Bern-Lucerne Railway Company

An original share of the Bern-Lucerne Railway

Plans for a new connection between Romandy and Central Switzerland were developed in the context of the construction of the Gotthard Railway (Gotthardbahn, GB). The projected line, running from Langnau to Lucerne through the Entlebuch, would compete with the existing lines of the Central Railway (Schweizerische Centralbahn, SCB). Resistance emerged to the route through the Entlebuch. Alfred Scheurer campaigned for a line via Sumiswald, Affoltern, Huttwil and Willisau, but was defeated in the Grand Council of Bern in 1871.

The main shareholders of the Bern-Lucerne Railway were the Canton of Bern and the Canton of Lucerne as well as some municipalities. However, many Emmental municipalities and the City of Bern showed little enthusiasm for subscribing for shares because they had already lost a significant amount of money in the failed Swiss East–West Railway (Ostwestbahn, OWB). Nevertheless, at the end of 1872, the Bern-Lucerne Railway had accumulated over CHF 14 million in the form of stocks and bonds, while construction costs were estimated at CHF 13.7 million.

The company acquired the Gümligen–Langnau section from the Bernese State Railway (Bernische Staatsbahn, BSB) for CHF 6.6 million and rolling stock from the same source for CHF 703,500. It hoped to improve the profitability of the branch line to Langnau by extending it to Lucerne. The construction costs of the Langnau–Lucerne line, built between 1873 and 1875, amounted to CHF 17,045,166. The company asked the canton of Bern to advance funds for the completion of the construction on 23 July 1875. The governing council exceeded its financial powers and handed over a sum that went down in Bernese history as the Vorschussmillion ("million advanced").

Steam locomotive B3T no. 424 of the Jura–Simplon Railways, put into operation by the Bern-Lucerne Railway as no. 54 in 1875

Railway operations were started on 1 August 1875 by an operating company called the Jura–Bern–Luzern that had been established by the BLB and the Chemins de fer du Jura bernois (Bernese Jura Railway). Soon, the Bern-Lucerne Railway could no longer pay the interest on its bonds and was declared bankrupt on 26/27 February 1876. The canton of Lucerne did not take part in the auction of the company's assets on 15 January 1877, so the canton of Berne bid against a consortium in which involved the Central Railway. The representatives of Bern were finally awarded the assets for CHF 8,475,000. The canton of Bern, as the main creditor, bought the railway for almost the same price that it had sold the Gümligen–Langnau section for. Around CHF 14.5 million was written off in bankruptcy, including the total share capital of CHF 10.6 million. Suppliers of goods and services received 70 percent of the face value of their claims.

The Bern-Lucerne Railway was not alone in having to fight against rising prices. Due to massive cost overruns in the construction of the Gotthard Railway in 1877, it was decided to abandon temporally the construction of some of its access lines—including the Lucerne–Immensee section. On the other hand, the Canton of Bern, which attached great importance to the direct connection of the Bern-Lucerne line to the Gotthard Railway, resisted. The Central Railway and the Northeastern Railway (Schweizerische Nordostbahn, NOB) undertook to grant the Bern-Lucerne Railway favourable conditions for its connection at Lucerne and an unobstructed connection via the Lucerne–Rotkreuz–Immensee route to the Gotthard Railway.

The entire share capital of the Bern-Lucerne Railway was lost when it went bankrupt in 1876, although a considerable amount of rent was paid to the canton of Bern from 1882 on.

The financial problems of the canton of Berne, including the "million advanced", had not been settled. It had incurred railway debts of more than CHF 40 million. The subsequent approval of the "million advanced" was vigorously rejected in a referendum on 26 August 1877. The government councilors accepted the consequences from this rebuff and resigned. In the elections for the Great Council in the spring of 1878, the Liberals suffered a severe defeat as a result of their financial policies.

The operation of the railway was still carried out by the Jura–Bern–Lucerne operating group under the direction of the Jura bernois, initially on behalf of the canton of Bern and from 1 July 1882 under lease. Because the Bern–Lucerne line became part of its Delle–Biel/Bienne–Bern–Lucerne through line, the Jura bernois changed its name to the Jura–Bern–Luzern (Lucerne) on 1 July 1884. The operating results of this company were always in positive territory, even in difficult times, and allowed the canton of Bern to demand a respectable rent for the Bern-Lucerne line. The main source of income was freight, although passenger transport was also important.

As part of the merger of the Jura-Bern-Lucerne Railway with the Western Switzerland–Simplon Company (Suisse-Occidentale–Simplon), the Berne-Lucerne Railway, which still belonged to the canton of Bern, became part of the newly established Jura–Simplon Railways (Jura-Simplon-Bahn, JS) on 1 January 1890. The canton of Bern received a sizeable share of the newly created company in return for the Bern-Lucerne Railway and its share in the Jura-Bern-Lucerne Railway. The people of Bern were able to secure a decisive influence on the Jura-Simplon Railways.

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