Lötschberg railway

The Lötschberg line is a railway in Switzerland, connecting Spiez in the canton of Bern with Brig in the canton of Valais. It crosses the Bernese Alps, from the Bernese Oberland to Upper Valais, through the Lötschberg Tunnel in the middle of the line. Together with the Simplon Tunnel south of Brig, it constitutes one of the major railways through the Alps and an important north-south axis in Europe. The Lötschberg axis is backed by the lower and longer Lötschberg Base Tunnel, part of the New Railway Links through the Alps project.

This article is about the railway line from Spiez to Brig. For the railway that built it, see Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon railway. For the railway company that currently owns it, see BLS AG.
Lötschberg railway line
Luogelkin viaduct near Hohtenn
Overview
Statusrunning daily
OwnerBLS AG
LocaleBern and Valais
Termini
Stations12
Service
TypeCommuter and tourist railway
Systemnationally integrated
Services1
Operator(s)BLS
History
Opened1913
Technical
Line length74 km (46 mi)
Number of tracks2
Rack systemNone
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Minimum radius300 m (980 ft)
Electrification15 kV/16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Highest elevation1,240 m (4,068 ft)
Maximum incline2.7%
Route map
from Bern and from Zweisimmen
9.8
0.0
 Spiez
628 m asl
 to Interlaken
Hondrich tunnel I / II
(1601 / 1709 m)
2.6
5.2
 Heustrich-Emdtal
(678 m asl)
6.8
 Niesenbahn / Mülenen
692 m asl
8.3
 Reichenbach im Kandertal
706 m asl
10.4
 Wengi-Ey junction
11.3
 Wengi
13.5
 Frutigen
779 m asl
 Engstlige tunnel
(~2.600 m)
 Widi tunnel
(~220 m)
Tellenfeld control office
 north portal of Base Tunnel
(34,577 m)
 Kander viaduct I and II
(265 m)
17.4
 Kandergrund
 Bunderbach spiral tunnel
(1,655 m)
 Kehrtunnel
(72 m)
 Fürten I / II
(697/510 m)
 Ronenwald
(76 m)
 Ronenwald I
(59 m)
 Ronenwald II
(60 m)
 Feschfluh
(98 m)
 Felsenburg
(68 m)
 Felsenburg III
(112 m)
 Felsenburg I
(19 m)
22.3
 Blausee-Mitholz
(partly closed)
974 m asl
 Felsenburg II
(29 m)
27.11
 Felsburg crossing loop
(closed)
 Rotbach
(50 m)
 Hemligen
(106 m)
 Mitholz
 Riedschuk
(1,536 m)
Sarengraben
(68 m)
31.6
 Kandersteg
1,176 m asl
 Car ferry terminal
Kandersteg International Scout Centre
Car ferry storage sidings
 Lötschberg Tunnel
(14,612 m)
48.4
 Goppenstein
1,217 m asl
Car ferry terminal
 Lonza
(right:87 m, centre: 84 m)
 Rotlaui
(286 m)
Mittalgraben I
(459 m)
 Luegie
(493 m)
 Hohegg
(118 m)
 Marchgraben
(207 m)
 Mittalgraben tunnel II
(1,600 m)
 Hohtenn
(1,346 m)
54.2
 Hohtenn
1,078 m asl
 Luegelkinn
(116 m)
 Schluchi
(107 m)
 Lidenplatten
(217 m)
 Ijolibach
(92 m)
 Blasboden
(377 m)
 Bietschtal I
(589 m)
 Bietschtal
(136 m)
 Bietschtal II
(952 m)
 Sevistein III
(409 m)
 Mahnkinn
(385 m)
 Doren
(172 m)
61.3
 Ausserberg
932 m asl
 Gründen
(148 m)
 Viktoria
(28 m)
 Baltschieder
(101 m)
 Eggerberg
(792 m)
64.9
 Eggerberg
853 m asl
 Stadel
(133 m)
 Finnengraben
69 m
67.3
 Lalden
801 m asl
 Bad
(80 m)
 Mundbach
(88 m)
 Rhone bridge
(83 m)
Simplon Railway from Lötschberg
Base Tunnel and Lausanne
MGB to Zermatt
73.8
 Brig
678 m asl
MGB to Disentis
 Simplon Tunnel
(19,803m)
 Italian–Swiss border
to Domodossola and Milan

The line is famous for its double loop of spiral tunnels in the Kander Valley on its northern approach to the Lötschberg Tunnel and the climb out of the Rhone Valley along a steep mountainside through numerous tunnels and viaducts on the southern approach. Its culminating point is 1,240 metres (4,070 ft) above sea level, making it the highest adhesion and standard gauge railway in Switzerland.

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