway - A Pioneering Work". Interlaken, Switzerland: Jungfraubahnen Management AG. Archived fromthe original on 2018-04-07. Retrieved2017-05-17.
^"Project description on the site of the company, retrieved on 22 Feb 2017". Archived fromthe original on 23 February 2017. Retrieved22 February 2017.
^"Retrieved on 13 Sep 2022". Archived fromthe original on 18 July 2022. Retrieved13 September 2022.
^Official Swiss timetable publication