Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway

The Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway is a railway connecting the Swiss cities of Zürich and Zug via Affoltern am Albis. It was opened by the Zürich–Zug–Lucerne Railway (German: Zürich-Zug-Luzern-Bahn) on 1 June 1864. The Zug–Lucerne line was opened by the same company on the same day. The line officially begins in Zürich Altstetten, which was still an independent municipality at that time. The line's only significant traffic consists of services on Zurich S-Bahn line S5. Long distance trains between Zürich, Zug and Lucerne now run via the Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line and the Zug–Lucerne line.

Zürich–Affoltern am Albis–Zug railway
Map showing the route
Zürich–Affoltern–Zug railway is shown in blue
Overview
OwnerSwiss Federal Railways
Line number711
LocaleSwitzerland
Termini
History
Opened1 June 1864 (1864-06-01)
Technical
Number of tracks1–2
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in) standard gauge
Electrification15 kV  16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Maximum incline1.9%
Route diagram

km
0.07
Zürich HB
(t. 3–18)
408 m
4.17
Zürich Altstetten
399 m
8.57
Urdorf
443m
9.84
Urdorf Weihermatt
461 m
10.36
Mören
467 m
12.72
Birmensdorf ZH
488 m
Landikon
482 m
16.39
Filderen
527 m
18.06
Bonstetten-Wettswil
528 m
former Chrüzacher (1864–2010)
(21 m)
22.11
Hedingen
497 m
24.84
Affoltern am Albis
494 m
28.91
Mettmenstetten
460 m
A4 Eitenberg
(97 m)
31.73
Knonau
436 m
A4 Bibersee
(82 m)
34.73
Steinhausen
424 m
35.49
Steinhausen Rigiblick
VL Sumpfweiche
("swamp" points, until 1970)
36.37
41.43
Kollermühle
419 m
41.26
Zug Chollermüli
419 m
reversing loop (1897–1990)
39.53
Zug Schutzengel
423 m
Aabachstrasse
(l/r: 99/100 m)
38.83
Zug
425 m
Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]

Route

The Zürich–Zug line connects to the line to Baden opened in 1847 at Zürich Altstetten, which had been rebuilt in preparation as a junction station.[2] Rail services on the line use the line to/from Baden to connect with Zürich Hauptbahnhof. The Zürich–Zug–Lucerne Railway opened its line from Zürich Altstetten to Zug on 1 June 1964.[3]

The line was connected at a triangular junction ("wye") at Kollermühle with the branch to Lucerne, so that until 1970 trains could run from Lucerne to Zurich without reversing. Zug station was a terminal station until the opening of the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line. With the introduction of the new line, the station was rebuilt with a station building between the diverging lines. The Zug reversing loop, which made it possible to run from both directions into the station, was also built at that time.

The trains from Zürich always ran around the Zug loop until 5 May 1990, because points were only installed with the opening of double track between Zug and Cham through the Kollermühle operations yard. Although there had been two tracks between the Kollermülle yard and the branch to the Zug loop since the opening of the line, these had been operated as two parallel single tracks.

History

The line runs through the historic Knonaueramt (now Affoltern District) and was therefore popularly known as the Knonauer-Strecke (Knonau line). It lost its importance as an approach to the Gotthard with the opening of the Thalwil–Arth-Goldau line in 1897. The direct Zürich–Luzern trains now used the route via Thalwil, so that this branch of the Zürich–Zug–Luzern Railway was reduced to a secondary line without long-distance passenger services. Most freight trains from Zurich to Rotkreuz continued to run over the triangular junction.

The line from Altstetten to Zug was electrified at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC on 15 October 1932.[4]

When it was decided to transfer shunting from the former marshalling yard on the approach to Zürich Hauptbahnhof to Zürich Mülligen (only fast goods and postal traffic) and to Limmattal marshalling yard, it was clear that this traffic would be eliminated. For this reason, on 19 November 1970, the side of the rail triangle that connected Steinhausen with Cham was closed and dismantled. Freight trains now run via the Rupperswil–Immensee line to Rotkreuz.

The track from Urdorf to Mören was doubled on 23 October 1989.[5] The Kollermühle–Zug section was doubled on 5  May 1990.[6] The introduction of the Zürich S-Bahn in May 1990 made the railway more attractive again. As a result, there was a massive increase in passengers and services were added to the timetable. Various upgrades to the stations and the track were necessary for the introduction of services to Affoltern am Albis at quarter-hourly intervals in 2007.

Railway stations

The intermediate stations at the opening were Urdorf, Birmensdorf, Bonstetten, Hedingen, Affoltern am Albis, Mettmenstetten and Knonau. They all had entrance buildings built to plans by Jakob Friedrich Wanner. These cubic stone buildings had a similar design and had window arranged in three or four bays.[7]

Steinhausen station was built by the SBB after the nationalisation of the railway. Urdorf Weihermatt station was built for the opening of the S-Bahn. No trains that run via Affoltern am Albis stop at the new stations of the Zug Stadtbahn.

Station Opening Architect Metres above
sea level
Coordinates
Zürich Altstetten 1847 (reconstructed: 1966) Max Vogt
399
47°23′29″N 8°29′20″E
Urdorf 1864 J. F. Wanner
442
47°23′27″N 8°26′05″E
Urdorf Weihermatt 1990
456
47°22′51″N 8°25′49″E
Birmensdorf 1864
488
47°21′27″N 8°26′15″E
Bonstetten-Wettswil 1864 (reconstructed: 2008) Thomas Schinkhof
528
47°19′33″N 8°28′05″E
Hedingen 1864 J. F. Wanner
497
47°17′56″N 8°26′45″E
Affoltern am Albis 1864 (reconstructed: 2001)
494
47°16′34″N 8°26′48″E
Mettmenstetten 1864 J. F. Wanner
460
47°14′39″N 8°27′27″E
Knonau 1864 J. F. Wanner
436
47°13′13″N 8°28′00″E
Steinhausen 1904
424
47°11′40″N 8°28′42″E
Steinhausen Rigiblick 2012 47°11′17″N 8°28′47″E
Zug 1864 (reconstructed: 1897, 2004) Klaus Hornberger
425
47°14′39″N 8°27′27″E

Fildern siding

During the construction of the Zurich West Bypass and the A4 motorway, a siding was temporarily set up at Fildern. The siding was equipped with a loading facility for receiving excavated material from the motorway tunnels at Aesch, Uetliberg and Islisberg in the area of the Zürich West junction. The siding was dismantled after the opening of the motorway.

Operations

S15 service between Hedingen and Affoltern am Albis

.

Today, the S5 services of the S-Bahn Zürich operate half-hourly on the whole route. In addition, S14 services run between Zurich Altstetten and Affoltern during the day.

Table with travel time from Zürich and possible public transport connections.

Travel time
in min
Station Connections
00Zürich Hauptbahnhof
02Zürich HardbrückeS3S5S6S7S12S16
06Zürich AltstettenS3S12
10Urdorf
12Urdorf Weihermattbuses
16Birmensdorf ZHbuses
20Bonstetten - Wettswilbuses
24Hedingen
29Affoltern am Albisbuses (terminus of S14 from Zürich)
32Mettmenstettenbuses
36Knonau
39Steinhausenbuses
45ZugS21 Zug Stadtbahn: S 1 S 2, buses

Notes

  1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz [Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 12, 64. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  2. Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 15.
  3. Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 17.
  4. Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 69.
  5. Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 51.
  6. Wägli & Jacobi 2010, p. 53.
  7. Stutz 1983, p. 161.

References

  • Stutz, Werner (1983). Bahnhöfe der Schweiz von den Anfängen bis zum Ersten Weltkrieg (in German). Orell Füssli. ISBN 3-280-01405-0.
  • Wägli, Hans G.; Jacobi, Sébastien (2010). Schienennetz Schweiz - Bahnprofil Schweiz CH+ [Swiss rail network] (in German) (3rd ed.). Zürich: AS Verlag. ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9.
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