Bern–Belp–Thun railway

The Bern–Belp–Thun railway is a railway in Switzerland. It is also called the Gürbetalbahn (Gürbe Valley Railway, GTB) after the company that built it. The GTB was founded on 14 August 1901 for the construction and operation of the line through the Gürbetal (Gürbe valley).

Bern–Belp–Thun railway
Push–pull train with RBDe 565 railcars and Jumbo intermediate coaches in the Gürbe valley.
Overview
Native nameGürbetalbahn
Line number303
TerminiBern
Thun
Technical
Line length34.35 km (21.34 mi)
Number of tracks1 or 2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in)
Electrification15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Maximum incline2.2%
Route map

km
0.12
Bern
540 m
Donnerbühl (401 m)
2.18
Bern Weyermannshaus Spw.
551 m
2.54
Holligen
551 m
2.54
3.12
Bern Europaplatzs
546 m
3.52
Bern Fischermätteli
551 m
3.52
5.09
Bern Weissenbühl
550 m
6.57
Wabern bei Bern
560 m
8.77
Kehrsatz Nord
567 m
Staatsstrasse (40 m)
9.67
Kehrsatz
570 m
10.87
Falkenhaus
551 m
11.92
Belp Steinbach
526 m
12.70
Belp
terminus of S3S31
523 m
16.13
Toffen
528 m
18.47
Kaufdorf
535 m
21.34
Thurnen
550 m
24.20
Burgistein
567 m
25.72
Seftigen
578 m
26.56
high point of line
588 m
29.30
Uetendorf
554 m
30.99
Uetendorf Allmend
555 m
32.08
Lerchenfeld
(until Dec 2006)
557 m
34.47
Thun
terminus of S1S4S44
560 m
Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]

History

Share of the Gürbethal-Bahn, issued 26. September 1902

The first section of the Gürbe Valley Railway between Bern Weissenbühl and Burgistein-Wattenwil was opened on 14 August 1901 and the section from Bern Weissenbühl to the former station of Holligen followed on 9 November 1901. The final section from Burgistein-Wattenwil (now Burgistein) to Thun was opened about a year later, on 1 November 1902.

The line—built in accordance with a decree of the Bernese government—was operated electrically from 16 August 1920. These railways were referred to as Dekretsbahnen (decree railways) and the Ce 4/6 locomotives procured for the electrification as Dekretsmühlen (decree mills).

The railway company merged on 1 January 1944 with the Bern-Schwarzenburg-Bahn (Bern-Schwarzenburg Railway, BSB)—another decree railway—to form the Gürbetal-Bern-Schwarzenburg-Bahn (GBS).

The GTB and the BSB and then the GBS were part of the BLS Group under the direction of the Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon railway (BLS) and, until 1912, the Lake Thun Railway (Thunerseebahn, TSB). The four members of the group, the BLS, the GBS, the Spiez–Erlenbach-Zweisimmen railway (SEZ) and the Bern–Neuchâtel railway (BN), were merged in 1997 to form the BLS Lötschberg Railway (BLS Lötschbergbahn), which in turn merged with Regionalverkehr Mittelland (RM) in 2006 to form BLS AG. Since 2009, the railway infrastructure has been vested in the BLS Netz AG.



Rolling stock

BLS Lötschbergbahn push–pull train in Belp station

The vehicle fleet was always integrated with the fleet of the TSB and subsequently that of the BLS (and used their numbering scheme). Within this operating community, rolling stock was often used on other lines as needed. Care was taken to ensure that each company owned about as many vehicles as needed to operate its line. The vehicle fleet of the Gürbe Valley Railway included a Ce 4/6 locomotive that was transferred to the Club del San Gottardo in 1995.

References

  1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz [Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 19, 32, 66. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
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