Sidetracks... a miscellany of items

Objekttyp: Group

Zeitschrift: Swiss express : the Swiss Railways Society journal

Band (Jahr): - (2009)

Heft 97

PDF erstellt am: 30.09.2021

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http://www.e-periodica.ch SIDETRACKS... • Erratum. BLS, who operate the tunnel, have now provided The gremlins have been at it again! This time the necessary safety certification allowing the it was some photo captions in the December higher speed. issue that they took delight in playing around Extra Simplon Shuttles. with. The the left P28 • photo on top of was not Following a 10-year break the car shuttle of the BLM but showed a WAB train in the through the was re-launched in shadow of the Eiger. On P21 the Ae6/6 shown 2004. Some 67,000 vehicles were carried in its was not numbered 11646 but was No. 11466. first year and this number rose to 106,000 in Incidentally, one sharp-eyed reader believes that 2007. Canton Wallis/ and the SBB have the TILO unit shown on P26 may have been now announced a CHF10.6m programme to photographed at a location other than Luino. replace the existing rolling stock, and to enlarge the fleet. enable Can David Carter enlighten us? This will an hourly service, which will also be able to carry trucks up to 28 • SBB Timetable on line for iPhone. tonnes, to be operated from 2014. An additional From May 2008 the SBB timetable has been train capable of hauling 40 tonne trucks may available for download to a mobile phone under also be funded by the Canton. the "CFF NaviGo" whilst from portal, SBB the girls. November 2008 real-time information has also • encourages On Thursday 13th November the SBB took been available. Under the function "Take me part in the 8th National Girls Day, by inviting home" the GPS allows the (in English) system 700 girls aged between 11 and 13, plus their SBB tell where station is and to you your nearest parents, to visit the SBB for a memorable day correlates it to a timetable that you may have intended to show them career opportunities with already downloaded. Train delays, platform the railway. Many events were planned, changes and so on are automatically sent to your including an open door day at Login the railway phone or iPod. More information is available - in training organisation at Olten. A virtual guide English - at www.cff.ch/mobileworld and named "Zoe" was available to explain the www.cff.ch/navigo. possible jobs available, see www.cff.ch/zoe. The SBB has found from similar events over the past 150th Celebration. • few years that jobs traditionally seen as male Around 100 prominent people stepped roles have proved to be attractive to girls. SBB aboard an historic steam train to travel along the policy is to positively increase the proportion of Zurich - Bern line to celebrate its 150th females in the workforce. anniversary. The first complete rail link between New for load in the cities November after impetus wagon opened on 15th 1858 .• the construction of a bridge over the River Aare The Swiss government had provided a in Bern. Zurich passengers previously had to subsidy for national rail transport, but this was alight before reaching the Swiss capital and abolished for political / budgetary reasons. Now finished the horse-drawn journey by carriage. there has been a change of heart. The National Elmar Ledergerber, the Mayor of Zurich, gave a Council (the Lower House of Parliament) voted send-off the celebrations his and to start at city in September 2008 to provide CHF40m per year the events closed with fireworks and the bridge from 2011 onwards for national rail freight, half in Bern being illuminated. A modern intercity of which is for wagon load traffic. This measure train now takes less than an hour for the trip had to be ratified by the Upper House. against six hours in the 1800s. •Variable gauge rolling stock for the • Faster Lötschberg. MOB. In December the Federal Transport Office The MOB has developed an innovative announced that after further safety checks inside system ofvariable gauge bogies to enable their the 34.6 km tunnel, which was officially opened GoldenPass rolling stock to run through in December last year, trains may now travel at Zweisimmen from Montreux to . We up to 250kph. Since its opening more than hope to have an article on the new system in the 33,000 trains have passed through the tunnel. June magazine.

40 SWISS EXPRESS a miscellany of items • No lift to Jungfraujoch. Following a feasibility study the Jungfrau Bahn has decided to upgrade the existing railway infrastructure rather than spend upwards of CHF 1000m on a proposal to build an express lift system that would have taken tourists direct from a location near Lauterbrunnen to the top of the mountain. The current plan is to spend some CHF 100m over six years on new high-speed shuttle trains plus improvements to the track in order to increase service frequency. The object is to allow visitor numbers to the Jungfraujoch to increase from around 4,400 to 6,000 per day. It appears that the organisations who promote Swiss Tourism, especially in the Far East, wish to is in the form of a man. The materials were and assistance the bread see the current 1 hr 40min trip from provided given, with Lauterbrunnen cut down in order to match the then baked on site. of tourists from that objective many region to Improved service on the TGV "tick-off" destinations as • simply to must-see in Lyria service between Genève and short a time as possible. However, it was realised Paris. that the cost of reducing the to a 20min. lift trip The catering on the Genève to Paris TGV journey was too excessive. Apparently, in order to service it has been won in open tender by attract even more Asian tourists, we hear from Elvetino SA. This is a Swiss company owned by reliable sources that it has been suggested to hotels SBB that has over a century of experience with in the Interlaken that should area they change train catering. Elvetino has 800 employees, and their breakfast buffets to ones based on rice manages 80 restaurant cars and 118 minibars on dishes — idea that has, down an thankfully, gone Swiss trains, whilst since December 2007 it has like lead balloon in a many quarters. operated the Minibars on the Cisalpino trains Rigibahnen children's craft days. between Switzerland and Italy. The contract is • for for first class who On Sundays November 16th and 23rd 2008 at-seat catering passengers, will have a choice of dishes in a three-course the Rigibahnen organised a special event for meal for a maximum of and the Minibar children of all ages in their "Event" marquee 24, trolley service. First class will also be building at Rigi Staffel. For a flat fee of CHF8 passengers offered a choice of free French and Swiss per child they and their parents could stay the Currently there are seven daily TGV whole day, making cards, presents, pictures, etc. newspapers. Lyria round trips on the route. From the July In conjunction with the bakers Pfenniger ofArth 2010 timetable change the service will be Goldau (the franchisees of the "RigiPic" increased to nine per day in a complete re-cast of restaurant at the summit) the children could the timetable giving a more regular interval make a local speciality of "Gritibanz" bread - this pattern. It is planned that TGV Duplex double-deck trains will also be introduced to ease the capacity constraints as the service continues to grow in popularity. It now has over 50% (57% in August 2008) of the market between the two cities and the planned increase in capacity is in expectation of winning some 70% of the market. Also, from the December 2010 timetable change, the journey time will be reduced by around 25 minutes to 3 hrs 4 min as the service takes the new line between Bourg en Bresse and Bellegarde. A decision is expected shortly on new rolling stock to be ordered to operate on the route from 2011.

MARCH 2009 41 SIDETRACKS • RAIpin celebrates carrying its • New electricity power company 500,000th truck. formed. de RAIpin, the specialist "rolling road" company In November 2008 a new company Nant that operates trains to/from Freiburg im Breisgau, Drance SA was formed by the SBB and Atel Germany, to Novara, Italy traversing Switzerland, Holding SA of Olten with a 40%-60% share welcomed its 500,000th truck on 25th November split. The Canton ofValais is also interested in shareholder, and 2008. The vehicle was owned by Italian company becoming a negotiations are has Pigliacelli and its driver, Isufaj Besnik, was ongoing. The new company a capital of CHF50m and is build and a presented with a giant Toblerone by RAIpin to design, operate 600MW managing director Rene Dancet. RAIpin is pumped storage Hydro-Electric power station the location. The owned by BLS AG; Hupac SA; SBB Cargo AG at eponymous power station will be located in the between and Trenitalia SpA. Its first train, over the classic declivity the existing two dammed lakes at Emosson and Lötschberg - Simplon route, was on 11th June Vieux Emosson Finhaut the TMR-mc 2001. In 2007 it transported 80,342 road near on between Martigny and Chamonix. The whole vehicles, in 5,092 trains. In the first half year of construction will be 1800 metres above sea level, 2008, 42,200 vehicles were transported, a 5% totally underground, and utilise a 5 km tunnel. increase over the same period in 2007. The major works will commence at the start of The SBB additional SBB Cargo Deutschland starts to 2009. requires peak power • capacity for its own needs, as do the BLS and train its own apprentice drivers in Germany. TRAVYS, due to high demand on both the On 1st September 2008, the first trainee transport and national networks coinciding. drivers for SBB Cargo Deutschland started their apprenticeship at the Verband Deutscher L'abonnement général. Eisenbahnfachschulen. Out of 95 candidates, 6 • It is now 110 years since the General were chosen to take the three year course, which Abonnement (GA) ticket was introduced in is in blocks of 4 weeks practical, 20 weeks theory Switzerland. This gives unlimited travel on The trainees have had cab rides per year. already virtually all public transport for one year. When from Duisberg to Cologne via Gelsenkirchen. it was introduced the GA only covered the main After successfully completing the course and the rail network and was primarily used by exams the new drivers will operate trains for SBB businessmen, or commercial travellers. It was not Cargo in Germany. It is all part of the until the start of the 1980s, when buses, boats internationalisation of SBB Cargo which is and the private railways joined in, that the card necessary to provide the range and scope of was taken up more widely. In 1986, for example, services demanded by clients, and the company is 25,000 cards were sold but by 2008 the figure expected to announce its partner for international had reached 350,000. The GA costs CHF3,100 operations in early 2009. for 2nd class and CHF4,850 for 1st class — it can be paid for in monthly instalments. There are • SBB saves energy. reductions for OAPs, children, families, couples, From 27th October to 7th November 2008 handicapped and students. There is even a card There is also the the SBB ran a campaign to save energy. Despite for dogs at CHF650. Abonnement which the growth of the SBB it plans to reduce energy demi-tarif costing CHF125 consumption by 10% by 2015. The autumn allows you half price transport anywhere in Switzerland also has card 2008 campaign was focussed on saving electricity for one year. It a VISA included London's in buildings and as much as 20% was saved by on it (similar to an option on reducing lighting and heating, and switching off Oyster Card). If you really want to attract people this is the do unused electric and electronic equipment. In out of cars onto trains, way to it, as of course once have card want to addition to saving energy in their buildings and you your you it. installations the SBB aim to optimise operational keep using consumption through encouraging better power Information supplied by:- Martin Fisher; under be called driving techniques a regime to Markus Gürbetal; Neil Wheelwright; Bill Weber; "economy in energy". More information is David Stevenson; Glyn Jones; Jungfrau Bahn; available from www.cff.ch/environnement. Swisslnfo; Ron Smith and the SBB.

42 SWISS EXPRESS