Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn
Encyclopedia
The Wyna Valley and Suhre Walley Railway is a privately owned narrow gauge
railway company in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland
. It operates under the brand AAR bus+bahn, together with the Busbetrieb Aarau (the regional bus service of Aarau
)
The railway consists of two branch lines, from Aarau
to Menziken
(Wynental
) and from Aarau
to Schöftland
(Suhrental
). Its main operation is passenger traffic. On workdays until 8PM, and on Saturdays until 6PM there is a quarter-hourly service, in the evenings and on Sundays the trains run every half hour. There is also a limited freight service in the Wynental
, mainly to the metal works of Alu Menziken.
south of the SBB railway station. There is a separate station called Aarau WSB with an own station building and three passenger tracks.
The Wynental branch runs partly on, partly near the main road to Suhr, with rather tramway-like characteristics. After the station Suhr Ausweiche, the line crosses the SBB railway Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing, then follows the main road to Gränichen. In the village of Gränichen the WSB line runs about 100 meters away of the road - in earlier years the line was even on the road, which consistently lead to conflicts with the motor traffic. Further on, the line again follows the main road until Oberkulm, then separately to Gontenschwil and Zetzwil, again next to the main road until Reinach. Between Reinach and Menziken (the terminal station), the WSB line is now using a part of the track of the abandoned SBB line Beinwil am See - Beromünster (Seetalbahn
).
The Suhrental branch first leads to a short tunnel, then follows the main road via Unterentfelden, Oberentfelden, Muhen, Hirschthal to Schöftland. Like in Suhr, the WSB line crosses the SBB line Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing in Oberentfelden. In Oberentfelden, there is still a small part on the road; in Muhen, the railway line has been diverted from the main road in 2004.
The main workshops are in Schöftland next to the passenger station.
In the Suhrental too, there were thoughts about constructing a railway. Here, however, from the beginning on, a narrow gauge electrically powered line was planned, in the largest part of the route to be operated as a tramway. The project of the company Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) received the license and soon thereafter the construction works began. The Aarau-Schöftland railway (AS) started operation on November 19th, 1901. The planned extension of the AS from Schöftland to Triengen (connecting to the Sursee-Triengen-Bahn) was never realized.
Meanwhile, also the Wynental came to the conclusion that a narrow-gauge electric tram would be more economic. In January 1903 construction works were started. The opening of the Wynentalbahn (WTB) between Aarau and Reinach was on March 5th, 1904, the extension to Menziken followed a few weeks later on the 1st of May. Both lines had their starting point on the north side of the SBB railway station of Aarau.
In 1924, the Wynentalbahn opened an own station at its present location south of the SBB railway lines. The Aarau-Schöftland-Bahn kept the line through Aarau downtown and the station on the north of the SBB station, this meant that the direct connection between WTB and AS was lost. The increasing motor traffic caused more and more problems, therefore, most parts of the railway lines have been moved away from the main roads. On June 24th 1958 the two companies AS and WTB were merged to the Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn (WSB), although the lines were still not connected. This was only restored in 1967, when the Suhrental branch was moved away from Aarau downtown and relocated into a 260-meter-long tunnel leading to the Wynental station on the south side of the SBB train station.
The transfer of the rails away from the road made great progress. In the villages however, space was often limited, so the railway line had to be separated from the road completely. A main step was the complete change of the route in Gränichen in 1985. Nevertheless, there were still many long stretches with tramway-like characteristics, in particular in Reinach and Menziken in the upper Wynental. There were often accidents with significant damage. In 1991, passenger traffic on the SBB line Beinwil am See - Beromünster was abandoned, and plans were set for the relocation of the WSB route to the now vacant SBB route. The adaptation work started in 1999 after the cessation of freight traffic. The new section Reinach Nord - Menziken was finally opened on December 15th, 2002. Two years later, on December 5th, 2004, another important project went into operation: the separation through Muhen.
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
railway company in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. It operates under the brand AAR bus+bahn, together with the Busbetrieb Aarau (the regional bus service of Aarau
Aarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
)
The railway consists of two branch lines, from Aarau
Aarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
to Menziken
Menziken
Menziken is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-History:Menziken is first mentioned in 1045 as Manzinchouen though that comes from a 14th Century copy of the original document. In 1295 it was mentioned as Menzchon. However, the current site of Menziken...
(Wynental
WYNA
WYNA is a variety hits formatted radio station licensed to Calabash, North Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The Qantum Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast at 104.9 MHz...
) and from Aarau
Aarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
to Schöftland
Schöftland
Schöftland is a municipality in the district of Kulm in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland.-Geography:Schöftland has an area, , of . Of this area, or 35.2% is used for agricultural purposes, while or 39.5% is forested...
(Suhrental
Suhre
The river Suhre is a 34 kilometer long tributary of the river Aare in the Swiss cantons of Lucerne and Aargau. The river sources in Lake Sempach at an altitude of 504 meters above sea level, and joins the Aare east of the town Aarau at an altitude of 362 meters...
). Its main operation is passenger traffic. On workdays until 8PM, and on Saturdays until 6PM there is a quarter-hourly service, in the evenings and on Sundays the trains run every half hour. There is also a limited freight service in the Wynental
Wynental
The Wynental is the Wyna River valley mostly in Canton Aargau, but also Canton Lucerne, Switzerland. Municipalities found in the Wynental include Beinwil am See, Beromünster, Burg, Gontenschwil, Leimbach, Menziken, Neudorf, Oberkulm, Pfeffikon, Reinach, Teufenthal, Unterkulm, and Zetzwil.The...
, mainly to the metal works of Alu Menziken.
Technical data
- Distance: 32.2 km
- whereof in tunnels: 0.26 km
- Gauge: 1000 mm
- Power system: Direct currentDirect currentDirect current is the unidirectional flow of electric charge. Direct current is produced by such sources as batteries, thermocouples, solar cells, and commutator-type electric machines of the dynamo type. Direct current may flow in a conductor such as a wire, but can also flow through...
750 VoltVoltThe volt is the SI derived unit for electric potential, electric potential difference, and electromotive force. The volt is named in honor of the Italian physicist Alessandro Volta , who invented the voltaic pile, possibly the first chemical battery.- Definition :A single volt is defined as the...
s - Maximum gradient: 4.5 %
- Minimum turning radius: 27m
Route description
Both branches begin in AarauAarau
Aarau is the capital of the northern Swiss canton of Aargau. The city is also the capital of the district of Aarau. It is German-speaking and predominantly Protestant. Aarau is situated on the Swiss plateau, in the valley of the Aar, on the river's right bank, and at the southern foot of the Jura...
south of the SBB railway station. There is a separate station called Aarau WSB with an own station building and three passenger tracks.
The Wynental branch runs partly on, partly near the main road to Suhr, with rather tramway-like characteristics. After the station Suhr Ausweiche, the line crosses the SBB railway Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing, then follows the main road to Gränichen. In the village of Gränichen the WSB line runs about 100 meters away of the road - in earlier years the line was even on the road, which consistently lead to conflicts with the motor traffic. Further on, the line again follows the main road until Oberkulm, then separately to Gontenschwil and Zetzwil, again next to the main road until Reinach. Between Reinach and Menziken (the terminal station), the WSB line is now using a part of the track of the abandoned SBB line Beinwil am See - Beromünster (Seetalbahn
Seetalbahn
The Seetalbahn is a railway of the Swiss Federal Railways between Lenzburg and Lucerne in Switzerland. The track, when created, was originally named the Swiss Lake Valley Railway Company and was owned by British investors. The passengers included tourists from Lucerne doing sightseeing tours to...
).
The Suhrental branch first leads to a short tunnel, then follows the main road via Unterentfelden, Oberentfelden, Muhen, Hirschthal to Schöftland. Like in Suhr, the WSB line crosses the SBB line Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing in Oberentfelden. In Oberentfelden, there is still a small part on the road; in Muhen, the railway line has been diverted from the main road in 2004.
The main workshops are in Schöftland next to the passenger station.
History
In 1871, several municipalities in the Wynental founded a committee requesting a concession for two railway lines, from Aarau via Oberkulm to Reinach, and from Beinwil am See via Reinach to Menziken. Both were planned as standard gauge lines operated with steam engines. A year later the project was granted by the authorities of the canton Aargau, but was not executed, mainly due to disagreements over the exact line through the narrow valley. Only the section between Beinwil am See and Menziken was built and opened in 1883 - this however by the Seetal Railway (now SBB). Later on, this route was extended to Münster (today Beromünster).In the Suhrental too, there were thoughts about constructing a railway. Here, however, from the beginning on, a narrow gauge electrically powered line was planned, in the largest part of the route to be operated as a tramway. The project of the company Brown, Boveri & Cie (BBC) received the license and soon thereafter the construction works began. The Aarau-Schöftland railway (AS) started operation on November 19th, 1901. The planned extension of the AS from Schöftland to Triengen (connecting to the Sursee-Triengen-Bahn) was never realized.
Meanwhile, also the Wynental came to the conclusion that a narrow-gauge electric tram would be more economic. In January 1903 construction works were started. The opening of the Wynentalbahn (WTB) between Aarau and Reinach was on March 5th, 1904, the extension to Menziken followed a few weeks later on the 1st of May. Both lines had their starting point on the north side of the SBB railway station of Aarau.
In 1924, the Wynentalbahn opened an own station at its present location south of the SBB railway lines. The Aarau-Schöftland-Bahn kept the line through Aarau downtown and the station on the north of the SBB station, this meant that the direct connection between WTB and AS was lost. The increasing motor traffic caused more and more problems, therefore, most parts of the railway lines have been moved away from the main roads. On June 24th 1958 the two companies AS and WTB were merged to the Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn (WSB), although the lines were still not connected. This was only restored in 1967, when the Suhrental branch was moved away from Aarau downtown and relocated into a 260-meter-long tunnel leading to the Wynental station on the south side of the SBB train station.
The transfer of the rails away from the road made great progress. In the villages however, space was often limited, so the railway line had to be separated from the road completely. A main step was the complete change of the route in Gränichen in 1985. Nevertheless, there were still many long stretches with tramway-like characteristics, in particular in Reinach and Menziken in the upper Wynental. There were often accidents with significant damage. In 1991, passenger traffic on the SBB line Beinwil am See - Beromünster was abandoned, and plans were set for the relocation of the WSB route to the now vacant SBB route. The adaptation work started in 1999 after the cessation of freight traffic. The new section Reinach Nord - Menziken was finally opened on December 15th, 2002. Two years later, on December 5th, 2004, another important project went into operation: the separation through Muhen.