Bill's Excellent Swiss Train & Tram Adventure

[bill937ca]

The final train is the Red Arrow. The Red Arrow is a group of similar but different rail cars and trains built in the 1930s.  The were a mixture of single units and double units, either diesel or electrically powered.  The unit in the photos is the Churchill Arrow which was once used by Winston Churchill to deliver a famous speech on the future of Europe in 1946.  It is now used as a special event train.  Here it is running as a Fondue train.  Zurich has Fondue trams @ 125 Swiss Francs per passenger which sell out for the season within days.  I spotted this train just after I had dinner the final evening.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrow_(Swiss_train)

Edited yesterday at 04:34 PM by bill937ca

[kuro68000]

I wonder if it's like buying a car and they charge €500 extra for the nice pearlescent paint.

[bill937ca]

8 hours ago, kuro68000 said:

I wonder if it's like buying a car and they charge €500 extra for the nice pearlescent paint.

Everything is pricey in Switzerland.  I have to buy breakfast at the hotel. My breakfast the first day before I was in the hotel was $36 Canadian for two eggs, bacon, bread and coffee. Wow! But, OH what trams and trains.

Edited yesterday at 06:01 PM by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

So the reason I went to Switzerland was to photograph four types of high floor trams due to be replaced in the near future.

 

These are Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 built in three series between 1976 and 1992, the Basel BLT Be 4/6  and 4/8 201-266 built since 1978, the Forchbahn Be 8/8 built from 1976 to 1986  in three series and the Basel BVB Be 4/4 built in 1986 and described by The Development of the Modern Tram by Brian Patton as "probably the last conventional bogie trams to be placed in service in Western Europe."  There also are Swiss Standard trailers in Basel that are the last Swiss Standard trams anywhere in the world.

 

Whereas the railways are standard gauge, all Swiss tram systems are meter gauge (1000mm or 39.37 inches).

 

The Swiss FO (foreign office)  has been sending retired Swiss trams to the Ukraine and in the recent past to Sofia, Bulgaria and Belgrade, Serbia.

 

Photos

1. Zurich VBZ Tram 2000 Sedan and Pony motorized trailer at Stauffcher, May 2025.

2. Basel BLT Schindler Be 4/8 (and a 4/6 set out of sight) at Basel SBB Centralbahnplatz, May 2025

3. Forchbahn Be 8/8 train at Forch, May 2025.

4. Basel BVB Be 4/4 towing a Swiss Standard trailer in the landscaped loop at Birsfelden Hard, May 2025.

 

I told I took 700 photos in just 5 days.

 

 

Edited 20 hours ago by bill937ca

[bill937ca]

Trams have the right of way in Switzerland primary because of their braking distance.  There is direct democracy at all three levels in Switzerland and since 1971.  Zurich trams have had priority at all times.  Planners prefer to separate modes so trams and trolleybuses generally have their own lane.

 

Switzerland is very much a rules based society. Over half the adult population are active in military reserves.  Tram stops have crosswalks at both ends and all minor traffic charges are criminal.  Speeding 5mph over the 50kpm limit results in a big fine and can result in two years jail time. For dodging a public transport fare a wide range of doors close: applying for a rental lease, citizenship applications, credit card, mobile phone and mortgage applications all typically grind to a halt. Seems to be very much like bankruptcy.  I sense the impact of direct democracy here.

 

Tram lines run every 7.5 minutes, every 10 minutes evenings until 11pm and every 10 minutes Sundays.  In many places lines are double up and frequencies are much less.

 

Zurich's tram system is a marvel of investment and engineering.  There is one four track section, and three track sections at Bellevue, Stockerstrasse and Bahnhof Enge.  Several tram hubs free of auto traffic including Bellevue with 7 tram lines, Paradeplatz with 7 or 8 tram lines depending on the time and Bahnhof Enge with 2 loops and three loading positions. All of these have pavilions for waiting passengers.

 

Bahnhof Enge has a banana curve on the tram 7 platform (see photo).  Bellevue used to have a two banana curves but these were straightened out when the junction was rebuilt in 2015 "for better mobility".  Tram assignments have are determined by the length of some tram stops.  The shortest can only accommodate trams up to 36 meters.  The longest trams are 43 or 43.5 meters.  Something else to research and photograph!

 

The old Tram 2000s apart from one small group will be gone by December 2025 when there also will be a major routing change.

 

Photos

1. Gauntlet track on Bahnhofstrasse leading to the four track section between Bahnhofplatz and Bahnhofquai.

2. Four track section between Bahnhofplatz and Bahnhofquai.

3. Entry to Bellevue tram hub. The pavilion has tracks on all three sides and there is a loop around the complex.  Starting point for many special tram operations.

4. Paradeplatz in the heart of the city.

5. Bahnhof Enge

Edited 4 hours ago by bill937ca

[tridentalx]

Great photos and additional information. Love riding the Swiss Railway network (a bit closer to the UK than Japan is). Have done the 3 main tourist trains and quite a lot of the main network but barely any of the branch lines. Hoping for another visit sometime this year.