Colin Churcher 2020

In our travels the Gotthard Pass is one of our favorite destinations, particularly the Classic route through Goschenen. It is possible to travel from Zurich via Arth-Goldau to Brunnen and on to Ersfeld but an attractive alternative is to take a train to Luzern and catch a boat to Brunnen. The Luzern station is a stub arrangement with standard gauge lines on the left and narrow gauge lines on the right. The concourse is a couple of minutes walk from the ferry dock. All this is likely to change with a grand plan to tunnel under the lake and have through platforms under the existing.main station. Looking st our recent pictures it is amazing how much has changed in the Luzern railway scene. New electric switchers  have replaced the older models These narrow gauge Zentral line trains have been replaced by newer units The Voralpen Express equipment has been replaced with modern stock. The ferry takes us on  a very pleasant cruise. There is a brief stop at Vitznau Another alternative...

IC2000 train with an Re 460 in a livery promoting the rail unions. Yesterday we explored the interior of the station. Today we go further afield. Open air It is worthwhile to leave the dark train shed and walk the considerable distance to the end of the platforms where you can get a much better view of the rail movements that are invisible from inside the station. This is the best way to see the incredibly complex trackwork and double slip switches that control the approaches to Zurich HB. Sightseers watching the train movements IC2000 train leaves Zurich HB, curving to the left to take the line to Luzern, while another IC2000 approaches in the distance Dirty DB ICE train heads back to Germany This passenger train needed additional power and has two SBB Cargo Re 4/4.   The train is so long the locos are beyond the signal and barely clear the switch blade. Re 4/4 in 1970s Trans European livery brings in a passenger train from Stuttgart. It has the older diamond pantograph. Spec...

Zurich Hauptbahnhof  Paul has prepared some extensive notes and photos of the Zurich Hauptbahnhof.  This will be in several parts.  The busiest station in Switzerland is Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich HB) which is used primarily by the SBB. It has 26 tracks serving almost 3000 trains daily and it is one of the busiest stations in the world. It was built in the 1870s and is a main shopping destination as well as a transport hub. There are three levels for platforms and the "Shopville" shopping plaza.  The river Sihl river passes right through the station with platforms passing above and below the river. This shows the general layout of the station with the surrounding tram tracks shown in purple Tracks 3 to 18 are terminal tracks located at ground level, served by two side platforms and seven island platforms. These are used by long-distance trains from throughout Switzerland, and by international trains. Tracks 21 and 22 are underground terminal tracks, served by a sing...

Today we have a blog prepared by a special guest Martin Cobb. Our destination today is the Jungfrau, or more precisely the Jungfraujoch. This railway station is within the mountain between the peaks of the Monch and Jungfrau mountains and at 9,500 feet it is the highest railway station in Europe. As with our journey to Grindelwald last week, we begin the trip from Interlaken and initially follow the same route up the valley until the routes diverge and, while the valley to the left leads to Grindelwald, we branch off to the right and continue to Lauterbrunnen. Both the trains from Interlaken are operated by the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB). Reaching Lauterbrunnen we have to change trains to the Wengeralpbahn (WAB) before continuing on to Kleine Scheidegg where another train change is needed; this time to the Jungfraubahn (JB). While it would be highly desirable to have a continuous operation on this route, different track gauges and rolling stock do not allow this to occur. BOB is metre ...