fbpx
Wikipedia

Métro Lausanne–Ouchy

April 13, 2024

The Métro Lausanne – Ouchy or Métro-Ouchy (LO) was a rack railway which linked the lakeside at Ouchy with Lausanne railway station and the core of the city at Flon. The system also included a parallel line between the railway station and Flon. After closure and modernisation, the line reopened in 2008 as the rubber-tired Line M2 of the Lausanne Metro which included an extension to Épalinges in the north.

Former Lausanne-Ouchy metro photographed in June 2005.

History edit

The line was opened in 1877 as the first funicular in Switzerland. The line was known as La Ficelle (The String) and used water balance as the means of raising and lowering the cars. In 1958 the funicular was rebuilt into a rack and pinion railway using the Strub system and intermediate stations at Jordils and Montriond were opened. The line became known by the name métro, although to the natives and its many regular users it was always La Ficelle.

Until 1954 there was no direct connection between the freight station of Sébeillon and the Flon valley and this line was used by freight trains from the main station to the storage area of the harbour (in Flon).

The line was sold by the operating company to the town of Lausanne in 1984 and on 22 January 2006 it was closed to be rebuilt as part of the new Line M2 of the Lausanne Metro. The rolling stock was sold to the French city of Villard-de-Lans with the intention of it being used on their new rack railway, La Patache. The Lausanne Metro's M2 line opened in October 2008.

Timeline edit

  • 1877, creation of the funicular Ouchy - CFF Station - Flon
  • 1879, creation of the funicular CFF Station - Flon, parallel to the initial one
  • Traction cables driven by water turbines in the top station
  • 1954-1958, transformation of the line to the rack mode
  • 1984, sold to the city of Lausanne
  • 21 January 2006, end of the operations to allow the conversion into Metro M2 and extension to Epalinges
  • 19 September 2008, inauguration of the M2 line

Network edit

Chemin de fer Lausanne–Ouchy
Legend
elev (M)
or length (m)
in metres
 
 Port d'Ouchy
 
0 m
 Ouchy 
.. M
 
Rue du Liseron
 
Avenue des Jordils
 
 Jordils
 
Rue des Fontenailles
 
Avenue de Cour
 
Rue Voltaire
 
 Montriond
(passing loop, stop from 11 July 1898 (1898-07-11))
 
Avenue Dapples
 
Rue du Simplon
 
Boulevard de Grancy
 
 
 
 
 
 Tunnel under Lausanne railway station (112 m)
 
 Sainte-Luce
(Gare Jura-Simplon, Gare centrale)
 
 Tunnel de Montbenon (255 m)
 
1485 m
 Flon 
.. M

The Métro-Ouchy railway was made up of two parallel lines:

Line characteristics edit

  • Ouchy - Flon
    • length 1568 yards (1482m)
    • altitude differential 106 m
    • slope 11,6%
    • train every 8 minutes
  • CFF Station - Flon
    • length 318 m
    • altitude differential 37 m
    • slope 12%
    • continuous circulation without timetable

Technical details edit

The system consists of two lines, both single-track. The first line ran from Ouchy, through Jordils, Montriond and the SBB-CFF-FFS railway station (Gare CFF) to Flon. This is known as “Metro – Ouchy”. A second line paralleled the Métro-Ouchy from Gare CFF to Flon stations, using its own separate to one side of a double-track tunnel. This service was known as “Metro – Gare”.

The line between Ouchy and Flon is 1482 m. in length, and rises 106 m. at a maximum gradient of 11.6% ( 1 in 8.66 ). This journey is completed in 8 minutes. The system is single track with a passing track at Montriond station to allow trains to meet (See photograph). The second line from the Gare CFF to Flon is just 318 m. in length, rises 37 m. at a maximum gradient of 12% (1 in 8.33 ). The trains were two 2-car units and offered a fast service, with trains every 6 to 10 minutes. The line is now referred to as Métro-Ouchy or M2.

Ouchy station was the southern terminal of the Ouchy line. It contained 3 tracks with one platform to the east side of the easternmost track. The 2 additional tracks were used as a stabling point for trains. A switchback allowed trains to enter the maintenance facility, located in a building to the north and sightly to the west of the station. The station itself was level, as it was just before the start of the stiff 11% grade that took the mainline into the city.

Jordils station was a relatively simple affair. It consisted of a single track and a single platform to the east of the mainline. Fare control was located inside a building to the east of the platform dating back to the days of the Ouchy funicular.

Montriond station was at the halfway point of the line and contained 2 tracks and 2 platforms. The platforms and tracks were positioned rather unconventionally. Northbound (uphill) trains stopped at a proper platform, but the northbound track at the station was built into the surface of the platform to the south of the northbound platform which southbound trains stopped at. The rolling stock only had doors on the east side so this arrangement was necessary to accommodate both the passing track and the station. Such an arrangement also required the northbound train to arrive at the station before its southbound counterpart as it would block the southbound platform. On late evenings and weekends when only 1 train was service it used the northbound platform for both directions of travel. The line entered the tunnel under Lausanne just to the north of the station.

Gare CFF was the first underground station on the line. The station had 2 tracks and 2 platforms. The platform on the east side was for Lausanne-Ouchy trains and was located on the steep grade of that line. The platform on the west side of the station was used trains running the Métro-Gare service. The cars for this line only had doors on the west side and thus could not be used on the Lausanne-Ouchy. The Lausanne-Gare platform and track were not located on the steep grade of the Ouchy line, creating a level shelf next to the Ouchy track and what was essentially a 2-level station. Both tracks ascended the grade inside the 1877-built tunnel to Flon. The two lines were connected via a single crossover roughly at the halfway point of the tunnel.

Flon Station

Flon was the Northern terminal for both Métro Ouchy and Métro Gare trains. The underground station contained 2 tracks with 2 platforms to either side of the tracks. This station facilitated transfer to the Tramway Sud-Ouest de Lausanne (which later became the M1 line of the Lausanne Metro).

Rolling stock and equipment edit

The trains for the Lausanne-Ouchy line consisted of 2 unpowered passenger cars and a locomotive in push-pull configuration. There were 3 rack locomotives numbered 121-123, designated He 2/2, rated at 622 hp, 6.25 m in length and weighing 18.1 tons, with a top speed of 32 km/h. They were built by Swiss Lokomotivfabirk Winterthur using electrical components from Maschienefabrik Oerlikon in 1958.

There were five unpowered passenger cars numbered 1-5, model Bt. All cars had driving controls. 3 of the cars contained segregated operator's cabs used when the locomotives were in push mode, at the rear of the train. The passenger cars, like the locomotives, were built in 1958. None of the passenger cars were equipped with pinions. The Lausanne-Gare line was always operated by a single electric railcar built to the same specifications as the locomotives but with a length of 11.9 m and a weight of 18.5 tons. The two original cars were built in 1958 and numbered 101-102. In 1975 these cars were replaced by 2 newer cars built by SIG-Oerlikon numbered 111-112, built, again, to the same specifications as the locomotives. Both locomotives and railcars collected power from overhead wires with a scheren (rhombus-shaped) pantograph.

Trains on the Ouchy line were made up of 2 passenger cars and a locomotive. The locomotives were on always the south (downhill) end of the train to prevent runaway trains. There were 2 trains on the line requiring 2 locomotives and 4 passenger cars, with 1 locomotive and passenger car held as spares. The Flon-Gare line was operated by one railcar with the other held at the yard as a spare.

In addition, there were 2 flat cars and a line car used to maintain the overhead wires. The locomotives were used to propel these cars.

New life for Métro Ouchy edit

In January 2006, the line was shut down to be rebuilt into the new, fully automated, rubber-tired M2. Since the line was being rebuilt, the rack equipment was no longer needed. The trains were still in excellent condition and were sold to the French town of Villiard-de-Lans for use on their new (planned) rack railway, 'La Patache'. The trains were moved to a storage location to be overhauled for the French railway, including asbestos removal. "La Patache" was ultimately cancelled,[citation needed] and a new use had to be found for the trains. An idea that the locomotives and passenger cars could be used as snack booths in downtown Lausanne surfaced[citation needed] but even this fell through. The Swiss Transport Museum at Lucerne refused to preserve the trains.[citation needed] A final preservation effort by a group called "Save La Ficelle!" attempted to raise 600,000 Swiss francs, the amount needed to purchase the trains from Villiard-de-Lans.[citation needed] They fell several thousand francs short of the required amount. The equipment was sold to a Swiss scrap dealer and was cut up in early 2010.

New line edit

The new M2 line of the Lausanne Metro opened in 2008, incorporating the original Métro Ouchy route, along with 8 entirely new stations on a new northern extension. The new line uses 15 two-car MP89CA trains, similar to those on Line 14 of the Paris Métro. The urban tunnel sections were built using "cut and cover" construction techniques, the disruption causing much anger amongst residents and commercial premises owners along its length, with much dispute and comment over the chosen route. The construction and trackwork was completed in February 2007.

Métro Ouchy today edit

Nothing remains of the original Métro-Ouchy today. The new M2 uses part of the open cut near Montriond station formerly used by the Ouchy line. Montriond station no longer exists, it was replaced with two new stations, Délices and Grancy. M2 runs above-ground between these stations. The rest of the cutting has been decked over and developed into a park, with the yard at Ouchy being redeveloped. The new line has a short single-track section between Gare CFF and Grancy where it runs through the 1877-built tunnel used by the Métro-Ouchy, before transitioning to a newly built tunnel north of Flon.

See also edit

References edit

  • "Former Lausanne, Switzerland "La Ficelle" / métro-Ouchy / M2". Retrieved 2011-05-16.

April 13, 2024
métro, lausanne, ouchy, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, u. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help improve this article by introducing more precise citations September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article relies largely or entirely on a single source Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources Find sources Metro Lausanne Ouchy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Metro Lausanne Ouchy or Metro Ouchy LO was a rack railway which linked the lakeside at Ouchy with Lausanne railway station and the core of the city at Flon The system also included a parallel line between the railway station and Flon After closure and modernisation the line reopened in 2008 as the rubber tired Line M2 of the Lausanne Metro which included an extension to Epalinges in the north Former Lausanne Ouchy metro photographed in June 2005 Contents 1 History 1 1 Timeline 2 Network 2 1 Line characteristics 2 2 Technical details 3 Rolling stock and equipment 4 New life for Metro Ouchy 5 New line 6 Metro Ouchy today 7 See also 8 ReferencesHistory editThe line was opened in 1877 as the first funicular in Switzerland The line was known as La Ficelle The String and used water balance as the means of raising and lowering the cars In 1958 the funicular was rebuilt into a rack and pinion railway using the Strub system and intermediate stations at Jordils and Montriond were opened The line became known by the name metro although to the natives and its many regular users it was always La Ficelle Until 1954 there was no direct connection between the freight station of Sebeillon and the Flon valley and this line was used by freight trains from the main station to the storage area of the harbour in Flon The line was sold by the operating company to the town of Lausanne in 1984 and on 22 January 2006 it was closed to be rebuilt as part of the new Line M2 of the Lausanne Metro The rolling stock was sold to the French city of Villard de Lans with the intention of it being used on their new rack railway La Patache The Lausanne Metro s M2 line opened in October 2008 Timeline edit 1877 creation of the funicular Ouchy CFF Station Flon 1879 creation of the funicular CFF Station Flon parallel to the initial one Traction cables driven by water turbines in the top station 1954 1958 transformation of the line to the rack mode 1984 sold to the city of Lausanne 21 January 2006 end of the operations to allow the conversion into Metro M2 and extension to Epalinges 19 September 2008 inauguration of the M2 lineNetwork editvteChemin de fer Lausanne OuchyLegendelev M or length m in metres nbsp Port d Ouchy nbsp 0 m Ouchy M nbsp Rue du Liseron nbsp Avenue des Jordils nbsp Jordils nbsp Rue des Fontenailles nbsp Avenue de Cour nbsp Rue Voltaire nbsp Montriond passing loop stop from 11 July 1898 1898 07 11 nbsp Avenue Dapples nbsp Rue du Simplon nbsp Boulevard de Grancy nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Tunnel under Lausanne railway station 112 m nbsp Sainte Luce Gare Jura Simplon Gare centrale nbsp Tunnel de Montbenon 255 m nbsp 1485 m Flon MThe Metro Ouchy railway was made up of two parallel lines Ouchy Jordils Montriond CFF Station Flon Metro Ouchy CFF Station Flon Metro Gare Line characteristics edit Ouchy Flon length 1568 yards 1482m altitude differential 106 m slope 11 6 train every 8 minutes CFF Station Flon length 318 m altitude differential 37 m slope 12 continuous circulation without timetableTechnical details edit The system consists of two lines both single track The first line ran from Ouchy through Jordils Montriond and the SBB CFF FFS railway station Gare CFF to Flon This is known as Metro Ouchy A second line paralleled the Metro Ouchy from Gare CFF to Flon stations using its own separate to one side of a double track tunnel This service was known as Metro Gare The line between Ouchy and Flon is 1482 m in length and rises 106 m at a maximum gradient of 11 6 1 in 8 66 This journey is completed in 8 minutes The system is single track with a passing track at Montriond station to allow trains to meet See photograph The second line from the Gare CFF to Flon is just 318 m in length rises 37 m at a maximum gradient of 12 1 in 8 33 The trains were two 2 car units and offered a fast service with trains every 6 to 10 minutes The line is now referred to as Metro Ouchy or M2 Ouchy station was the southern terminal of the Ouchy line It contained 3 tracks with one platform to the east side of the easternmost track The 2 additional tracks were used as a stabling point for trains A switchback allowed trains to enter the maintenance facility located in a building to the north and sightly to the west of the station The station itself was level as it was just before the start of the stiff 11 grade that took the mainline into the city Jordils station was a relatively simple affair It consisted of a single track and a single platform to the east of the mainline Fare control was located inside a building to the east of the platform dating back to the days of the Ouchy funicular Montriond station was at the halfway point of the line and contained 2 tracks and 2 platforms The platforms and tracks were positioned rather unconventionally Northbound uphill trains stopped at a proper platform but the northbound track at the station was built into the surface of the platform to the south of the northbound platform which southbound trains stopped at The rolling stock only had doors on the east side so this arrangement was necessary to accommodate both the passing track and the station Such an arrangement also required the northbound train to arrive at the station before its southbound counterpart as it would block the southbound platform On late evenings and weekends when only 1 train was service it used the northbound platform for both directions of travel The line entered the tunnel under Lausanne just to the north of the station Gare CFF was the first underground station on the line The station had 2 tracks and 2 platforms The platform on the east side was for Lausanne Ouchy trains and was located on the steep grade of that line The platform on the west side of the station was used trains running the Metro Gare service The cars for this line only had doors on the west side and thus could not be used on the Lausanne Ouchy The Lausanne Gare platform and track were not located on the steep grade of the Ouchy line creating a level shelf next to the Ouchy track and what was essentially a 2 level station Both tracks ascended the grade inside the 1877 built tunnel to Flon The two lines were connected via a single crossover roughly at the halfway point of the tunnel Flon StationFlon was the Northern terminal for both Metro Ouchy and Metro Gare trains The underground station contained 2 tracks with 2 platforms to either side of the tracks This station facilitated transfer to the Tramway Sud Ouest de Lausanne which later became the M1 line of the Lausanne Metro Rolling stock and equipment editThe trains for the Lausanne Ouchy line consisted of 2 unpowered passenger cars and a locomotive in push pull configuration There were 3 rack locomotives numbered 121 123 designated He 2 2 rated at 622 hp 6 25 m in length and weighing 18 1 tons with a top speed of 32 km h They were built by Swiss Lokomotivfabirk Winterthur using electrical components from Maschienefabrik Oerlikon in 1958 There were five unpowered passenger cars numbered 1 5 model Bt All cars had driving controls 3 of the cars contained segregated operator s cabs used when the locomotives were in push mode at the rear of the train The passenger cars like the locomotives were built in 1958 None of the passenger cars were equipped with pinions The Lausanne Gare line was always operated by a single electric railcar built to the same specifications as the locomotives but with a length of 11 9 m and a weight of 18 5 tons The two original cars were built in 1958 and numbered 101 102 In 1975 these cars were replaced by 2 newer cars built by SIG Oerlikon numbered 111 112 built again to the same specifications as the locomotives Both locomotives and railcars collected power from overhead wires with a scheren rhombus shaped pantograph Trains on the Ouchy line were made up of 2 passenger cars and a locomotive The locomotives were on always the south downhill end of the train to prevent runaway trains There were 2 trains on the line requiring 2 locomotives and 4 passenger cars with 1 locomotive and passenger car held as spares The Flon Gare line was operated by one railcar with the other held at the yard as a spare In addition there were 2 flat cars and a line car used to maintain the overhead wires The locomotives were used to propel these cars New life for Metro Ouchy editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed September 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message In January 2006 the line was shut down to be rebuilt into the new fully automated rubber tired M2 Since the line was being rebuilt the rack equipment was no longer needed The trains were still in excellent condition and were sold to the French town of Villiard de Lans for use on their new planned rack railway La Patache The trains were moved to a storage location to be overhauled for the French railway including asbestos removal La Patache was ultimately cancelled citation needed and a new use had to be found for the trains An idea that the locomotives and passenger cars could be used as snack booths in downtown Lausanne surfaced citation needed but even this fell through The Swiss Transport Museum at Lucerne refused to preserve the trains citation needed A final preservation effort by a group called Save La Ficelle attempted to raise 600 000 Swiss francs the amount needed to purchase the trains from Villiard de Lans citation needed They fell several thousand francs short of the required amount The equipment was sold to a Swiss scrap dealer and was cut up in early 2010 New line editThe new M2 line of the Lausanne Metro opened in 2008 incorporating the original Metro Ouchy route along with 8 entirely new stations on a new northern extension The new line uses 15 two car MP89CA trains similar to those on Line 14 of the Paris Metro The urban tunnel sections were built using cut and cover construction techniques the disruption causing much anger amongst residents and commercial premises owners along its length with much dispute and comment over the chosen route The construction and trackwork was completed in February 2007 Metro Ouchy today editNothing remains of the original Metro Ouchy today The new M2 uses part of the open cut near Montriond station formerly used by the Ouchy line Montriond station no longer exists it was replaced with two new stations Delices and Grancy M2 runs above ground between these stations The rest of the cutting has been decked over and developed into a park with the yard at Ouchy being redeveloped The new line has a short single track section between Gare CFF and Grancy where it runs through the 1877 built tunnel used by the Metro Ouchy before transitioning to a newly built tunnel north of Flon See also editLausanne MetroReferences edit Former Lausanne Switzerland La Ficelle metro Ouchy M2 Retrieved 2011 05 16 Portals nbsp Transport nbsp Switzerland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Metro Lausanne Ouchy amp oldid 1188480043, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.