Lake Line

Lake Line (Schaffhausen–Rorschach)
Lake Line (Schaffhausen–Rorschach)
	Two GTW 2/4 sets of Thurbo on the Rhine Bridge at Feuerthalen near Schaffhausen; the Munot in the background
Overview
Native name	Seelinie
Line number	820 (Schaffhausen–Romanshorn); 830 (Konstanz–Kreuzlingen–Weinfelden); 845 (Romanshorn–Rorschach);
Locale	Switzerland and Germany
Termini	Schaffhausen ; Rorschach ;
Technical
Line length	82.4 km (51.2 mi)
Number of tracks	mostly single track
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Maximum incline	1.2%
Route map
	Legend
	Schaffhausen
	Zürich
	Zürich
	Thurgau
	31.81
	31.81
	Thurgau
	Schaffhausen
	Schaffhausen
	Thurgau
	61.43
	414.76
	Switzerland / SBB
	Germany / DB
	414.74
	100.88
	Germany / DB
	Switzerland / SBB
	61.80
	100.17
	81.78
	83.32
	Thurgau
	St. Gallen
	St. Gallen
	Thurgau
	Thurgau
	St. Gallen
	Source: Swiss railway atlas

Last updated April 12, 2024

The Lake Line^[4] (German : Seelinie), as it is referred to by the SBB in English, is the Swiss railway line running from Rorschach via Romanshorn, Konstanz (Germany), Kreuzlingen, Steckborn, Stein am Rhein and Diessenhofen to Schaffhausen. The scenic route follows the southern border of Lake Constance (Bodensee) and the High Rhine (Hochrhein). It forms the Swiss section of the ring railway around Lake Constance.

History

The Lake Line was built in four sections (see below) between 1869 and 1895. The loop via Konstanz crosses the border between Switzerland and Germany twice. The sections of the Lake Line were built by two railway companies, the Swiss Northeastern Railway (NOB) and the Swiss National Railway (SNB). The SNB were taken over by the NOB in 1878, and in 1902 the latter was transferred into the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). In 1996, the line was taken over by the Mittelthurgaubahn following a competition. They introduced half-hourly fixed-interval services and modernised both track and rolling stock. When Mittelthurgaubahn went bankrupt in 2003 the line went into the possession of SBB's subsidiary THURBO, which had been intended as a joint venture between the SBB and Mittelthurgaubahn.^[5]

Rorschach–Romanshorn

On 15 October 1869, the section from Romanshorn to Rorschach was opened by the NOB. It connected to the already existing railway between Rorschach and Rorschach Hafen of the United Swiss Railways (VSB), which opened in 1856. Between Rorschach and Rorschach Hafen, the NOB built its own track next to the VSB track and this section is still double-tracked today while the rest of the line is single-tracked (except for stations where trains cross regularly).

In 1893, the line was connected to the Thur Valley Railway so that trains could operate between Winterthur and Rorschach without reversing direction in Romanshorn. The NOB line competed with the Rorschach–St. Gallen railway and St. Gallen–Winterthur railway lines of VSB.

Between 1869 and 1976, train ferries operated from Romanshorn to other ports of Lake Constance.

Romanshorn–Kreuzlingen Hafen–Konstanz

On 1 July 1871, not quite two years after the Rorschach–Romanshorn section started operations, the Romanshorn–Konstanz line opened by the NOB. It connects to the High Rhine Railway (between Basel and Konstanz), which opened in 1863. With the incorporation of Emmishofen into the municipality of Kreuzlingen in 1928, the former Emmishofen railway station changed its name to Kreuzlingen, and the former Kreuzlingen railway station became Kreuzlingen Hafen.

Etzwilen–Kreuzlingen–Konstanz

The section along the lower Lake Constance (Untersee) was bult by the SNB, whose goal was to build an independent railway line between Lake Constance and Lake Geneva (Lac Leman). The section between Etzwilen and Konstanz/Kreuzlingen Hafen opened on 17 July 1875, on the same day as SNB's Winterthur–Etzwilen railway and Etzwilen–Singen railway lines. The SNB went bankrupt in 1878 and its railway lines were taken over by the NOB.

Schaffhausen–Etzwilen

The westernmost section between the city of Schaffhausen and Etzwilen was built by the NOB in order to connect the village of Stein am Rhein, located in the eastern part of the canton of Schaffhausen, with the capital of said canton. The section between Etzwilen and Feuerthalen opened on 1 November 1894. The final section between Feuerthalen and Schaffhausen opened, due to delays in construction of the Emmersberg tunnel, on 2 April 1895.

Electrification

The sections of the Lake line are electrified since the following dates:

Date	Section
15 Mai 1928	(Winterthur–) Romanshorn–Rorschach
16 Dezember 1945	Schaffhausen–Etzwilen
6 Mai 1946	Kreuzlingen–Kreuzlingen Hafen–Romanshorn
7 Oktober 1946	(Winterthur–) Etzwilen–Stein am Rhein
5 Oktober 1947	Stein am Rhein–Kreuzlingen
27 Mai 1962	Kreuzlingen–Konstanz
1 Juni 1969	Konstanz–Kreuzlingen Hafen

Services

There is currently no service operating on the entire line. As of the December 2023 timetable change,^[update] sections of the Lake Line are operated by the following regional train services, of which most belong to the Bodensee S-Bahn:

S1 of St. Gallen S-Bahn between Romanshorn and Schaffhausen
S7 of St. Gallen S-Bahn between Romanshorn and Rorschach
S14 and S44 of St. Gallen S-Bahn between Kreuzlingen and Konstanz
S25 of St. Gallen S-Bahn between Rorschach Hafen and Rorschach
S29 of Zürich S-Bahn between Etzwilen and Stein am Rhein
RE1 of THURBO between Konstanz and Romanshorn

Related Research Articles

The canton of Schaffhausen, also canton of Schaffhouse, is the northernmost canton of Switzerland. The principal city and capital of the canton is Schaffhausen. The canton's territory is divided into three non-contiguous segments, where German territory reaches the Rhine. The large central part, which includes the capital, in turn separates the German exclave of Büsingen am Hochrhein from the rest of Germany.

The S29 is a regional railway line of the Zürich S-Bahn on the ZVV, in the cantons of Zürich, Thurgau and Schaffhausen.

THURBO is a railway company with S-Bahn-style services in Switzerland, southern Germany, and northeastern Vorarlberg, Austria, jointly owned by Swiss Federal Railways (90%) and the canton of Thurgau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wil–Kreuzlingen railway</span> Railway line in Switzerland

The Wil–Kreuzlingen railway is a largely single-track standard-gauge line in northeastern Switzerland. It was built by the Mittelthurgaubahn; MThB), which was a Swiss private railway based in Weinfelden. It was liquidated in 2003, including its subsidiary Lokoop, and its activities and the infrastructure it owned were mainly taken over by a Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) subsidiary, Thurbo, which was originally formed as a joint venture between the MThB and the SBB.

The High Rhine Railway is a Deutsche Bahn railway line from Basel Badischer Bahnhof in the city of Basel to Konstanz on Lake Constance. It was built by the Grand Duchy of Baden State Railways as part of the Baden Mainline, which follows the Rhine upstream from Mannheim Hauptbahnhof to Konstanz. The line derives its name from the High Rhine, which it follows between Basel and Waldshut and on a short section in Schaffhausen.

The Swiss Northeastern Railway was an early railway company in Switzerland. It also operated shipping on Lake Constance (Bodensee) and Lake Zürich. Until the merger of the Western Swiss Railways into the Jura–Simplon Railway (JS) in 1890/91, it was the largest Swiss railway company.

The United Swiss Railways was a former railway company in Switzerland. It was the smallest of the five main railways that were nationalised from 1902 to form the Swiss Federal Railways.

The Swiss National Railway was a railway company in Switzerland.

Konstanz station is the largest passenger station in the German city of Konstanz (Constance). It is served by regional and long-distance services operated by Deutsche Bahn and Swiss Federal Railways. It is the end of the High Rhine Railway and the beginning of the Lake Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romanshorn railway station</span> Railway station in Switzerland

Romanshorn railway station is a railway station that serves the municipality of Romanshorn, in the canton of Thurgau, Switzerland. Opened in 1855, the station is owned and operated by SBB-CFF-FFS. It forms the junction between the Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, the Schaffhausen–Rorschach railway and the Romanshorn–Nesslau Neu St. Johann railway.

Schaffhausen railway station is a railway station in Schaffhausen, the capital of the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The station is jointly owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) and Deutsche Bahn (DB), and is served by trains of both national operators, as well as trains of the Swiss regional operator Thurbo.

Etzwilen railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Thurgau and municipality of Wagenhausen. It takes its name from the nearby settlement of Etzwilen. The station is located on the Lake Line, which links Schaffhausen with Rorschach, at its junction with the Winterthur–Etzwilen line and the Etzwilen–Singen railway.

Stein am Rhein railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen and the municipality Stein am Rhein. The station is situated on the opposite (southern) bank of the Rhine to the historic centre of the town, a walk of some 500 m (1,600 ft). It is located on the Lake line, which links Schaffhausen with Rorschach.

The St. Gallen S-Bahn is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail in Eastern Switzerland and neighbouring areas. The network connects stations in the Swiss cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, Glarus, Grisons, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen, Thurgau and Zürich, as well as a few stations in Austria and Germany.

The Chur–Rorschach railway line, also called the Rhine Valley line, is a standard gauge railway line in Switzerland. It belongs to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and is located in the cantons of St. Gallen and the Grisons.

The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway, also known in German as the Thurtallinie, is a Swiss railway line and was built as part of the railway between Zürich and Lake Constance (Bodensee). It connects Winterthur with Romanshorn, where it formerly connected to train ferries over Lake Constance. It is the fourth oldest internal railway in Switzerland. Its construction was to be funded by the Zürich-Lake Constance Railway (Zürich-Bodenseebahn), but during the construction the company was merged with the Swiss Northern Railway to form the Swiss Northeastern Railway. The Winterthur–Romanshorn railway was opened on 16 May 1855 and the line from Winterthur to Oerlikon was opened on 27 December 1855. Zürich was reached on 26 June 1856 and the two existing NOB lines were connected.

Kreuzlingen Hafen railway station is a railway station in Kreuzlingen, in the Swiss canton of Thurgau. It is an intermediate stop on the Lake line and is served by local trains only. It is one of four stations within the municipality of Kreuzlingen.

The S1 is a railway service of the St. Gallen S-Bahn that provides half-hourly service between Schaffhausen and Wil, via St. Gallen, in the Swiss cantons of Zürich, Thurgau, Schaffhausen, and St. Gallen. THURBO, a joint venture of Swiss Federal Railways and the canton of Thurgau, operates the service.

The S7 is a railway service of the St. Gallen S-Bahn that provides half-hourly service between Romanshorn and Rorschach, with hourly service from Romanshorn to Weinfelden. Some trains continue from Rorschach to St. Margrethen, Bregenz and Lindau along the shores of Lake Constance.

The Etzwilen to Singen railway is a heritage railway between Etzwilen in the Swiss canton of Thurgau and Singen in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, crossing the eastern part of the canton of Schaffhausen. Passenger train services existed between 1875 and 1969, while cargo trains operated the line until 2004. Today, it is used by heritage trains and draisines.

References

↑ from Romanshorn West
↑ from Romanshorn
↑ Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz[Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 3–7. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
↑ The Lake Line rail experience Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine at www.sbb.ch. Accessed on 13 Jan 2013.
↑ "150 Jahre Seelinie Rorschach-Konstanz: Wie die Bahn am See ins Rollen kam[150 years Lake Line Rorschach–Konstanz]" (in German). tagblatt.ch. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

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[1] rom Romanshorn West

[2] rom Romanshorn

[Eisenbahnatlas-3] Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz[Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 3–7. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.

[4] The Lake Line rail experience Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine at www.sbb.ch. Accessed on 13 Jan 2013.

[5] "150 Jahre Seelinie Rorschach-Konstanz: Wie die Bahn am See ins Rollen kam[150 years Lake Line Rorschach–Konstanz]" (in German). tagblatt.ch. 1 May 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2024.

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