Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn
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The ''Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn AG'' () – commonly abbreviated to SZU – is a public transport company and network in the
Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...
of
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. The network comprises the
Uetliberg __NOTOC__ The Uetliberg (also known as Üetliberg) is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to . The mountain offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich (to the northeast of its summit), Zürichberg and ...
and
Sihltal Sihl Valley (German: ''Sihltal'') is a river valley and belongs to the Zimmerberg-Sihltal region located in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland. Commonly ''Sihltal'' is used as the name of the Lower Sihl Valley, i.e. the ar ...
railway lines, operated by
S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...
services S4 and S10, a
cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...
and several bus services of Zimmerbergbus. The SZU is jointly owned by the city of
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
(32.6%), the municipalities of
Adliswil Adliswil is a town and a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The official language of Adliswil is (the Swiss variety of Standard) German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the A ...
,
Langnau am Albis Langnau am Albis is a Municipalities of Switzerland, village in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. History Langnau am Albis is first mentioned between 1101 ...
,
Horgen Horgen () is a municipality in the district of Horgen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is one of the larger towns along the south bank of the Lake of Zurich. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hirzel merged into the mu ...
,
Thalwil Thalwil is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and town in the district of Horgen (district), Horgen in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland. The municipality includes two parts: Thalwil and Gatti ...
and
Uitikon Uitikon is a village and municipality in the district of Dietikon in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Besides the village of Uitikon itself, the municipality includes the villages of Waldegg and Ringlikon. Geography Uitikon lies on the ...
(6.8%), the
Canton of Zürich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...
(23.8%), the
federal government A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...
(27.8%), and other parties (9%). It is constituted as an
Aktiengesellschaft (; abbreviated AG ) is a German language, German word for a corporation limited by Share (finance), share ownership (i.e., one which is owned by its shareholders) whose shares may be traded on a stock market. The term is used in Germany, Austria ...
(AG) or public company.


History

The history of the SZU dates back to two separate companies, which built the two railways that now make up the SZU. The first of these companies was the (), which opened its line from
Zurich Selnau railway station Zurich Selnau ( or ) is an underground railway station on the Zurich S-Bahn system in Selnau in the centre of the Swiss city of Zurich. The station is on a section of tunnel under the river Sihl, common to the Uetliberg and Sihltal railway lines ...
in Zurich to near the summit of
Uetliberg __NOTOC__ The Uetliberg (also known as Üetliberg) is a mountain in the Swiss plateau, part of the Albis chain, rising to . The mountain offers a panoramic view of the entire city of Zürich (to the northeast of its summit), Zürichberg and ...
mountain,
Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
's ''
Hausberg {{italic title ''Hausberg'' (lit.: "house mountain", plural: ''Hausberge'') is German for a prominent mountain or hill in the immediate vicinity of a village, town or city, usually located on its municipal territory, but outside the built up are ...
'', in 1875. This was followed in 1892 by the company (SiTB, ), which opened a line from Zurich Selnau station to
Sihlwald The Sihlwald is a forest and nature reserve in the Sihl Valley of the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is a rare example of a large-scale and original forest, situated on the eastern slopes of the Albis hills to the west side of the Sihl river. Altho ...
. In 1897, this latter line was extended to
Sihlbrugg Sihlbrugg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, village and important transportation node between the Cantons of Switzerland, cantons of Canton of Zug, Zug (ZG) and Canton of Zürich, Zürich (ZH) in Switzerland. Geography Sihlbrugg is located i ...
and a connection with the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line of the former
Swiss Northeastern Railway The Swiss Northeastern Railway (''Schweizerische Nordostbahn''; NOB) was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (''Bodensee'') and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the ...
(NOB). In 1920, the became
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the de ...
and was
liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...
. Two years later, the was taken over by the (BZUe). In 1923, the was
electrified Electrification is the process of powering by electricity and, in many contexts, the introduction of such power by changing over from an earlier power source. In the context of history of technology and economic development, electrification refe ...
using the
direct current Direct current (DC) is one-directional electric current, flow of electric charge. An electrochemical cell is a prime example of DC power. Direct current may flow through a conductor (material), conductor such as a wire, but can also flow throug ...
(DC) system, whilst the following year the was electrified using
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 ...
(AC). In 1932 the SiTB took over the management of the BZUe, but the two companies remained in existence until 1973, when they were merged to form the SZU. In the meantime, in 1954, the SiTB had taken over the management of the Adliswil-Felsenegg cable car. In 1990, the two lines were extended from their previous joint terminus at Zurich Selnau (until then a surface station) to a new terminus below Bahnhofplatz, adjacent to
Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, and known in English as Zurich Main Station, is the largest railway station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. It is a major railway hub, with services to and from a ...
(), named . This extension involved the construction of a new rail tunnel from Selnau to Zürich HB, and a new underground intermediate station adjacent to the former terminus, . The underground platforms used at Zürich HB were already in existence, having been built prior to 1973 for a U-Bahn scheme that was ultimately rejected by voters. Once the new extension had been opened, the former terminus at Selnau was redeveloped and little evidence of it is now visible. In 1995, the company took over responsibility for bus services in parts of the district of Horgen through which the runs. In 2006, after 109 years, the stopped servicing and , previously the penultimate station, became the new terminus.


Rail network

The SZU continues to operate the original and lines. The two lines share a common double-track section between and , with the final approach being in a tunnel, partly under the
Sihl The Sihl is a Switzerland, Swiss river that rises near the Druesberg mountain in the canton of Schwyz, and eventually flows into the Limmat in the centre of the Zürich, city of Zürich, after crossing the Zürich–Winterthur railway at . It has ...
river. A dedicated pair of underground platforms (tracks/ 21 and 22) are used at Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Central Station), with no rail connection to the rest of the station. The platforms are physically connected via the underground mall. Also operated is a connecting line from Giesshübel to the
Swiss Federal Railways 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 State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...
at , although this is normally only used for freight traffic. It is occasionally also used by
passenger trains A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line, as opposed to a freight train that carries goods. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) push-pull train, ...
, for example if the regular route From Zürich HB to via becomes temporally inoperable. In all, the SZU network measures : as part of the (including the Wiedikon–Giesshübel line) and of the . Both railway lines are constructed to and both are electrified using the standard Swiss mainline system of overhead lines at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC. Until 2022, the was electrified using overhead lines at 1200 V DC. In order to avoid conflict on the shared railway section, the used an overhead line offset from the centre of the track, and its cars were equipped with specially designed, laterally displaced pantographs.


Rolling stock

The SZU uses the following
rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...
on its railway lines: ;Sihltalbahn (S4) * 6 Locomotives Re 4/4 542–547 * 7
Control car (rail) A control car, cab car (North America), control trailer, or driving trailer (UK, Ireland, Australia and India) is a non-powered rail vehicle from which a train can be operated. As dedicated vehicles or regular passenger cars, they have one or t ...
Bt 971–973, Bt 984–987 * 6 Intermediate single deck cars BD 281–285, B 293 * 6 Intermediate double deck cars B 271–276 * 2 Re 456 Double deck trains (DPZ): Re 456 551, 552, B 231, 232, 241, 242 and Bt 951, 952 (two sets taken over from SBB, type Re 450) * 8 Low floor double deck cars (NDW). ;Uetlibergbahn (S10) * 6 SZU Be 510 class EMUs ordered from Stadler in 2010,
details in German on http://www.bahnonline.ch.
that entered service in 2014, equipped for dual voltage operation with movable Pantograph (rail), pantograph


Operations


Railways

The passenger services on the two lines form part of the
Zurich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...
, with the service over the to Sihlwald branded as the S4 and the branded as the
S10 S10 may refer to: Automobiles * Chevrolet S-10, a pickup truck * Nissan Silvia (S10), a sports car * Toyota Crown (S10), a luxury car Aviation * Lake Chelan Airport, in Chelan County, Washington, United States * Letov Š-10, a Czech trainer a ...
. The also includes a nighttime service during weekends (SN4). At
Zürich Hauptbahnhof Zürich Hauptbahnhof, often shortened to Zürich HB or just HB, and known in English as Zurich Main Station, is the largest railway station in Switzerland and one of the busiest in Europe. It is a major railway hub, with services to and from a ...
(Zürich HB), all SZU services depart from the subsurface station located below Bahnhofplatz. *
Zurich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...
: ** ** * Nighttime S-Bahn ** ––


Cable car

The
cable car Cable car most commonly refers to the following cable transportation systems: * Aerial lift, such as aerial tramways and gondola lifts, in which the vehicle is suspended in the air from a cable ** Aerial tramway ** Chairlift ** Gondola lift *** ...
Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg The Adliswil-Felsenegg cable car (LAF; or ) is a cable car in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. The lower station is located in Adliswil in the Sihl Valley, whilst the upper station is located on the Felsenegg hill on the Albis ridge near ...
(LAF for short or commonly called ''
Felsenegg Felsenegg (el. ) is a vantage point in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Geography Felsenegg is located some to the southwest of the city of Zürich on the Albis chain, between the municipalities of Stallikon and Adliswil. The hillto ...
bahn'') is operated by the SZU. Its valley station is within walking distance above station. The cable car leads to Felsenegg, a popular hiking area.


Bus

The Zimmerbergbus lines in the district of Horgen, which provides a network of including 201 stops, is also operated by the SZU. The buses connects SZU stations in the Sihl Valley with railway stations on the western shore of
Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...
located on the
Lake Zurich left bank railway line The Lake Zurich left bank railway line (), is a railway line in Switzerland. It serves the left (or west) bank of Lake Zurich, connecting Zurich to Ziegelbrücke and Näfels. The left-bank railway opened in 1875 and forms part of the Zurich– ...
.


Tariffs

The SZU was a founding member of the
Zürcher Verkehrsverbund The Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), is the largest public transportation network in Switzerland. It covers the canton of Zurich and adjacent areas. All modes of public transportation (rail, light rail, bus, trolleybus, lake passenger liner, fun ...
(ZVV) in May 1990 and the standard ZVV zonal fare tariffs apply to its services.


See also

*
List of railway companies in Switzerland The following is a list of railway companies which operate routes on Swiss territory. Standard gauge The following is a complete list of all railway companies which operate routes on Swiss territory. It also includes routes of foreign railway com ...
*
Public transport in Zurich Public transport in Zurich is available for four main Mode of transport, modes of transport—boat, bus, train and tram—assisting residents of and visitors to Zurich move around the of List of cities in Switzerland, Switzerland's largest city ...
*
Rail transport in Switzerland Rail transport in Switzerland is noteworthy for the density of its network, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alps, Alp freight system. It is made nece ...


References


External links

*
Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg


{{DEFAULTSORT:Sihltal Zurich Uetliberg Bahn Railway companies of Switzerland Transport companies of Switzerland Bus companies of Switzerland Transport in the canton of Zürich Sihl Swiss companies established in 1875 Transport companies established in 1875 Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn