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The Zentralbahn 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 ...
railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in
Central Switzerland Central Switzerland is the region of the Alpine Foothills geographically the heart and historically the origin of Switzerland, with the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Obwalden, Nidwalden, Lucerne and Zug. Central Switzerland is one of the NUTS 2 s ...
and the
Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...
. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, and the Brünig line of 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 ...
. The company has its headquarters in Stansstad. The railway owns the infrastructure of the long inter-regional Brünig line, which links
Lucerne 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 ...
and Interlaken over the
Brünig Pass The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flow ...
, and the long Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line from Hergiswil, on the Brünig line some out of Lucerne, to Engelberg. Both lines are built to the , and use rack railway technology to climb their steepest gradients, although most of both lines uses conventional adhesion. The railway operates two hourly
InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...
express services, one between Lucerne and Interlaken, and one between Lucerne and Engelberg. It also operates two half-hourly services of the Lucerne S-Bahn, the S4 between Lucerne and
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 ...
and the S5 between Lucerne and Giswil. During the rush hour, there are additional trains named S41, S44 and S55. At the Interlaken end of the line, an hourly Regio service is operated as far as Meiringen. Only the two InterRegio services traverse the company's rack sections and require rack equipped stock.


History

The two lines of the Zentralbahn have quite distinct histories.


History of the Brünig line

The Brünig line was constructed in incremental stages between 1888 and 1916. The first stages, over the
Brünig Pass The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flow ...
between
Brienz Brienz ( , , ) is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality on the northern shore of Lake Brienz, at the foot of the Brienzer Rothorn mountain, and in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. Besides the village of Brienz, th ...
and Alpnachstad were opened by the Jura–Bern–Lucerne Railway (JBL), who also extended the line from Alpnachstad to
Lucerne 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 ...
, giving connections to the rest of the Swiss railway network. Subsequently, the JBL became part of the Jura–Simplon Railway (JS) in 1891, and the JS became part of 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 ...
(SBB) in 1903. The SBB opened the last section of the line, from Brienz to Interlaken in 1916. As constructed, the line was 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, and used the Riggenbach rack system to overcome gradients of up to 12% on the approaches to each side of the Brünig Pass. The line was electrified in 1941 and 1942, using the standard Swiss main line system of supplied by
overhead line An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, Electric multiple unit, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union ...
. The rack sections were retained.


History of the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line

The major part of the line to Engelberg was constructed by Stansstad–Engelberg Railway (StEB) and opened in 1898. The line ran from Stansstad to Engelberg and, like the Brünig line in its early days, relied on
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
connections with the rest of the Swiss railway network. Unlike the Brünig line, the StEB line was electrified from its opening, using a
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 ...
overhead line supply. It also used the Riggenbach rack system on its final approaches to Engelberg, but with a very steep maximum gradient of 25%. In 1960 work started on connecting the Engelberg line to the Swiss railway network by constructing a new line between Stansstad and Hergiswil on the Brünig line. This involved constructing a bridge over the narrow ''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 ...
, followed by the Lopper II tunnel, under a shoulder of Mount Pilatus. In order to allow Engelberg trains to run over the Brünig line into Lucerne, the whole railway was converted to the same electrical system (), and new rolling stock acquired. The line reopened in 1964, and the owning company changed its name to the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg Railway (LSE). For 40 years, the ownership structure of the two lines remained unchanged, with LSE owned trains running over SBB owned tracks between Hergiswil and Lucerne. However, in June 2004, the
Swiss Federal Council The Federal Council is the federal cabinet of the Swiss Confederation. Its seven members also serve as the collective head of state and government of Switzerland. Since World War II, the Federal Council is by convention a permanent grand co ...
empowered the SBB to transfer the Brünig line to the LSE with effect from January 2005. In return the LSE issued
shares In financial markets, a share (sometimes referred to as stock or equity) is a unit of equity ownership in the capital stock of a corporation. It can refer to units of mutual funds, limited partnerships, and real estate investment trusts. Sha ...
to the SBB, and as a result 2/3 of its shares are now owned by SBB. The LSE was subsequently renamed the Zentralbahn to reflect its much larger scale of operation. At the end of 2009, the Zentralbahn took over the operation of the (
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 ...
) tracks of the Kriens-Luzern-Bahn between Lucerne and Horw. Most of these tracks were already laid in a
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 ...
configuration with the metre gauge tracks of the Brünig line. Since the merger several major projects have been undertaken. In 2010, the Grafenort to Engelberg tunnel was constructed to replace the very steep final approach to Engelberg. Whilst still rack operated, the tunnel has a maximum gradient of 10.5% as opposed to 25%. In late 2012, a new tunnel route was opened between Kriens Mattenhof station and the approaches to Lucerne station, on the stretch of the Brünig line also used by Engelberg trains. 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, Lucerne Allmend/Messe, built within the tunnel, serves the Swissporarena.


References


External links

* {{Authority control Railway companies of Switzerland Railway companies established in 2005 Swiss companies established in 2005 Companies based in Nidwalden