Wohlen–Dietikon Railway Line
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The Wohlen–Dietikon railway line is a
railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...
in
Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
. It connects Wohlen and Bremgarten in the
canton of Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by th ...
with
Dietikon Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area. Geography The ...
in 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 ...
. Passenger service on the line now forms part of the
Zürich 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, ...
, branded as the S17, and a frequent service is provided, with trains running up to every 15 minutes. The line was opened in stages by the between 1876 and 1912. Whilst the earliest section to be opened, between Wohlen and Bremgarten, was built as a traditional
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 ...
branch line, the later section between Bremgarten and Dietikon was built as rural electric tramway in
metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
. Whilst much of the line has been upgraded, this is still apparent in the long stretches of roadside track, and stretches of street running in Dietikon. Today the line is owned and operated by Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA), a company that operates other rail and bus services in the region.


History


Wohlen-Bremgarten railway

The route between ''Wohlen ''and'' Bremgarten West'' was built to standard gauge by the Aargauische Südbahn railway, which connected
Aarau Aarau (, ) is a List of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital of the northern Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau. The List of towns in Switzerland, town is also the capital of the d ...
and Rotkreuz via Wohlen. The service began on 1 September 1876, operated by
steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...
s. On 1 January 1902
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 ...
(SBB) took over the Aargauische Südbahn. The SBB continued to operate the service as a steam operated standard gauge branch line.


Bremgarten-Dietikon tramway

The line to Wohlen had several disadvantages for Bremgarten. The timetable was poor, Bremgarten West station was too far away from the town centre, and the connection to
Zürich 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 ...
initially proceeded in the wrong direction and was very indirect. In 1895 a plan was produced for a roadside electric
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
way between Bremgarten and
Dietikon Dietikon is the fifth biggest city of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland, after Zürich, Winterthur, Uster and Dübendorf. It is the capital of the same-named district of Dietikon and part of the Zürich metropolitan area. Geography The ...
. As Dietikon already had a direct rail link to Zürich, this provided a much more direct connection. Construction began in 1901 and the route was opened on 30 April 1902. The new line crossed the Mutschellen pass between its two terminal points, was owned by the Bremgarten-Dietikon-Bahn company (BD), and built to
metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
. The line's headquarters and terminus were at Bremgarten station, close to the town's centre. Besides the connection to the main line railway at Dietikon, the line shared track in Dietikon with the Limmattal-Strassenbahn, which provided a link to the Zürich city tram system.


Wohlen-Dietikon through service

Despite the construction of the new line, there was still a gap of about a kilometre between Bremgarten and Bremgarten West where passengers had to make their own way. The BD entered into negotiations with the SBB, and in 1910, a permanent lease for the Wohlen-Bremgarten railway line was obtained. The standard gauge line from Wohlen to Bremgarten West was converted to
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 ...
(standard and metre), thus permitting standard gauge freight to continue to access Bremgarten West, and was electrified. A new terminus was constructed opposite the main line station in Wohlen. In Bremgarten, a new stretch of metre gauge line was constructed to connect the two stations, including an imposing railway bridge across the river
Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) * Reuss (river) in Switzerland * Imperial County of Reuss or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the People's State of Reuss * Principality of Reuss-Greiz and Principality of R ...
. Through running between Wohlen and Dietikon began on 8 February 1912.


Modernisation

After 1950 the line was modernised to suburban railway standards using new rolling stock and facilities. In 1969, the line took delivery of 9 new articulated BDe 8/8 units, which were to be the mainstay of the line for the next 40 years. The opening of the rapid-transit
Zürich 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, ...
network on 27 May 1990 caused major development. The route and timetable were integrated into the rapid-transit railway network, and three new stops with interchange facilities with other public transport modes were added. In 1993, the line's rolling stock was augmented by 5 new Be 4/8 low-floor units. In 1995, a double-track section was built between ''Rudolfstetten Hofacker'' and ''Berikon-Widen'', which was extended two years later to the '' Belveder'' stop.


BDWM Transport

In 2000, the BD company merged with the company (WM) to form BDWM Transport. Despite its name and by the time of the merger, the WM company was a bus operator, and BDWM Transport operated a number of bus services in addition to the Bremgarten–Dietikon line. In 2010, the BDWM took delivery of the first of 14 new ABe 4/8 articulated low floor units, intended to replace all the previous units. The 40-year-old BDe 8/8 units were, with the exception of the preservation of a single unit, scrapped. The 17-year-old Be 4/8 units were sold to the Wynental and Suhrental Railway.


End of the standard gauge

The last standard gauge freight train operated to Bremgarten in 2009, although occasional standard gauge passenger trains aimed at the rail enthusiast market have run since. When track renewal was due in 2015, the decision was made to relay the line as meter gauge only. The end of the standard gauge was marked with special trains on June 26–28, and in July service between Bremgarten West and Wohlen was suspended for a number of days for the removal of the standard gauge track and renewal of the meter gauge track.


Aargau Verkehr

In June 2018, BDWM Transport merged with the Wynental and Suhrental Railway to form Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA), the company which now owns and operates the Bremgarten–Dietikon line.


Operation


Route

The line begins in Wohlen at a platform opposite the
SBB SBB may refer to: Arts and entertainment * SBB (band), a Polish progressive rock band, or their self-titled albums: ** ''SBB'' (1974 album) ** ''SBB'' (1978 album, Amiga) * Seán Bán Breathnach, also known as SBB, Irish TV personality * ''Saa ...
Wohlen station at an altitude of . The line climbs to an altitude of and passes into the Bremgarterwald ''(Bremgarten Forest)''. The Erdmannlistein stop lies in the middle in the forest and serves exclusively trip traffic. After 6.6 km, the Bremgarten West station is reached. This was originally the terminus of the old standard gauge branch railway whose route has been followed since Wohlen, and thus far the line is rather flat ( maximum gradient of 1.5%), has gentle turning radii (minimum ) and resembles a normal SBB
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 ...
line. After Bremgarten West, the line changes its character completely, adopting the sharper curves and steeper gradients of a narrow gauge line. After negotiating two sharp curves out of Bremgarten West station, the line runs along the bridge over the
Reuss Reuss may refer to: *Reuss (surname) * Reuss (river) in Switzerland * Imperial County of Reuss or Reuß, several former states or countries in present-day Germany, and the People's State of Reuss * Principality of Reuss-Greiz and Principality of R ...
. The company's headquarters, including a depot and administration building, are located at Bremgarten station at an altitude of . From here on the line runs alongside the main road through a more densely populated, although still rural, area. A series of exceptionally tight U-shaped curves takes the line uphill, at
slopes In mathematics, the slope or gradient of a Line (mathematics), line is a number that describes the direction (geometry), direction of the line on a plane (geometry), plane. Often denoted by the letter ''m'', slope is calculated as the ratio of t ...
of up to 5.6%, to Berikon-Widen station on the Mutschellen pass at an altitude of . From here the line drops through equally tortuous curves to Rudolfstetten Hofacker, where the downward gradient becomes gradually flatter. From Bergfrieden station the line has tramway-like characteristics with street-running. The line ends at Dietikon station at a platform beside the SBB tracks and at an altitude of .


Infrastructure

The line is long, of which is double track and the rest single track. It has a minimum curve radius of , and a maximum gradient of 5.6%. A section of length in Dietikon runs in the street, sharing its road space with other traffic. The line is equipped with
metre gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...
( gauge) track throughout, and is electrified at 1200 V DC, using an overhead line.


Services

* The passenger services on the line now forms part of the
Zürich 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, ...
, branded as the S17. A service of two trains per hour is provided every day between Wohlen and Dietikon. Except on Sundays and public holidays, an extra two trains per hour are provided between Bremgarten West and Dietikon. Apart from a small number of additional peak-hour express trains, all trains serve all stops, taking just over 30 minutes for the full length of the line.


Rolling stock

The line uses the following rolling stock:


Future

There is a
light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...
system in the densely populated Limmattal area, west of
Zürich 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 ...
, which connects to the Bremgarten–Dietikon in Dietikon. To the west of Dietikon the line link to
Spreitenbach Spreitenbach (High Alemannic German, High Alemannic: ''Spräitebach'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Baden (district, Aargau), Baden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland, located in ...
and
Killwangen Killwangen is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Baden (district, Aargau), Baden in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Aargau in Switzerland. History The town was first known as ''Chullewangen'' as early as 1227 ...
, whilst to the east it would run through
Urdorf Urdorf is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Dietikon (district), Dietikon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Zurich (canton), Zürich in Switzerland, located in the Limmat Valley (German: ''Limmattal''). Geogr ...
and
Schlieren Schlieren ( ; , ) are optical inhomogeneities in transparent media that are not necessarily visible to the human eye. Schlieren physics developed out of the need to produce high-quality lenses devoid of such inhomogeneities. These inhomogeneit ...
to Zürich-Altstetten railway station, with connection to the Zürich tram route 2 (
Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ) is a public transport operator in the Swiss city of Zurich, and is wholly owned by the city. Previously known as the Städtische Strassenbahn Zürich (StStZ), the organisation was founded in 1896 and adopted its c ...
). A referendum, held in November 2015, approved the construction of the line, and it was announced in May 2016 that the line would be operated by BDWM. Construction was scheduled to start in late 2017, with a planned opening in 2022. The Limmattal light rail line shares tracks with the Bremgarten–Dietikon line, from the latter's terminus at Dietikon station to the intersection of Bremgartnerstrasse and Zentralstrasse. The common section of on-street track, which is currently single track, is doubled.


See also

*
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 ...
* ZVV fare zones * A-Welle tariff network (Aargau)


References


External links

*
BDWM official web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wohlen-Dietikon railway line Aargau Verkehr railway lines Dietikon Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland Railway lines in Switzerland Railway lines opened in 1876 Transport in Aargau Transport in the canton of Zürich Zurich S-Bahn lines 1200 V DC railway electrification