Swiss Freight Questions

[csinc]

Hello,

I have traveled around the Geneva-Lausanne area and it seems that there are no freight trains on the weekends. Does anyone know if freight runs in other parts of Switzerland on weekends?

In an older thread on Swiss trainspotting two areas looked interesting, one was street running of loco hauled trains in Chur, and Kilwangen being a good place for freights. Does anyone know if the street running still happens in Chur, and if in both locations they run any freights on weekends?

Thank you

-Adam

 

[30907]

Can't say about freight, except that the Lac Leman area is away from the main N-S transit corridors via the Loetschberg and Gotthardo.

The street running section at Chur is on the Arosa line, which doesn't have much freight if any AFAIK, but it is still there and doesn't look like disappearing as was once planned.

 

[csinc]

Thanks for the info, for the Street Running, what type of trains runs on it usually? In Google Street view you can see a loco hauled train.

 

[gsnedders]

The street running section at Chur is on the Arosa line, which doesn't have much freight if any AFAIK, but it is still there and doesn't look like disappearing as was once planned.

AFAIK freight on the Arosa line is almost always put on the passenger services, and there's a fair bit of it. The new EMUs for the line (if I'm not mistaking what I read a while ago with some other line in the area!) are designed such that they can still attach wagons to the rear.

 

[30907]

AFAIK freight on the Arosa line is almost always put on the passenger services, and there's a fair bit of it. The new EMUs for the line (if I'm not mistaking what I read a while ago with some other line in the area!) are designed such that they can still attach wagons to the rear.

It's the standard RhB Allegra units, and they can take a substantial tail load even on those gradients (and on the Bernina which is steeper).

 

[Gordon]

Hello,
Does anyone know if freight runs in other parts of Switzerland on weekends?

In an older thread on Swiss trainspotting two areas looked interesting, one was street running of loco hauled trains in Chur, and Kilwangen being a good place for freights. Does anyone know if the street running still happens in Chur, and if in both locations they run any freights on weekends?

I have just returned from a week in Switzerland, including passing through Chur, and contributed to the old posts you mention.

1: Chur - Arosa
Yes this line still runs on street through the town centre! However, loco haulage with 'main line' style locos on this line only lasted from 1997 to 2010, between the re-electrification from dc to ac overhead and the introduction of the 'Allegra' EMU sets a few years ago. However the Allegra EMUs in many cases act as locomotives on this and other RhB lines and haul traditional passenger coaches behind (or without) a driving trailer, which is a standing joke as, on the Arosa line their 'EMU' status is frequently rendered pointless by the unit having to run round at each end of the route because it often has hauled coaches, so they may as well not use EMUs.

There are rarely any pure freight trains, but wagons are still added to the back of passenger trains.


2: weekend freight

There is a fair amount of main line freight on Saturdays, less on Sundays, and a lot of that is on the north south transit routes Lötschberg and Gotthard, but you will always get the most activity Monday - Friday, including trains operated by 'traditional Swiss' locomotives, the latter being rare at weekends because trip and local freights tend not to run because the factories etc they serve are not functioning as they would during the main working week. That's why you don't tend to see weekend freight in the Geneva area

I was near the Gotthard this past weekend and there was a good amount of freight on the Saturday and early Sunday morning, but as I fully expected it tailed off after about 10.00 Sunday (although I did phot a freight passing through Brunnen around 15.30)

Freight trains you see at weekends are more likely to be hauled by 'European' traction such as dispoloks and DB 185s as it is transit type freight (mainly intermodal)

Killwangen station is really best in mid afternoon - evening on monday - friday


.

 

[csinc]

Thank you for the details Gordon, that is what I was looking for. Is there any advice you can give about good places to photography in the Gottard region that would have the weekend freights? It is OK with me if they are mostly European and not Swiss locos.

Appreciate your help.

-Adam

 

[themiller]

Olten station is a hotspot for trains of all types - rolling roads, intermodals, block trains of vans, and tankers, mixed freight (sometimes with engineering trains mixed in) all week. Having said that, Sundays are inevitably quieter because some of the departure and destination terminals are shut for the day. traffic picks up later in the day in anticipation of Monday reopening. Rolling roads run all week as HGVs are severely restricted on Swiss roads at the weekend. Remember that some of the trains will be intransitive between northern Germany and southern Italy so they can still transit Switzerland at the weekend.

 

[MarcVD]

I have just returned from a week in Switzerland, including passing through Chur, and contributed to the old posts you mention.

1: Chur - Arosa
Yes this line still runs on street through the town centre! However, loco haulage with 'main line' style locos on this line only lasted from 1997 to 2010, between the re-electrification from dc to ac overhead and the introduction of the 'Allegra' EMU sets a few years ago. However the Allegra EMUs in many cases act as locomotives on this and other RhB lines and haul traditional passenger coaches behind (or without) a driving trailer, which is a standing joke as, on the Arosa line their 'EMU' status is frequently rendered pointless by the unit having to run round at each end of the route because it often has hauled coaches, so they may as well not use EMUs.

There are rarely any pure freight trains, but wagons are still added to the back of passenger trains.


2: weekend freight

There is a fair amount of main line freight on Saturdays, less on Sundays, and a lot of that is on the north south transit routes Lötschberg and Gotthard, but you will always get the most activity Monday - Friday, including trains operated by 'traditional Swiss' locomotives, the latter being rare at weekends because trip and local freights tend not to run because the factories etc they serve are not functioning as they would during the main working week. That's why you don't tend to see weekend freight in the Geneva area

I was near the Gotthard this past weekend and there was a good amount of freight on the Saturday and early Sunday morning, but as I fully expected it tailed off after about 10.00 Sunday (although I did phot a freight passing through Brunnen around 15.30)

Freight trains you see at weekends are more likely to be hauled by 'European' traction such as dispoloks and DB 185s as it is transit type freight (mainly intermodal)

Killwangen station is really best in mid afternoon - evening on monday - friday


.

A trip to the Gotthard cannot be complete without a visit to the church of Wassen.

Envoyé de mon GT-I9505 en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[Gordon]

A trip to the Gotthard cannot be complete without a visit to the church of Wassen.

But you will no longer see much (if any) freight as it is all going through the base tunnel. I went down from Goschenen to Brunnen last week for the first time since the GBT opened and it was eerily quite.

 

[Jamesrob637]

I think some freight still has to go over the Gotthard mountain route due to capacity, plus there are regional services similar to the Lötschberg mountain line

 

[Gordon]

I think some freight still has to go over the Gotthard mountain route due to capacity, plus there are regional services similar to the Lötschberg mountain line

Very little freight is going over the Gotthard mountain route now. One track on part of the north ramp was orange with rust when I travelled over it last week and Goeschenen and Erstfeld felt like ghost town stations.

The regional services are very boring - Flirt EMUs. Once you've seen one you've see 'em all. The Gotthard base tunnel is not like the Loetschberg, the former is fully twin track, whereas the latter is mostly single, hence much more freight is still going over the top.



.

 

[axlecounter]

There should be just a couple of freights that go over the old route plus some directed to Bodio (which is before the new tunnel southwards exit).

Also, many points on the line are being fixed in straight position so to diminish maintainance costs. That will probably make, in some places, the left or right track really unused.

 

[themiller]

Very little freight is going over the Gotthard mountain route now. One track on part of the north ramp was orange with rust when I travelled over it last week and Goeschenen and Erstfeld felt like ghost town stations.

The regional services are very boring - Flirt EMUs. Once you've seen one you've see 'em all. The Gotthard base tunnel is not like the Loetschberg, the former is fully twin track, whereas the latter is mostly single, hence much more freight is still going over the top.



.

http://www.railjournal.com/index.ph...or-lotschberg-base-tunnel-track-doubling.html
I believe that the work to complete the tunnels and kit them out was authorised this year but can't find the article at the moment.

 

[axlecounter]

http://www.railjournal.com/index.ph...or-lotschberg-base-tunnel-track-doubling.html
I believe that the work to complete the tunnels and kit them out was authorised this year but can't find the article at the moment.

Just the planning phase has been authorised and financed. Nothing more will happen in the next 8years, as it isn't among the infrastructural works planned until 2025.

 

[Gordon]

The point I was trying to make is that the mountain section really isn't worth making a special trip to any more, especially without a car, as the rigmarole of getting the bus to the Wassen area is hardly worth it for a few EMUs and (if lucky) one or two freights per day.

You tend to see photographers out on the line these days if something special is scheduled to go over, like the BDe4/4 I saw last week.

The best option this summer would be a carefully timed visit on a day when the two dated loco hauled passenger services both run, but that is only on weekends, and that probably wouldn't co-incide with the operation of the third interesting train (the VSOE) which sometimes travels the route

 

[axlecounter]

Sure. On weekends you'll maybe have heritage trains too. Haven't you seen the Ae8/14 last week?