Rheinfall Railway

Rheinfall Railway
Rheinfall Railway
	Bridge carrying the Rheinfall railway over the Rhine above the Rhine Falls
Overview
Native name	Rheinfallbahn
Owner	Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS)
Locale	Switzerland
Termini	Winterthur, ZH ; Schaffhausen, SH ;
History
Opened	16 April 1857
Technical
Line length	29.92 km (18.59 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV 16.7 Hz AC supplied by overhead line
Maximum incline	1.4%
Route diagram
Route diagram
	Legend
	Source: Swiss railway atlas
	This diagram: view ; talk ; edit ;

Last updated October 31, 2024

The Rhine Fall, with the Eglisau-Neuhausen line on the near bank and the Rheinfall line on the far bank RheinfallSchaffhausen.JPG — The Rhine Fall, with the Eglisau-Neuhausen line on the near bank and the Rheinfall line on the far bank

Bridge over the river Thur at Andelfingen Thurbrucke-Andelfingen.JPG — Bridge over the river Thur at Andelfingen

The Rheinfall Railway (German : Rheinfallbahn) is a railway line in Switzerland. The line links Winterthur in the canton of Zurich with Schaffhausen in the canton of Schaffhausen. The Rheinfall Railway was constructed by the independent Rheinfallbahn-Gesellschaft.^[2]^[3]

Towards its northern end, the Rheinfall Railway crosses the Rhine on a viaduct adjacent to the famous Rhine Falls, from which it takes its name.^[2]^[3]

History

The Rheinfallbahn-Gesellschaft was founded in 1853 by the Schaffhausen industrialist Heinrich Moser. Construction of the line commenced in 1855, and it was opened on 16 April 1857. The section of line between Andelfingen and Schaffhausen proved particularly difficult and costly to build, including as it needed major bridges across the rivers Rhine and Thur, together with a tunnel under Laufen Castle.

The Swiss Northeastern Railway (NOB) acquired the Rheinfallbahn-Gesellschaft on 4 November 1856 prior to the line's opening, providing connections to Zurich and beyond. In 1902, the NOB became part of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS), who retain ownership of the line.

Until 1897, the Rheinfall railway provided the main railway route between Schaffhausen and the rest of Switzerland. However in that year the Eglisau to Neuhausen line opened, providing a shorter route to Zurich via Bülach that is now used by all long distance trains.

The line was electrified on 11 April 1943. In 2007 its 150th anniversary was celebrated by the operation of historic steam trains over the line.

Operation

Today the Rheinfall Railway is served by two lines of the Zurich S-Bahn. The S16 provides an hourly through service between Zurich and Schaffhausen, with only limited stops on the Rheinfall railway section of its route. The S33 links Winterthur and Schaffhausen twice an hour, stopping at all intermediate stations.^[4]

The northernmost section of the line, between Neuhausen and Schaffhausen, also carries all the traffic using the Eglisau to Neuhausen railway line, including most long distance trains between Schaffhausen and the rest of Switzerland, together with Zurich S-Bahn line S22 from Bülach to Schaffhausen, until the December 2015.^[3]^[4] Since the timetable change of 2015 the S9 from Uster to Schaffhausen, took over the part of S22, between Bülach and Schaffhausen.

The line is predominantly single track with passing loops at stations, although there are double track sections between Hettlingen and Henggart, in the Marthalen area, and between Neuhausen and Schaffhausen. It is 30.45 kilometres (18.92 mi) long, standard gauge and electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC supplied by overhead line.^[3]

The S-Bahn service over the single-track railway south of Neuhausen leaves little room for other trains, and most freight and long-distance passenger services use alternative routes.

Related Research Articles

The Rhine Falls is a waterfall located in Switzerland and the most powerful waterfall in Europe. The falls are located on the High Rhine on the border between the cantons of Schaffhausen (SH) and Zürich (ZH), between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall (SH) and Laufen-Uhwiesen/Dachsen (ZH), next to the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland.

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.

Neuhausen am Rheinfall is a town and a municipality in the canton of Schaffhausen in Switzerland.

Thurbo is a railway company with mostly 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">Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway line</span> Railway line in Switzerland

The Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway line is a railway line in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. It is also known as the Glatthalbahn, Glatttalbahn or Glattalbahn (Gl-TB), although the latter name is now more commonly used to refer to the Stadtbahn Glattal, a nearby light rail system.

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 Lake Line, 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 and the High Rhine. It forms the Swiss section of the ring railway around Lake Constance.

The S12 is a regional railway line of the S-Bahn Zürich on the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), Zürich transportation network. The S12 is one of the network's lines connecting the cantons of Zürich, Aargau, Schaffhausen, Thurgau and St. Gallen.

The Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut railway line is a railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Turgi in Switzerland via Koblenz to Waldshut in Germany. The Turgi–Koblenz–Waldshut line was the first rail link between Germany and Switzerland. It was opened on 18 August 1859 by the Swiss Northeastern Railway. It provides a connection from the Baden–Brugg line in Turgi to the High Rhine Railway in Waldshut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">S22 (ZVV)</span>

The S22 was a regional railway service of the Zürich S-Bahn on the ZVV. It connected the cantons of Zürich and Schaffhausen, Switzerland, with the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. At the end of 2015, the service was shortened from Bülach to Jestetten and the line no longer fell under the purview of ZVV, but continued to be operated by THURBO. Later S22 got replaced by a S-Bahn line from the Schaffhausen S-Bahn. The service from Schaffhausen to Singen was taken over by Deutsche Bahn, and the section between Bülach and Schaffhausen is now covered by ZVV service S9.

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.

Neuhausen is a railway station served by S-Bahn services in the municipality of Neuhausen am Rheinfall, in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen.

Bülach railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zürich and municipality of Bülach. It is located at the junction of the Winterthur to Koblenz and Oerlikon to Bülach lines of Swiss Federal Railways.

The Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line is a cross-border railway line in Germany and Switzerland. It links Eglisau in the Swiss canton of Zurich with the city of Schaffhausen in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen, crossing some 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) of the German state of Baden-Württemberg in between. It thus crosses the Germany–Switzerland border twice. The line is 17.88 kilometres (11.11 mi) long, standard gauge and electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC supplied by overhead line. It is formed of a mixture of single and double track sections.

The Winterthur–Bülach–Koblenz railway is a railway line in Switzerland. It links the city of Winterthur in the canton of Zurich with the municipality of Koblenz in the canton of Aargau. The line was opened in August 1876, by the Swiss Northeastern Railway (NOB), and is now owned by the Swiss Federal Railways.

Glattfelden railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zurich. The station is actually situated in the municipality of Bülach but takes its name from the immediately adjacent municipality of Glattfelden. It is located on the Winterthur to Koblenz line of Swiss Federal Railways, and is served by Zurich S-Bahn line S9 between Zurich and Schaffhausen. A PostBus service connects the station with the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eglisau railway station</span> Railway station in the canton of Zürich, Switzerland

Eglisau railway station is a railway station in the Swiss canton of Zurich and municipality of Eglisau. The station is located on the Winterthur to Koblenz line, at that line's junction with the Eglisau to Neuhausen line. Both lines are owned by Swiss Federal Railways. It is served by Zürich S-Bahn lines S9, between Zürich and Schaffhausen, and S36, between Bülach and Koblenz.

Neuhausen Rheinfall is a railway station in Neuhausen am Rheinfall, in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The station opened on 13 December 2015, principally to serve the tourist attraction of the Rhine Falls, from which it takes its name. It is linked by a combination of bridges and elevators to the bank of the River Rhine, just below the waterfall.

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

The Oerlikon–Bülach railway is a standard-gauge railway line to the north of Zürich, Switzerland. It was built by the Bülach-Regensberg Railway. It is also called the Y-shaped railway in German or the "potato railway" in Swiss German because its main freight traffic was potatoes. It was taken over by the Swiss Northeastern Railway on 1 January 1877.

Altenburg-Rheinau was a railway station in the municipality of Jestetten in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, serving the villages of Altenburg and Rheinau in the Swiss canton of Zurich. It was located between Jestetten and Neuhausen Rheinfall on the border crossing Eglisau–Neuhausen railway line, which is owned and operated by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The station, which opened in 1897, was last called at by the S22 service of Zürich S-Bahn until it was closed in 2010 due to low passenger frequency, despite protests from the German authorities.

References

↑ Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz[Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
1 2 Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2009. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.
1 2 3 4 Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
1 2 "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2012-01-09.

Bibliography

Eberhard, Jules (1957). Hundert Jahre Rheinfallbahn, 1857–1957. Jubiläumsschrift[One hundred years of the Rheinfall Railway, 1857–1957. Anniversary publication] (in German).

External links

Media related to Rheinfall Railway at Wikimedia Commons
Video of 150th anniversary, from YouTube

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[Eisenbahnatlas-1] Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz[Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 3–5. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.

[edsp110-2] 1 2 Eisenbahnatlas Deutschland. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2009. pp. 110–111. ISBN 978-3-89494-139-0.

[saw4-5-3] 1 2 3 4 Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 4–5. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.

[zvv-4] 1 2 "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-01-31. Retrieved 2012-01-09.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]