The Biasca–Acquarossa railway ( it, Ferrovia Biasca–Acquarossa; BA) was a
Swiss
Swiss may refer to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Places
* Swiss, Missouri
*Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports
*Swiss Internati ...
metre gauge
Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre.
The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...
railway that linked the towns of
Biasca
Biasca is a town of the district of Riviera in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
History
Biasca is first mentioned in 830 as ''Aviasca'' in the ''Liber viventium'' of Pfäfers Abbey. In 1119 it was mentioned as ''Abiasca''.
Early histor ...
and
Acquarossa, in the
canton of Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
.
The Gotthard railway opened in 1882, providing a transport link to the communities of the valley of the
Ticino River
The river Ticino ( , ; lmo, Tesín; French and german: Tessin; la, Ticīnus) is the most important perennial left-bank tributary of the Po. It has given its name to the Swiss canton through which its upper portion flows.
It is one of the four ...
. In order to provide a link to the communities of the
Valle di Blenio
The Blenio Valley ( it, Valle di Blenio) is a valley of the Lepontine Alps in the Swiss canton of Ticino. The valley contains the river Brenno. The upper valley, between Lai da Sontga Maria and Olivone
Olivone was a municipality in the district ...
, the Biasca–Acquarossa railway was opened in 1911. The line closed in 1973 and was replaced by a bus service.
The line was long, and was electrified at 1200
V DC using
overhead lines
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as:
* Overhead catenary
* Overhead contact system (OCS)
* Overhead equipm ...
. It commenced from the square in front of
Biasca station, had 14 stops, a maximum gradient of 3.5% and a minimum radius of .
[
The main depot of the line in Biasca, which was built in the late 1960s, is in use as a bus depot by Autolinee Bleniesi, who operate bus services including those replacing the railway.][
]
References
External links
*
Unofficial web site with pictures and plans
Closed railway lines in Switzerland
Metre gauge railways in Switzerland
SEFT
Railway lines opened in 1911
Railway lines closed in 1973
Transport in Ticino
1911 establishments in Switzerland
{{Switzerland-transport-stub