Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren

The Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren (BLM) is a mountain railway in the Bernese Oberland area of Switzerland, which connects the villages of Lauterbrunnen and Mürren.

Operations

The enterprise is made up of two differently laid out sections, which are connected at Grütschalp station. From Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp the line consisted of a 1.4 km (0.9 mi) long funicular with maximum gradient of 60%, now replaced with a new aerial cableway. From Grütschalp to Mürren the line is continued as a 4.2 km (2.6 mi) long narrow gauge electric railway with a maximum upward gradient of 5% and using adhesion traction (ie. not rack and pinion). The line is single-track, with a passing loop at Winteregg station. Both the funicular and electric railway had a track gauge of , enabling the use of the funicular to transfer rolling stock to and from the electric railway. A travelling crane in the Grütschalp station is used to transfer goods between the two sections - well used since road access to Mürren is very difficult. With the replacement of the funicular, the aerial cable car has also taken over the task of transporting goods. The single cable car carries up to 100 passengers in a journey time of 4 minutes, a significant improvement over the 11 minute funicular journey time. The special crane has been conserved.

The BLM station at Lauterbrunnen is directly opposite the station of the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) to Interlaken, and the Wengernalpbahn (WAB) to Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald.

History

• 1887 Concession obtained for the construction of the railways.
• 1889 The company is formed and construction starts.
• 1891 Railway opens. The planned opening on 1 June is delayed until 14 August due to a derailment.
• 1902 The funicular railway is converted from water gravity power to electric power .
• 1910 First winter operations started.
• 1912 Replacement of the locomotives on the Mürren to Grütschalp section by motor coaches (type BDe 2/4).
• 1949 New vehicles and rope are installed on the Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp section.
• 1965 The new station at Mürren is opened.
• 1994 The freight loading operations at Grütschalp are rebuilt.
• 2006 Last operation of the funicular railway from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp is on 23 April and the first operation of the replacement cablecar was on 16 December.

References

• Buckley, R.J. (1984). Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria. Light Rail Transit Association. ISBN 0900433965..

External links

• Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren in English. Part of a site about the Swiss narrow gauge railways.