railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
and
metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
Vaud
Vaud ( ; french: (Canton de) Vaud, ; german: (Kanton) Waadt, or ), more formally the canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts and its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms b ...
,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
system. The station's initial building was also the first in the city to use electricity. A station rebuilding project was the subject of a design competition held in 1988.
History
Before the métro
A railway station in this area dates back to the 1870s. Plans were made for the building of an
atmospheric railway
An atmospheric railway uses differential air pressure to provide power for propulsion of a railway vehicle. A static power source can transmit motive power to the vehicle in this way, avoiding the necessity of carrying mobile power generating eq ...
between Flon, the main
Lausanne railway station
Lausanne railway station (french: Gare de Lausanne) Is the main intercity and regional railway station for the city of Lausanne, Vaud, Switzerland. It is often known as Lausanne CFF to distinguish it from others in the town.
Description
Lausann ...
and
Ouchy
Ouchy is a port and a popular lakeside resort south of the centre of Lausanne in Switzerland, at the edge of Lake Geneva (french: lac Léman).
Facilities
Very popular with tourists for the views of nearby France (Évian-les-Bains, Thonon), ...
as early as 1871. Work started on the station site, associated goods facilities and the tunnel under Montbénon, in 1874. The station opened in 1877, and trains were initially powered by a steam-pumped hydraulic system, the engines using water brought along purpose-built aqueducts from Bret Lake, north of
Puidoux
Puidoux () is a municipality in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, located in the district of Lavaux-Oron.
History
Puidoux is first mentioned in 1134 as ''Puidos''. It was part of Saint-Saphorin until 1810 when it became an independent municipal ...
. This source of power was a precursor to the provision of electricity, and in 1882 the original Flon station became the first building in the city to have an electrical supply. Meanwhile, the Lausanne-Ouchy company used spoil extracted from the tunnelling of the line to cover the River Flon and create a new ground level. This was attractive to new businesses and
warehouse
A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the outskirts of cities ...
s were quickly built on the newly created land, owned by the Lausanne-Ouchy railway company.
Between 1877 and 1950, the only change at Flon station itself was the switch from atmospheric operation to
funicular
A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...
. Goods services at Flon were withdrawn in 1953, as
Swiss Federal Railways
Swiss Federal Railways (german: link=no, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen, ''SBB''; french: link=no, Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses, ''CFF''; it, Ferrovie federali svizzere, ''FFS'') is the national railway company of Switzerland. It is usuall ...
opened a new goods depot closer to their own station. Otherwise, there was no significant change to the station until services changed from cable haulage to electric
rack railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...
operation. Ready for the upgraded service, the station was substantially rebuilt between 1956 and 1958, with
lift
Lift or LIFT may refer to:
Physical devices
* Elevator, or lift, a device used for raising and lowering people or goods
** Paternoster lift, a type of lift using a continuous chain of cars which do not stop
** Patient lift, or Hoyer lift, mobile ...
s provided to reach the streets above. However, the design retained many features from its past as a funicular terminus, meaning
rolling stock
The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles can b ...
required doors on only one side.
1980s–2010: rebuilds and additional routes
The first phase of the modern Flon station was constructed for the opening of Line M1 on 24 May 1991. The line's terminal platforms opened in what had by then become a run-down part of the city, to allow interchange with the
Métro Lausanne–Ouchy
The Métro Lausanne – Ouchy or Métro-Ouchy (LO) was a rack railway which linked the lakeside at Ouchy with Lausanne railway station and the core of the city at Flon. The system also included a parallel line between the railway station and Flo ...
. The Ouchy line closed in January 2006 for conversion to
rubber-tyred metro
A rubber-tyred metro or rubber-tired metro is a form of rapid transit system that uses a mix of road and rail technology. The vehicles have wheels with rubber tires that run on rolling pads inside guide bars for traction, as well as traditional ...
. By this time, major redevelopment of the area was planned to make it more attractive to both business and leisure.
The Lausanne-Échallens-Bercher railway run
commuter train
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are consi ...
s to the north of Lausanne. The LEB company, whose line historically only reached as far as Lausanne-Chauderon, had long aspired to a station actually within the city centre, and on 28 May 2000 its new underground platforms opened. These new parts of the station had been the subject of a design competition in 1988, which was won by Bernard Tschumi Architects.
On 27 October 2008, Lausanne's M2 line opened, with a new entrance building. This
green-roof
A green roof or living roof is a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane. It may also include additional layers such as a root barrier and drainage ...
ed structure, which also contains one of TL's two main ticket offices, was constructed slightly to the north of the 1950s building of the Lausanne-Ouchy station. As with the previous rebuild, design work was completed by Bernard Tschumi Architects, who were tasked with incorporating not only the platforms and escalators, but also a ticket office and offices for TL. The construction enables
cross-platform interchange
A cross-platform interchange is a type of interchange between different lines at a metro (or other railway) station. The term originates with the London Underground; such layouts exist in other networks but are not commonly so named. In the Uni ...
Flon station is expected to reach 8 platforms by 2018, as work begins to build a third line in the city's Metro system. Once complete, trains on the M3 route will parallel the LEB line as far as Chauderon station en route to Blecherette, and parallel or share the M2 route all the way to Ouchy. Flon has also been identified as the eastern terminus of the planned T1
tram
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
line, expected to operate to Renens from 2018.
Major upgrade work is also planned on the LEB route by 2022, allowing the urban section as far as Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne to operate at a frequency comparable to the métro lines.
Le Flon
Le Flon is a municipality in the district of Veveyse in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. It was created in 2004 through the merger of Bouloz, Pont (Veveyse) and Porsel.M1 platforms (Alternative view)
File:Zug in Lausanne.jpg, Light Rail of the M1 Line (2004)
