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Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn is a narrow gauge railway line and a railway company (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn AG, MGB) in Switzerland. The track width is . It was created in 2003 through an amalgamation of Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) and BVZ Zermatt-Bahn (BVZ). The name comes from the Matterhorn and St. Gotthard Pass. Its network is long and stretches from Disentis in the canton of Graubünden to Zermatt in the canton of Wallis, by way of the Oberalp Pass and Andermatt in the canton of Uri, the Furka Base Tunnel, Brig, and Visp. From Andermatt, a branch line (the formerly independent Schöllenenbahn) extends to Göschenen, at the northern end of the Gotthard Rail Tunnel. The network is an adhesion railway but using Abt rack assistance on the steeper inclines. Between Realp and Oberwald the line formerly crossed the Furka Pass, at a crest elevation of above sea level with a tunnel passing beneath the pass. This compares to a crest elevation of just above sea level in to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glacier Express
The Glacier Express is a direct Panorama Express (PE) train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps. The train provides a one-seat ride for an 8-hour end-to-end journey, and omits stops made by local trains. The Glacier Express has been called the 'slowest express train in the world'. As St. Moritz and Zermatt are home to two well-known mountains, the Glacier Express is also said to travel from Matterhorn to Piz Bernina. The journey from Zermatt starts at the dead end of an Alpine valley, the Mattertal, just below the Matterhorn at an elevation of before it descends to the huge valley of the Valais in Brig-Glis, Brig. It journeys through the center of the Swiss Alps, over 291 bridges, through 91 tunnels — such as the Furka Base Tunnel, Furka Tunnel at an elevation of , which circumvents the Furka Pass — makes an intermediate stop at in a secluded high Alpine valley, and traverses its h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matterhorn
The , ; ; ; or ; ; . is a mountain of the Alps, straddling the Main chain of the Alps, main watershed and border between Italy and Switzerland. It is a large, near-symmetric pyramidal peak in the extended Monte Rosa area of the Pennine Alps, whose summit is above sea level, making it List of Alpine four-thousanders, one of the highest summits in the Alps and Europe.Considering summits with at least 300 metres prominence, it is the 6th highest in the Alps and Europe outside the Caucasus Mountains. The four steep faces, rising above the surrounding glaciers, face the four compass points and are split by the ''Hörnli'', ''Furggen'', ''Leone''/''Lion'', and ''Zmutt'' ridges. The mountain overlooks the Swiss town of Zermatt, in the canton of Valais, to the northeast; and the Italian town of Breuil-Cervinia in the Aosta Valley to the south. Just east of the Matterhorn is Theodul Pass, the main passage between the two valleys on its north and south sides, which has been a trade rou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Furka Pass
Furka Pass (; ) is a high mountain pass in the southern Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri via the seasonal Furkapassroute. The Furka Oberalp Bahn bypasses the pass through the high Furka Base Tunnel, which opened in 1982 to replace the seasonal Furka Summit Tunnel at . The Furka Pass was used as a location in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'', a curve of which is marked as "James Bond Strasse", complete with lookout point and small parking area. Near the western summit of the pass is the Hotel Belvédère; a short walk from it leads to the Rhône Glacier Ice Grotto. The glacier moves 30–40 metres a year, and the 100 metre long tunnel and ice chamber are open from June when the road opens. See also * List of highest paved roads in Europe * List of mountain passes * List of the highest Swiss passes This is a list of the highest road mountain pass, passes in Switzerland. It includes passes in the Alps and the Jura Mountains that are over above ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberwald
Oberwald is a village in the municipality of Obergoms in Goms District in the canton of Valais 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 is situated at an elevation of 1,377 m and had a population of 277 in December 2007. It is located at the end of the Goms, directly before the Furka and Grimsel passes, underneath the Rhône River source at the Rhône Glacier. It is also the startpoint of the Furka Tunnel and is served by Oberwald railway station. Most inhabitants live off tourism or sheep farming. Oberwald was an independent municipality until January 1, 2009, when it merged with Ulrichen and Obergesteln to form the municipality of Obergoms. Image:Goms,_Oberwald,_View_on_Oberwald.jpg, View of Oberwald from above Image:Goms,_Oberwald,_ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Realp
Realp (archaic : ''Frialp'') is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Uri, Uri in Switzerland. History Realp is first mentioned in 1363 as ''Riealb''. Geography Realp has an area, , of . Of this area, 41.6% is used for agricultural purposes, while 2.3% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.6% is settled (buildings or roads) and the remainder (55.4%) is non-productive (rivers, glaciers or mountains). , 0.2% of the total land area was heavily forested, while 2.1% is covered in small trees and shrubbery. Of the agricultural land, 1.6% is used for orchards or vine crops and 40.0% is used for alpine pastures. Of the settled areas, 0.1% is covered with buildings, and 0.5% is transportation infrastructure. Of the unproductive areas, 0.1% is unproductive standing water (ponds or lakes), 1.1% is unproductive flowing water (rivers), 43.3% is too rocky for vegetation, and 10.9% is other unproductive land. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abt Rack System
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 this rack rail. This allows the trains to operate on steep gradients of 100% (45 degrees) or more, well above the 10% maximum for friction-based rail. The rack and pinion mechanism also provides more controlled braking and reduces the effects of snow or ice on the rails. Most rack railways are mountain railways, although a few are transit railways or tramways built to overcome a steep gradient in an urban environment. The first cog railway was the Middleton Railway between Middleton and Leeds in West Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom, where the first commercially successful steam locomotive, ''Salamanca'', ran in 1812. This used a rack and pinion system designed and patented in 1811 by John Blenkinsop. The first mountain cog railway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gotthard Rail Tunnel
The Gotthard Tunnel (, ) is a railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pass. It was built as single bore tunnel accommodating a standard gauge double-track railway throughout. When opened in 1882, the Gotthard Tunnel was the longest tunnel in the world. The tunnel rises from the northern portal at Göschenen () and the highest point () is reached after approximately . After two more kilometers, the border between the cantons of Uri and Ticino is passed; after another , the tunnel ends at the southern portal near to Airolo (). The trip takes about seven to eight minutes by train. Services are operated by the Swiss Federal Railways. History Background The origins of the Gotthard Tunnel and its construction can be traced back to the widely-felt desire to improve interconnectivity between the European nation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Schöllenenbahn
The Furka Oberalp Railway () is a narrow gauge mountain railway in Switzerland with a gauge of . It runs in the Graubünden, Uri and Canton of Valais. Since January 1, 2003, it is part of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn when it merged with the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn. The line begins in Disentis in the canton of Graubünden, where there is a connection to the Rhätische Bahn (RhB). It then runs over the Oberalp Pass to Andermatt in the canton of Uri. Through the Furka Base Tunnel it reaches the Goms District area and Brig in the canton of Valais. In Brig, it connects to the BVZ Zermattbahn since 1930. The first half of the line was opened by the French company ''Brig-Furka-Disentis Bahn'' (BFD) in 1914. Trains could go as far as Gletsch, starting from Brig. Construction of the second part over the Furka Pass and Oberalp Pass was well under way when the war situation in France halted all works by 1915. The company lingered on, but was finally bankrupt in 1923. Two years later ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visp
Visp (; ; ) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of this area, 17.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 59.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 19.5% is settled (buildings or roads) and 3.9% is unproductive land. The proposed merger of the municipalities of Eggerberg, Ausserberg, Bürchen, Baltschieder, Visp and Visperterminen was rejected by the residents.Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz published by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office Retrieved 17 February 2011 Coat of arms The |
Furka Base Tunnel
The Furka Base Tunnel is a Swiss railway base tunnel on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's Furka–Oberalp line, an east–west railway connecting the cantons of Valais and Uri. Its west portal lies east of Oberwald (VS), at above sea level and its east portal lies south of Realp (UR), at . Prior to its construction, all traffic had to use the historic high-level route via the long Furka Summit Tunnel, which was only available seasonally due to the threat posed by heavy snowfalls. Construction commenced during 1971, taking ten years to complete. An innovative permanent support system was used, comprising rock anchors and a shotcrete coating, which included the first use of polyurethane-based grouting within a railway tunnel. The tunnel has a relatively narrow cross section, which has been attributed with slowing the construction effort somewhat. The interconnecting Bedretto tunnel was used during the Furka Base Tunnel's construction for the removal of excavating spoil as well a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canton Of Uri
The canton of Uri ( ; ; ; ) is one of the cantons of switzerland, 26 cantons of Switzerland and a founding member of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is located in Central Switzerland. The canton's territory covers the valley of the Reuss (river), Reuss between the St. Gotthard Pass and Lake Lucerne. The official language of Uri is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard German, German, but the main spoken dialect is the Alemannic German, Alemannic Swiss German called . Uri was once the only canton whose children in school had to learn Italian as their first foreign language, but in the school year of 2005/2006, that was changed to English, as in other Central and Northeastern Swiss cantons. The canton's population is about 35,000, of which 3,046 (or 8.7%) are foreigners. The legendary William Tell is said to have hailed from Uri. The historical landmark Rütli lies within the canton of Uri. Name The name of the valley is first mentioned in the 8th or 9th century ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oberalp Pass
Oberalp Pass ( or ''Cuolm d'Ursera''; ) (2044 meters above sea level) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the cantons of Graubünden and Uri between Disentis/Mustér and Andermatt. Winter closure The public road that crosses the pass is closed in winter, but the Furka-Oberalp railway line, now part of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, runs year round and provides a limited shuttle for cars in winter (reservation required). When the road closes depends on snowfall and varies between the end of October and the beginning of December. The road opens again in spring, usually by the end of April but sometimes not until mid May. In winter, a ski area extends to the Graubünden side, connecting the pass well into the Tujetsch territory to Dieni, near Rueras. Source of the Rhine The major European river Rhine springs from a source nearby ( Lai da Tuma), which can be accessed by hiking two hours from Oberalp Pass. A multiday trekking route is signposted across Oberalp pas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
