The Luzern–Stans–Engelberg railway line is a
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
narrow gauge
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...
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 ...
that connects
Luzern
Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...
, via
Hergiswil
Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''.
Geography
Hergiswil has an area, , of . ...
and
Stans
Stans () is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland.
The official language of Stans is German language, German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the ...
, to the resort of
Engelberg
Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...
. The line was built by the Stansstad–Engelberg Railway (, StEB), which became the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg Railway (, LSE) when the line was extended to Luzern.
Today the line is owned by the
Zentralbahn railway company, which also owns the
Brünig line. Trains on the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line use Brünig line tracks to access Luzern from Hergiswil.
[
]
History
In 1890 the concession to build a line was given from Stansstad
Stansstad is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
Geography
Stansstad has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 32.6% is used for agricultural p ...
to Engelberg
Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...
. The opening of the ''Stansstad-Engelberg-Bahn'' (StEB) followed in 1898. The opening of the railway resulted in the early demise of the Stansstad–Stans tramway, which connected Stansstad and Stans between 1893 and 1903.
The line was electrified from its beginning, making it the longest electrically operated railway line of Switzerland at that time. Because of the maximum gradient of 25% on the rack section between Grafenort, Engelberg and Engelberg, it was decided to use three-phase
Three-phase electric power (abbreviated 3ϕ) is a common type of alternating current (AC) used in electricity generation, Electric power transmission, transmission, and Electric power distribution, distribution. It is a type of polyphase system ...
alternating current
Alternating current (AC) is an electric current that periodically reverses direction and changes its magnitude continuously with time, in contrast to direct current (DC), which flows only in one direction. Alternating current is the form in w ...
.
Brown Boveri delivered seven 52 kW motorcoaches, with wooden bodies and side doors to each compartment, between 1898 and 1900, numbered 1 to 7. They also delivered, between 1898 and 1913, five 4-wheeled 110 kW rack bankers which were used beyond Grafenort on the steep uphill section, to assist the motorcoaches up the hill. These were also numbered 1 to 5. All these vehicles survived until 1964.
The railway ended at that time in Stansstad at the Lake of Lucerne
Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.
Geography
The lake has a compli ...
. Passengers had to continue by lake steamer or bus. To connect the railway with the national rail network in Hergiswil
Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''.
Geography
Hergiswil has an area, , of . ...
, where the metre gauge Brünigbahn of SBB had a station, a concession was passed in 1956. However, it took some time to find the money to build the line to Hergiswil. To resolve the problems of old loans, a new company was incorporated in 1959, still named ''Elektrische Bahn Stansstad-Engelberg''. In 1960 work on the Lopper tunnel started and on 27 August 1964, the last three-phase train reached Engelberg. The rack line was rebuilt to Brünigbahn standards and a new overhead line for 15 kV Hz was built. On 19 December 1964, the line went back into business as the ''Luzern-Stans-Engelberg-Bahn (LSE)''. The new motor coaches were built for the same maximum speed as the contemporary Brünigbahn motive power ().
In 2005 the LSE merged with the Swiss Federal Railway
Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland.
The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a government institution, but since 1999 it has been a special stock corpo ...
's Brünig line to form the Zentralbahn railway company. Formally, the Swiss Federal Railway sold the Brünig line to the LSE which paid for it with its own shares. LSE was subsequently renamed Zentralbahn and of its shares are now owned by SBB.[
In December 2010, the Grafenort to Engelberg Tunnel opened between Grafenort and ]Engelberg
Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...
, bypassing the very steep 25% incline. The bypass resulted in the closure of the former stations of Obermatt ZB and Grünenwald. In late 2012, a new tunnel route was opened between Kriens Mattenhof station and the approaches to Luzern station. The tunnel replaces a less direct surface alignment, allowing the abolition of several congested level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
s and the provision of double track. A new station, Luzern Allmend/Messe, built within the tunnel, serves the Swissporarena
Swissporarena is a multi-use stadium in Lucerne, Switzerland, completed in 2011. It is used mostly for football matches and hosts the home matches of FC Luzern of the Swiss Super League. The stadium has a capacity of 16,800 spectators, including ...
.
Route
Trains on the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line begin their journey at Luzern Bahnhof, one of Switzerland's principal railway stations which is shared with the lines of the Swiss Federal Railways. Shortly after leaving that station, the line enters a tunnel (opened in 2012) which runs under Luzern's southern suburbs as far as Kriens Mattenhof station. From here the line runs to Hergiswil
Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''.
Geography
Hergiswil has an area, , of . ...
, where the LSE line proper diverges from the Brünig line.[
Between Luzern and Hergiswil, trains share tracks with the Brünig line and the S-Bahn services. This section is ]double track
A double-track railway usually involves running one track in each direction, compared to a single-track railway where trains in both directions share the same track.
Overview
In the earliest days of railways in the United Kingdom, most li ...
as far as the southern end of the Spier tunnel to the north of Hergiswil Matt station; beyond here the line is mainly single track
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
except for passing loop
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains o ...
s at stations. Between Luzern and Horw, one of the two tracks is dual gauge
Dual gauge railroad track has three or four rails, allowing vehicles of two track gauges to run on it.
Signalling and sidings are more expensive to install on dual gauge tracks than on two single gauge tracks. Dual gauge is used when there i ...
allowing standard gauge
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
freight trains to serve the adjacent industrial areas.[
From ]Hergiswil
Hergiswil is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Hergiswil is first mentioned around 1303-09 as ''ze Hergenswile''.
Geography
Hergiswil has an area, , of . ...
the LSE line runs through the Lopper II tunnel, under a shoulder of Mount Pilatus, and then bridges the ''Alpnachersee'' arm of Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.
Geography
The lake has a compli ...
to reach Stansstad
Stansstad is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
Geography
Stansstad has an area, (as of the 2004/09 survey) of . Of this area, about 32.6% is used for agricultural p ...
. This tunnel and stretch of line was newly built in the 1960s to connect the Stansstad–Engelberg line to the Brünig line. The former line starting from the terminal station at Stansstad steamer pier no longer exists, although the station building still does.
Beyond the current Stansstad station the line continues on its original 1890s route to Stans
Stans () is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden (Nidwald) in Switzerland.
The official language of Stans is German language, German (spoken there in the variety of Swiss Standard German), but the main language is the ...
and Dallenwil
Dallenwil is a municipality in the canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland.
History
Dallenwil is first mentioned about 1199-1210 as ''Tellewilare'' or ''Telliwilare''. In 1850 it was known as ''Thalwyl'' and it wasn't until 1913 that it became Dalle ...
, along the valley of the Engelberger Aa
The Engelberger Aa (or ''Engelbergeraa'') is a river in Switzerland. It rises west of the Surenenpass in the Canton of Uri, flows through the valley of Engelberg ( Obwalden) and Nidwalden. At Buochs it flows into Lake Lucerne and is there ...
river which the line will follow as far as its destination in Engelberg. Wolfenschiessen
Wolfenschiessen is a village and municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Nidwalden in Switzerland. Besides the village of Wolfenschiessen itself, the municipality includes the settlements of Altzellen, B ...
station is the terminus of the S4 S-Bahn service, and the LSE line continues alone.
The line uses adhesion as far as Grafenort station. Then after this station the line enters the
Grafenort to Engelberg Tunnel, using rack propulsion through the tunnel.
At the point of entering the tunnel, the pre-2010 surface alignment can be seen diverging to the right. The line formerly continued on adhesion as far as Obermatt ZB station, where the rack section started for the climb via Grünenwald station. Here the main road originally crossed the line via an unusual double bascule bridge
A bascule bridge (also referred to as a drawbridge or a lifting bridge) is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances a span, or leaf, throughout its upward swing to provide clearance for boat traffic. It may be single- o ...
, used instead of a level crossing
A level crossing is an intersection where a railway line crosses a road, Trail, path, or (in rare situations) airport runway, at the same level, as opposed to the railway line or the road etc. crossing over or under using an Overpass#Railway, o ...
because of the presence of the rack rail.
The rack section ended above Grünenwald at the Ghärst passing loop.
At Boden on the outskirts of Engelberg
Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...
the old and new routes rejoin, and run under adhesion into the terminal Engelberg station.[
]
Stations
The service pattern on the Luzern-Hergiswil section is complex because the line is shared by four separately timetabled services: the LSE, the Brünigbahn, and the S4 and S5 S-Bahn services.
Rolling stock
Prior to the opening of the Grafenort-Engelberg tunnel, the line was operated by
BDeh 4/4
electric multiple units. Various combinations of power and trailer cars were used depending on passenger demand, although a maximum of four-car trains could be used over the rack section. Longer trains had to be split at either
Obermatt ZB or when starting from Engelberg,
Since the opening of the tunnel, the line is served by longer trains usually made up of
a HGe 4/4 II locomotive at the uphill (Engelberg) end, then some of the original BDeh 4/4 trailer cars,
then a newer Stadler GSW Stadler may refer to:
*Stadler (surname)
*Stadler Rail, a Swiss manufacturer of railway rolling stock
See also
*Staedtler
Staedtler SE () is a German multinational stationery manufacturing company based in Nuremberg. The firm was founded by J. ...
multiple unit at the valley (Luzern) end. The latter is similar to the Stadler SPATZ but with the addition of a rack system.
For the summer 2013 season a first class panoramic car was added to the Engelberg end of the trains, the service being renamed
"Luzern-Engelberg Express".[
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luzern-Stans-Engelberg railway line
Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland
Mountain railways
Railway lines in Switzerland
Rack railways in Switzerland
Transport in the canton of Lucerne
Transport in Nidwalden
Transport in Obwalden
Zentralbahn railway lines
15 kV AC railway electrification