43-699: The Bernese Jura Railway ( Chemins de fer du Jura bernois , abbreviated Jura bernois , JB) was a railway company in Switzerland. The company was called the Jura–Bern–Luzern ( Jura–Bern–Lucerne , JBL) from 1 July 1884. The Jura–Bern–Lucerne merged with the Western Switzerland–Simplon Railways ( Suisse-Occidentale–Simplon , SOS) to form the Jura–Simplon Railway ( Jura-Simplon-Bahn ), JS) on 1 January 1890. The railway network of
86-678: A banking group that was responsible for funding the expansion of rail networks, attempted unsuccessfully to raise the necessary funds for the Western Switzerland and to form a joint operation between the three railways. The funding was provided by the Societe Suisse pour l'industrie des chemins de fer ("Swiss Company for the Railway Industry"), which forced the SO to reorganise the administration. Its board of four members
129-589: A branch from Delémont to Porrentruy . Although the concession was granted, it was not built due to lack of funds. To connect the Bernese Jura to the old part of the canton, the Grand Council provided a subsidy of CHF 6,950,000 of the estimated construction cost of CHF 40 million in 1867. The Delémont–Delle railway , which was financed by French companies, was built and handed over for operations on 23 September 1872. A new situation arose in 1871, with
172-480: A company, but run directly. Under pressure from the French-speaking cantons , especially Vaud , the three West Swiss railways merged on 1 January 1872. The new Western Switzerland Railway Company ( Chemins de fer de la Suisse Occidentale et du Simplon ) now had the largest route network of any Swiss rail company with 315 kilometres of line. The cantons used their influence to help the Western Switzerland build
215-679: A period on the more populated areas in the Swiss Plateau . The rugged and economically less developed Jura had a much more limited railway network. The Central Railway had no interest in competing with its existing Hauenstein Railway . Under the chairmanship of Xavier Stockmar, the Zentralkomitee für die jurassische Eisenbahn (Central Committee for the Jura Railways) planned a railway line from Biel/Bienne to Basel with
258-695: Is a partially double-track, electrified railway through the Entlebuch in Switzerland. The main section between Langnau and Gütsch near Lucerne was opened on 11 August 1875. In 1857, the Swiss East–West Railway ( Schweizerische Ostwestbahn ) planned a railway on the La Neuveville – Biel – Bern – Gümligen – Langnau – Lucerne – Zug – Zürich route with a branch from Zug to Rapperswil , part of which would have formed this line. Since construction had begun without finance having been secured,
301-537: Is listed in brackets. Western Switzerland%E2%80%93Simplon Railways The Western Switzerland Railways ( Chemins de fer de la Suisse Occidentale , shortened to Suisse-Occidentale ; SO or S-O), were initially a joint operation of three Swiss railway companies, but these companies merged on 1 January 1872. The company was called the Western Switzerland–Simplon Railways ( Chemins de fer de la Suisse Occidentale et du Simplon , shortened to Suisse-Occidentale–Simplon ; SOS or SO-S) from 28 June 1881. The SOS merged with
344-580: Is operate as a portion , with the other portion running between Wolhusen and Langenthal. Furthermore, a RegioExpress service runs hourly between Lucerne and Bern, consisting of a Lötschberger class ( Ra535 ) set. Since December 2016, the Regioexpress service has been coupled in Wolhusen with the S7 service from Langenthal to make a second direct connection to Lucerne. Operations of all three lines has been
387-708: The Bernese Jura Railways ( Chemins de fer du Jura bernois ; JBL) to form the Jura–Simplon Railways ( Compagnie des Chemins de Fer Jura–Simplon ; JS) on 1 January 1890. In the early 1860s, the rail links between Romandy and German-speaking Switzerland were controlled by three railway companies, the West Switzerland Company ( Compagnie de l’Ouest Suisse ; SO), the Franco-Swiss Company ( Franco-Suisse , FS) and
430-842: The Canton of Bern initially developed according to the interests of the Swiss Central Railway ( Schweizerische Centralbahn , SCB). The Grand Council of Bern , decided to conclude a contract with the SCB in 1852. The Central Railway undertook to build the Murgenthal–Bern line and the Solothurn–Herzogenbuchsee railway within four years and in return received tax exemption and the privilege of being given preferential treatment in future grants of concessions to build railways. The Central Railway's construction now concentrated for
473-620: The Chemin de fer Porrentruy–Delle (PD) for CHF 1.99 million on 16 August 1876. It took over the Bernese State Railway ( Bernische Staatsbahn , BSB), including the Zollikofen–Biel –La Neuveville line in 1877. The canton of Bern received JB shares worth CHF 11.56 million in return. The JB was built during the railway construction boom after 1872 and interest rates and construction prices rose sharply. The recession of 1876 and
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#1732780227587516-462: The Jura–Bern–Luzern (O: opening; T: takeover): In 1882, the company owned 67 locomotives , 188 passenger cars and 682 freight cars . The locomotives from the beginning were designated as class A for express - tank locomotives , B for locomotives of "Bourbonnais" design (referring to the Compagnie du chemin de fer de paris à Lyon par le Bourbonnais , a predecessor company of
559-633: The Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern Railway ( Chemin de fer Lausanne–Fribourg–Berne , LFB). One of the lines ran from Lausanne along the southern foot of the Jura to Biel/Bienne and on to Herzogenbuchsee , where it met the competing line running via Fribourg and Bern. The West Switzerland and Franco-Swiss were thus opponents of the Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern, which also owned the westernmost Geneva – Versoix line. This harsh competitive situation
602-516: The PLM , which developed the design) for passenger trains on mountain lines and freight trains on valley routes, C for freight locomotives, D for pilot tender locomotives and E for shunters . The locomotives were designated according to the uniform system used throughout Switzerland from 1887. The following locomotives were available to the Jura–Bern–Lucerne. The class designation valid from 1902
645-779: The Palezieux–Payerne–Fräschels line (known in French as the ligne de la Broye longitudinale —longitudinal Broye line) and the Fribourg–Yverdon railway (transverse Broye line). These lines were originally intended to form the western end of the Swiss National Railway ( Schweizerischen Nationalbahn ; SNB). The shares of the merged railway companies were exchanged for those of the Western Switzerland Railway, whereby, depending on
688-688: The Western Swiss Railways ( Suisse-Occidentale–Simplon , SOS) merged to form the Jura–Simplon Railways ( Chemins de fer du Jura-Simplon , JS). From this point on it was the largest Swiss railway company; it was partly owned by the Swiss Confederation as a result of the purchase of shares on the market. On 1 January 1891, the JS took over the operations of the Pont–Vallorbe Railway ( Chemin de fer Pont–Vallorbe , PV). Only
731-604: The BLB and the Bernese Jura formed a joint operating company called the Jura–Bern–Luzern (Lucerne). This company continued to exist even after the bankruptcy of the BLB and, as of 1 July 1882, the JB leased the line from Bern to Lucerne , which now belonged to the canton of Bern. Thus, the Bernese Jura came into possession of the continuous Delle–Bern–Lucerne line, which connected with the Gotthard Railway . This route competed with
774-574: The BLB had become insolvent, forcing it to be taken over in 1877 by the canton of Bern as the main creditor of the BLB. The canton commissioned the Chemins de fer du Jura bernois (Bernese Jura Railways, JB) to manage the company. From 1882, the Bern–Lucerne line was then leased by the JB, which changed its name to the Jura–Bern–Luzern (Jura–Bern–Lucerne Railway, JBL) in 1884. In 1890, the JLB finally went to
817-522: The JS had sufficient resources to progress on the construction of the Simplon Tunnel that had been planned for decades. The bridge over the Birs built by Gustave Eiffel for the Bernese Jura collapsed shortly after the merger. The Münchenstein rail disaster on 14 June 1891 was the largest railway disaster in Switzerland to that time. Bwlow is an overview of the history of the Jura bernois and
860-474: The Jura purchased a total of over 7 million shares, partially exploiting their forests to fund them. The Jura bernois began construction and opened individual sections of its network between Biel, Convers (near La Chaux-de-Fonds ), Delle and Basel between 1872 and 30 March 1877. It complemented its network through acquisitions. The JB bought the bankrupt Jura industriel (JI) for CHF 3.6 million on 1 May 1875 and
903-722: The Jura–Simplon Railways took over the Pont Vallorbe Railway operated by the SOS. The JS eventually initiated the construction of the Simplon Tunnel, which had been discussed for decades. Overview of the history of the Western Switzerland–Simplon (O: opening; T: takeover): In 1882, the company owned 105 locomotives , 331 passenger cars and 2022 freight cars . From 1881,
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#1732780227587946-487: The Paris-Lyon-Mediterranean Railway ( Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée ; PLM). On 21 January 1888, large masses of rock disintegrated at Cheyres and fell on the track creating piles of rubble two or three metres high. A Payerne–Yverdon passenger train loaded with about 40 passengers ran into the rubble, causing the two locomotives to derail. The fireman of the bank engine
989-483: The SO designated their locomotives with Roman numerals: classes I and II consisted of locomotives with two drive axles, class III consisted of passenger locomotives with three drive axles and class IV consisted of freight locomotives with three drive axles. In rolling stock statistics, these class designations were partly used from 1873. The locomotives acquired from the Jougne–Eclépens Railway were named in
1032-714: The Western Switzerland–Simplon route network before the merger with the Jura–Bern–Lucerne (JBL): On 1 January 1890, the SOS merged with the Jura-Bern-Lucerne Railway (JBL), including the Gümligen–Lucerne line , which belonged to the canton of Bern, to form the newly established Jura–Simplon Railways (JS). The Swiss Confederation also participated in the new railway company by means of a voluntary share purchase. Exactly one year later,
1075-705: The cession of Alsace-Lorraine to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War . A line built across French territory and through the Bernese Jura would connect the Paris–Belfort line directly to the Swiss Plateau. The Jura bernois was founded in 1874 as a joint-stock company , with the French Chemins de fer de l'Est subscribing CHF 4½ million and the canton of Basel-Stadt subscribing CHF 0.5 million. The municipalities and Bürgergemeinden of
1118-650: The company went bankrupt. The canton of Bern took over the Bernese shares of the line and allowed the work to be completed. The Gümligen – Langnau section was opened by the Bern State Railway ( Bernische Staatsbahn ) on 1 June 1864. The Bern-Lucerne Railway ( Bern-Luzern-Bahn, BLB) took over the section in 1875 and opened the remaining section between Gütsch near Lucerne and Langnau on 11 August. Thus, continuous operations between Bern and Lucerne were possible. But because of excessive construction costs,
1161-576: The line was electrified on 15 August 1934. New double-track sections went into operation between Worb and Tägertschi, Konolfingen and Zäziwil and Bowil and Emmenmatt at the timetable change on 12 December 2004, enabling an hourly Bern–Lucerne service on this line. Services on line S2 of the Bern S-Bahn between Bern and Langnau run half-hourly and services on line s6 of the Lucerne S-Bahn between Lucerne and Langnau run hourly. The latter
1204-749: The newly established Jura neuchâtelois (JN). However, the JN could not earn enough to pay its rent, which made support by the public sector necessary. The Jura–Bern–Luzern built the Brünig Railway from 25 August 1886. With the opening of the first, over 44 km long section from Alpnachstad via the Brünig Pass to Brienz on 14 June 1888, the network of the JBL was significantly extended. The extension from Alpnachstad to Lucerne followed on 1 June 1889. The metre-gauge line with sections of rack connects
1247-541: The newly founded Jura–Simplon Railway ( Jura-Simplon-Bahn , JS), which also acquired the Bern–Lucerne line from the canton of Bern. With the nationalisation of the JS in 1902, the Bern–Lucerne line became part of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). After the Bern–Gümligen, Obermatt–Langnau and Gütsch–Lucerne sections had been electrified as parts of other lines as early as 1919 and 1924, the majority of
1290-508: The responsibility of BLS AG since the timetable change in 2010; previously the S6 was operated jointly by BLS and SBB. Until the timetable change in 2004, two-hourly SBB InterRegio services ran from Lucerne to Bern and onto Geneva Airport , stopping in Wolhusen, Langnau and Konolfingen and, at the edges of the day, also in Schüpfheim. Since 2004, these trains have been routed via Zofingen and
1333-611: The route of the Swiss Central Railway ( Centralbahn ) via Olten , which lost direct access to the railway from Basel to France after the Franco-Prussian War. The extended route network prompted the railway to change its name to the Jura–Bern–Luzern (JBL). Ten years after its construction, the Canton of Neuchâtel exercised its buyback right and acquired the Neuchâtel – La Chaux-de-Fonds – Le Locle line on 1 January 1886 for around CHF 5 million, so it could lease it to
Bernese Jura Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
1376-537: The share price, additional payments were made in the form of bonds totalling Swiss francs (CFF) 14 million. The capital of the Western Switzerland was composed of shares worth CFF 85 million and bonds worth CFF 102 million at the end of 1876 following the closing of this financial transaction . The Swiss Central Railway ( Schweizerische Schweizerische Centralbahn ) and the Swiss Northeastern Railway ( Schweizerische Nordostbahn ), together with
1419-603: The statistics as class V and the Simplon Company locomotives as class IV. The locomotives were designated according to the uniform system used throughout Switzerland from 1887. This is a list of the locomotives used by the SO and the SOS. The designation of the class valid from 1902 is listed in brackets. During shortages of rolling stock—especially during the Franco-Prussian War period—the SO responded by renting mostly French locomotives. Bern%E2%80%93Lucerne railway The Bern–Lucerne railway
1462-496: The subsequent "railway crisis" almost bankrupted even the financially solid Swiss Northeastern Railway ( Schweizerische Nordostbahn , NOB). Against this background, the consistent profits of the JB were unusual. The revenue from freight was higher than the revenue from passengers in each year from 1878. For the start of the operations of the Bern-Lucerne Railway Company ( Bern-Luzern-Bahn , BLB) in 1875,
1505-646: The three western Swiss railways stabilised and from 1868 onwards the association was able to pay a very modest dividend . Financial and construction matters remained the responsibility of individual railway companies. The map shows the ownership structure of the network of the Association of French-Swiss Railways at the end of 1871 before its merger as the Western Switzerland Railways. The three railways agreed to intensify their cooperation in 1871. The business would no longer be leased to
1548-597: The two tourist regions of Central Switzerland and the Bernese Highlands . In addition, it was considered to have great military importance. The Jura–Bern–Luzern also took care of the operation of the Bödelibahn (Bödeli Railway, BB) Därligen – Interlaken – Bönigen opened in 1872. On 1 January 1890, the Jura–Bern–Luzern including the Gümligen–Lucerne line, which was owned by the canton of Bern, and
1591-521: Was compounded by financial difficulties due to construction cost overruns. After long and difficult negotiations, the three railway companies formed a business association under the name of the Association des chemins de fer de la Suisse Occidentale (Association of the Railways of Western Switzerland) on 1 January 1865. Each railway company provided its own infrastructure and rolling stock. Revenue
1634-520: Was distributed according to a fixed ratio. The business community was managed by a three-member operating committee—with each company nominating a representative—and a supervisory board. Three members of the Supervisory Board were appointed by the Western Switzerland and two each by Franco-Swiss and the canton of Fribourg . The association paid 8,000 francs per kilometre per year to the firm of Laurent-Bergeron et Comp. The financial situation of
1677-509: Was financially too weak to promote the construction of a Simplon tunnel , the canton of Vaud in particular pushed for a merger of the two railways. The SOS, with investment capital of CHF 248 million and a network length of 581 kilometres, was the largest railway company in Switzerland at the time. The Geneva–Lausanne –Brig routes and the extensions from Lausanne via Romont to Bern and via Yverdon and Neuchâtel to La Neuveville formed its main route network. Its strategically most important goal
1720-416: Was killed, while the other fireman and the driver of the bank engine were seriously injured. The Western Switzerland Railway and the SOS operated other railway lines: The operating results of Western Switzerland–Simplon Railways were always positive. Freight and passenger traffic contributed approximately equally to this. The SOS was able to distribute a modest dividend every year. The following map shows
1763-588: Was replaced by a single director in 1875. In 1872, the Western Switzerland acquired a significant stake in the Jougne-Eclépens Railway ( Chemin de fer de Jougne à Eclépens ; JE), which had a direct connection to the network of the French Chemins de fer de Paris à Lyon et à la Méditerranée (PLM). The SO wanted to prevent a competitor taking over the JE, which was constantly fighting financial problems. The Jougne-Eclépens Railway went bankrupt in 1876 and
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1806-540: Was taken over fully by the Western Switzerland. There were four deaths and three injuries after a collision in Palézieux on 7 July 1876. The Western Switzerland–Simplon Railways ( Suisse-Occidentale–Simplon ; SOS) was created on 26 June 1881 as a result of the purchase of the Simplon Company ( Ligne du Simplon ; S) by the Western Switzerland at a price of around CFF 13.2 million. Since the Simplon Company
1849-445: Was the building of a connection from Brig to Domodossola by tunnelling under the Simplon Pass , but this did not proceed for the time being. The SOS invested around CFF 670,000 in preparatory work in 1886 alone. The SOS commissioned the Saint-Gingolph–Saint-Maurice railway , the Swiss section of the railway along the south shore of Lake Geneva on 1 June 1886. The Savoy section from Saint-Gingolph to Évian-les-Bains belonged to
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