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 (german: Kanton Solothurn rm, Chantun Soloturn french: Canton de Soleure; it, Canton Soletta) is a canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. Hi ...

, to the border of

Basel-Stadt Basel-Stadt or Basel-City (german: Kanton ; rm, Chantun Basilea-Citad; french: Canton de Bâle-Ville; it, Canton Basilea Città) is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of three municipalities with Basel as t ...

, near the

Basel Zoo Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is ''Zoologischer Garten Basel'' — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents affectionately call it ''Zolli''.

, 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 '; german: Oberelsass, ) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine. Its name means ''Upper Rhine''. Haut-Rhin is the ...

, serving the commune of

Leymen Leymen (; german: Leimen) 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 s ...

. 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 t ...

, 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 , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and

Therwil Therwil ( Swiss German: ''Därwyl'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. Geography Therwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 46.1% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 24. ...

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 (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

(then part of the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

). 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 (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The postwar

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

restored Alsace to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and the

German invasion of France France has been invaded on numerous occasions, by foreign powers or rival French governments; there have also been unimplemented invasion plans. * the 1746 War of the Austrian Succession, Austria-Italian forces supported by the British navy attemp ...

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 tramway and railway electrification systems. Note that the voltages are nominal and vary depending on load and distance from the substation. Many modern trams and trains ...

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 Bättwil () is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. History Bättwil is first mentioned around 1244-45 as ''Betwilre''. Geography Bättwil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 58.1% is used for ...

Witterswil Witterswil (Swiss German: ''Witterschwyl'') is a municipality in the district of Dorneck in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. Geography Witterswil has an area, , of . Of this area, or 65.5% is used for agricultural purposes, while or ...

, and

Ettingen Ettingen (Swiss German: ''Ettige'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Basel-Country in Switzerland. History Ettingen is first mentioned in 1268 as ''Ettingen''. Geography Ettingen has an area, , of . Of this ar ...

, and then turns north to follow the

Birsig The Birsig is a rather small river in eastern France and northern Switzerland. Its source is in the village Biederthal, in the French Haut-Rhin department, near the Swiss border. The Birsig is about long, and its drainage basin, watershed area is ...

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 thi ...

, and

Binningen Binningen may refer to: * Binningen, Switzerland Binningen ( Swiss German: ''Binnige'') is a municipality in the district of Arlesheim in the canton of Canton of Basel-Landschaft in Switzerland. It is nestled in a valley, on a plateau, and on ...

. The line then enters the city of Basel and serves the

, 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 The Basel–Dornach railway line is a railway line in Switzerland. It runs from to the border of Basel-Stadt, near , where it connects with the Basel tram network. The line was built by the in 1902 and is now owned by Baselland Transport, wh ...

. 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