Martigny–Orsières Railway

The Martigny–Orsières Railway (Chemin de fer Martigny–Orsières; MO) was a railway company in the Canton of Valais in Switzerland. It merged in 2000 with the Martigny-Châtelard Railway (Chemin de fer Martigny-Châtelard, MC) to form Transports de Martigny et Régions (TMR). The MO's line consisted of the 19 km-long line from Martigny via Sembrancher to Orsières in the Val d’Entremont and the 6 km-long branch line from Sembrancher to Le Châble in the Val de Bagnes.

Martigny–Orsières
ABDe 4/4 6 set in Martigny
Overview
LocaleValais, Switzerland
Service
Route number133
Technical
Line length25.44 km (15.81 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 12 in) standard gauge
Minimum radius175 m (574 ft)
Electrification
Maximum incline4.0%
Route map

km
0.00
Martigny
467.2 m
2.90
Martigny-Bourg
483.9 m
4.07
Martigny-Croix
carriage shed
503.1 m
Tunnel no. 1 (52 m)
Tunnel no. 2 (81 m)
7.80
Bovernier
613.8 m
Monnaie tunnel (128 m)
13.11
Sembrancher
716.6 m
Tunnel no. 5 (103 m)
Tunnel no. 6 (117 m)
Tunnel no. 7 (100 m)
Pouta Revenne tunnel
(133 m. since 1990)
16.49
La Douay
818.3 m
19.34
Orsières
901.7 m
depot and workshop
Sembrancher bridge (370 m)
1.71
Etiez
756.1 m
high point
837.5 m
6.18
Le Châble
820.3 m
Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]

History

Mixed train from the opening years

The MO was granted a concession to build a standard gauge line from Martigny to Orsières in 1906. The railway company was established as a result of British Aluminium's plan to build an aluminum plant in Orsières. The ground-breaking ceremony was held on 23 July 1907 and operations commenced on 1 September 1910. The railway has been electrified at 8000 V 15 Hz AC since the beginning of operations. Traffic remained modest because neither the aluminium works nor the planned connection to the Aosta Valley were built. The MO was one of the first railway companies to supplement its rail activity with bus operations. The railway was later nationalised.

NINA railcar in the terminus of Le Châble.

The line was converted to SBB's 15 kV AC railway electrification system on 4 March 1949. This meant that traction vehicles of the SBB could also be used on the MO. The branch line from Sembrancher to Le Châble was opened on 5 August 1953 and served the construction of the Mauvoisin power station. The cement trains were hauled by SBB locomotives.

Originally goods traffic dominated operations on the MO. Since the 1970s, growing tourism has led to increased passenger traffic.

Two ABDe 4/4 railcars (6 and 8) collided front on at Martigny-Bourg on 1 September 1984.[2] The train driver started towards Orsières despite the exit signal being at danger. The driver and five passengers were killed and 24 people were injured.[3] The two railcars were rebuilt. The destroyed Bt 31 control car was replaced by a similar vehicle from the Régional du Val-de-Travers (RVT).[4]

The MO merged with the Martigny-Châtelard Railway to form the Transports de Martigny et Régions (TMR) on 1 January 2000.

Rolling stock

To start operations, MO procured two BCFe 4/4 passenger railcars (1–2) and two CFe 4/4 luggage railcars (11–12) with folding seats for passenger services. All four vehicles had the same electrical equipment with repulsion motors. The railcars were completely rebuilt with the conversion of the power system in 1949. BCFe 4/4 passenger railcars (3–4) were converted from the two baggage railcars.

The railcars were supplemented with ABDe 4/4 5 in 1955. A comprehensive renewal of the rolling stock took place from 1962 to 1965. The MO procured three ABDe 4/4 EAV (Eidgenössischen Amt für Verkehr—"Federal Office of Transport") railcars (6–8), three associated Bt control cars (31–33) and two standard passenger coaches (Einheitspersonenwagen). In 1983, a fourth, identical railcar was acquired from the Régional du Val-de-Travers (RVT) and classified in the rolling stock fleet as ABDe 4/4 9. The EAV motor coaches later received the designation ABDe 537 506–509.

The NINA railcar RABe 527 511–513, which had already been procured by the successor company TMR, has been in use on the MO lines since 2002.

Model class Manufacturer Build year Origin Quantity Scrapped Remarks
Class Number total current
Railcars
BCFe 4/4 1–2 SWS/BBC 1910/1949 2 0 1966–1967 Sold to RVT and CJ
BCFe 4/4 3–4 SWS/BBC 1910/1949 2 0 1982–1990 ex CFe 4/4 11–12; no. 4 transferred to CJ
ABDe 4/4 5 ACMV/BBC 1955 1 0 2002 sold to Bahnmuseum Kallnach
ABDe 4/4 6–8 SIG/SWS
SAAS/BBC/MFO
1965 3 2 EAV railcar
9 1965 RVT (1983) (used)001 1 2014 (defective) EAV railcar; ex RVT 103
RABe 527 511–513 BT/Alstom 2002–2003 3 0 2009 Nina; sold to RegionAlps (RA)
514 BLS (2012) (used)001 0 2012 Nina; sold directly to RA
Control cars
Bt 31 SWP 1965 3 0 1984 EAV (EW I); accident
32–33 2014 EAV (EW I); transferred to Verein Depot und Schienenfahrzeuge Koblenz (DSF)
Bt 31II 1964 RVT (1985) (used)001 0 2014 ex RVT 201; transferred to DSF
Passenger cars
BCF 21–22 SWS 1910 2 0 1965–1966
B 41 1962 2 0 2000 EW I; sold to TPF
42 1963 2005 EW I; sold to Club del San Gottardo
Tractors
Tm 11 SLM/? 1928 Sersa (1953) (used)001 0 1990 ex SBB Em 2/2 101, PTT 2; scrapped in 1994
Tm 12 SBB (1965) (used)001 0 1982 ex SBB Tm 531; sold to private individuals
Tm 237 554 Robert Aebi & Cie./? 1995 STAG (2005) (used)001 1 Prototype "Ameise", Winpro locomotive factory
used = acquired from third-party stock (used vehicle)

Operations

The trains on the MO route are marketed as the Saint-Bernard Express. NINA at Sembrancher.

The hourly Saint-Bernard Express takes 26 minutes to get from Martigny to Le Châble,[5] from where it is possible to take the Postauto or the cable car to the resort of Verbier.

In Sembrancher, a second set provides connections to Orsières.[5] From there, TMR bus services continue to Champex, Val Ferret or the Great St Bernard Pass.

References

Footnotes

  1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz [Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 54, 55. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  2. "Une erreur humaine serait à l'origine de la catastrophe ferroviaire de Martigny". Journal de Genève (in French). 3 September 1984. p. 11. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  3. "Epilogue judiciare de la catastrophe du Martigny-Orsièeres". Journal de Genève (in French). 18 October 1985. p. 13. Archived from the original on 2 December 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  4. Verein Rollmaterialverzeichnis Schweiz (ed.). Rollmaterialverzeichnis der Schweizerischen Privatbahnen (in German).
  5. "Martigny - Sembrancher - Le Châble - (Verbier); Sembrancher - Orsières" (PDF). Swiss Rail Timetable. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.

Sources

  • Jacobi, Sébastien (1990). Centenaire des Chemins de fer des Montagnes neuchâteloises (in German). La Chaux-de-Fonds.
  • Wägli, Hans G. (2010). Schienennetz Schweiz und Bahnprofil Schweiz CH+ (in German). AS Verlag. ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9.
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