The Basel–Rodersdorf railway line is a railway line in Switzerland and France. It runs from

Rodersdorf Rodersdorf is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland, on the border to Alsace, France. History Rodersdorf is first mentioned in 1226 as ''Ratolsdorf''. In 1349 it was mentioned as ''Roderstorff''. ...

, in the Swiss

canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

, to the border of

Basel-Stadt Canton of Basel-Stadt or Basel-City ( ; ; ; ) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as the capital. It is traditionally considered a " half-canton", the other half being B ...

, near the Basel Zoo, where it connects with the Basel tram network. The line crosses through the southern part of the French department of

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

, serving the commune of

Leymen Leymen (; ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France. The commune is served by Leymen station, on line 10 of the Basel tramway between Rodersdorf and Flüh, and until December 2017 was the only such station ...

. The line was built by the in stages between 1887 and 1902 as a conventional steam-hauled line. It was later electrified, and is now owned by

Baselland Transport Baselland Transport AG (BLT) is a Swiss public transport operator in the cantons of Basel-Land, Basel-Stadt, Solothurn and in France. The BLT was founded in 1974, and is owned by the Canton of Basel-Land, located to the south of the city. It tra ...

, which operates lines 10 and 17 of the Basel tram network over the line.

History

The , founded in 1886, opened its initial line between

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and Therwil on 4 October 1887. The line was roughly long and worked by steam locomotives. The line was extended another to Flüh, on the border with

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

(then part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

). The line between Basel and Flüh was electrified at 750 V DC on 2 June 1905; this was later raised to 940 V DC. A final extension to

, crossing Alsace, opened on 1 May 1910. Operation beyond Flüh was suspended between 1914 and 1915 by the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The postwar

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty signed on 28 June 1919. As the most important treaty of World War I, it ended the state of war between Germany and most of the Allies of World War I, Allied Powers. It was signed in the Palace ...

restored Alsace to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the German invasion of France led to the closure of the line a second time, between 1940 and 1945. , cross-border operation continues and Alsace remains part of France. In 1974, the Birsigthalbahn-Gesellschaft merged with three other companies to form

. In 1984, the line's electrification was converted to

600 V DC This is a list of the power supply systems that are, or have been, used for railway electrification. Note that the voltages are nominal and vary depending on load and distance from the substation. , many trams and trains use on-board solid-state ...

to permit interoperation with the rest of the Basel tram network.

Route

The line begins from a turning loop in

. It then runs east through

, in Alsace, serving the commune of

. Crossing back into Switzerland, it serves the municipalities of Bättwil, Witterswil, and

Ettingen Ettingen (Swiss German: ''Ettige'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arlesheim (district), Arlesheim in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Ettingen is first mentioned i ...

, and then turns north to follow the Birsig river. It serves the municipalities of Therwil, Oberwil,

Bottmingen Bottmingen (Swiss German: ''Bottmige'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Land in Switzerland. History Bottmingen is first mentioned in 1246 as ''Bothmingen''. Geography Bottmingen has an area, , of . Of th ...

, and Binningen. The line then enters the city of Basel and serves the Basel Zoo, after which it connects with the Basel tram network.

Operation

Baselland Transport operates two tram services over the line, Lines 10 and 17. Line 10 originates in , on the Basel–Dornach railway line. Two trams operate every fifteen minutes to Ettingen via . Every other tram continues beyond Ettingen to Flüh or Rodersdorf. Line 17 provides additional week-day rush-hour service from Basel Wiesenplatz to Ettingen.

Notes

References

* * Railway lines in France Railway lines in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1887 1887 establishments in Switzerland Baselland Transport lines Metre-gauge railways in France Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland 600 V DC railway electrification {{DEFAULTSORT:Basel-Rodersdorf railway line