Gletsch railway station

Gletsch
Two steam locomotive-pulled trains in a railway yard nestled in a valley
Two DFB trains at Gletsch, July 2006.
General information
LocationObergoms
Switzerland
Coordinates46°33′40.71″N 8°21′41.34″E / 46.5613083°N 8.3614833°E / 46.5613083; 8.3614833
Elevation1,757 m (5,764 ft)
Owned byFurka Steam Railway
Line(s)Furka Steam Railway
Distance12.90 km (8.02 mi) from Realp DFB
Tracks3
Train operatorsFurka Steam Railway
ConnectionsPostAuto AG buses[1]
Other information
Station code8501635
History
Opened30 June 1914 (1914-06-30)
Electrified1 July 1942 (1942-07-01)
Services
Preceding station Furka Steam Railway Following station
Oberwald
Terminus
 Oberwald to Realp Muttbach-Belvédère
towards Realp DFB
Location
Map

Gletsch railway station is a 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge 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 the base tunnel and 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 The superseded portion of the FO line was abandoned.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 (1992-07-11), the abandoned portion of FO line has been progressively reopened from Realp, as a heritage railway operated by the Furka Steam Railway (DFB). On 14 July 2000 (2000-07-14), 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At a ceremony held on 12 August 2010, the rest of the superseded ex-FO line was formally reopened, following the completion of another DFB extension, this time from Gletsch to Oberwald.[2] At an earlier ceremony on 18 June 2010, a gold spike had been driven to mark the physical reconnection.[3] Scheduled DFB services between Gletsch and Oberwald commenced on 13 August 2010.[4]

Services

As of the December 2023 timetable change, the following services stop at Gletsch:[5]

  • DFB heritage train services between Oberwald and Realp, only between June and October.[6]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Pässefahrten Zentralalpen" (PDF) (in German). Libero. 10 December 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ^ Opening Gletsch-Oberwald 2010 Archived 2011-03-09 at the Wayback Machine (in German) (accessed 2010-08-20)
  3. ^ News:Spike driven, line goes through Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine (in German) (accessed 2010-07-11)
  4. ^ Opening Gletsch-Oberwald 2010 Archived 2011-03-09 at the Wayback Machine (in German) (accessed 2010-08-20)
  5. ^ "Realp DFB - Furka - Gletsch - Oberwald" (PDF) (in German and French). öv-info.ch. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  6. ^ DFB timetable (accessed 2024-10-12)

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). Vol. 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 and French)
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