Gletsch railway station

Gletsch
Two DFB trains at Gletsch, July 2006.
Location 3999 Obergoms
Goms, Valais
Switzerland
Coordinates 46°33′41″N 08°21′41″E / 46.56139°N 8.36139°E / 46.56139; 8.36139Coordinates: 46°33′41″N 08°21′41″E / 46.56139°N 8.36139°E / 46.56139; 8.36139
Elevation 1,762 m (5,781 ft)
Operated by Furka Oberalp Bahn (to 1981)
Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway (since 2000)
Line(s) Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) (to 1981)
Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway (DFB) (since 2000)
Distance 12.90 km (8.02 mi)
from Realp DFB
Connections Postauto buses
History
Opened 30 June 1914 (1914-06-30)
Electrified 1 July 1942 (1942-07-01)
Location
Gletsch
Location within Switzerland

Gletsch railway station is a metre gauge railway station serving the village of Gletsch, in the Canton of Valais, Switzerland.

History and operations

Gletsch railway station, ca 1980.

The station was opened in 1914, and owned and operated from then until 1981 by the Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO), which connects Brig in Valais, via Andermatt in Uri, with Göschenen, Uri, and Disentis/Mustér, Graubünden.

In 1982, the original portion of the FO between Oberwald in Valais and Realp in Uri, including the Gletsch railway station, was replaced by an FO line passing through the then new Furka Base Tunnel. The superseded portion of the FO line was abandoned.

Since 11 July 1992, the abandoned portion of FO line has been progressively reopened from Realp, as a heritage railway operated by the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway (DFB). On 14 July 2000, the DFB was extended from its then temporary terminus at Furka to Gletsch via the Furka Summit Tunnel, and the station at Gletsch was reopened.

At a ceremony held on 12 August 2010, the rest of the superseded ex-FO line was formally reopened, following the completion of another DFB extension, this time from Gletsch to Oberwald.[1] At an earlier ceremony on 18 June 2010, a gold spike had been driven to mark the physical reconnection.[2] Scheduled DFB services between Gletsch and Oberwald commenced on 13 August 2010.[3]

Rail services to Gletsch

Preceding station   Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway   Following station
Terminus
Heritage railway
Operated by steam engines
toward Realp DFB

See also

References

Notes

  1. Opening Gletsch-Oberwald 2010 (in German) (accessed 2010-08-20)
  2. News:Spike driven, line goes through (in German) (accessed 2010-07-11)
  3. Opening Gletsch-Oberwald 2010 (in German) (accessed 2010-08-20)

Further reading

  • von Arx, Johannes (2000). Furka-Bergstrecke; Abenteuer Furka (in German). Oberwald, Switzerland: Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke.
  • Moser, Beat; Jossi, Urs (2007). MGB Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (in German). 2. Fürstenfeldbruck, Germany: Eisenbahn-Journal (Verlagsgruppe Bahn GmbH). ISBN 978-3-89610-175-4.
  • Moser, Beat; Krebs, Peter (2010). Erlebnis Furka-Bergstrecke / Aventure Ligne sommitale de la Furka. Zürich: AS-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-909111-71-8. (in German) (in French)
  • "Official timetable of Switzerland". Bundesamt für Verkehr. (in English)

Media related to Furka-Oberalp-Bahn at Wikimedia Commons

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