Spiez–Zweisimmen railway

The Spiez–Zweisimmen railway is a single-track standard-gauge line in Switzerland that is currently operated by BLS AG. It was formerly owned by the Spiez-Erlenbach-Zweisimmen-Bahn (SEZ), also called the Simmentalbahn (Simme Valley Railway). The line runs from Spiez through the Simmental to Zweisimmen. It is marketed as part of the GoldenPass Line between Lucerne and Montreux, which also includes the metre-gauge Brünig Railway and Montreux–Lenk im Simmental railway and part of the standard-gauge Lake Thun Railway.

Spiez-Zweisimmen railway
RBDe 565 push-pull train with Jumbo intermediate coach between Boltigen and Weissenbach
Overview
Owner	BLS
Line number	320
Termini	Spiez Zweisimmen
Technical
Line length	34.90 km (21.69 mi)
Number of tracks	1
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV  16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Maximum incline	2.5%
Route map km elev BLS line from Interlaken Ost Lötschberg Railway from Brig 0.00 Spiez 628 m BLS line to Thun 1.57 Spiezmoos Süd until 2011 626 m 2.45 Lattigen bei Spiez 625 m 3.49 Eifeld 626 m 4.54 Wimmis 629 m 7.16 Burgholz 644 m 9.33 Oey-Diemtigen 670 m 11.29 Erlenbach im Simmental 681 m 13.79 Ringoldingen 712 m 16.10 Därstetten 758 m 17.64 Weissenburg 782 m 20.90 Oberwil im Simmental 837 m 22.63 Enge im Simmental 814 m 25.90 Boltigen 817 m 26.99 Reidenbach 825 m 28.89 Weissenbach 843 m 31.82 Grubenwald 910 m 34.90 Zweisimmen 942 m MOB line to Lenk MOB line to Montreux Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]

The SEZ was formed on 1 January 1942 from the merger of the Spiez-Erlenbach-Bahn (SEB), which opened the line from Spiez to Erlenbach on 16 August 1897, and the Erlenbach-Zweisimmen-Bahn (EZB), which opened the line from Erlenbach to Zweisimmen on 31 October 1902.

RABe 535 Lötschberger in Zweisimmen station.

In June 1997, the SEZ merged with the Gürbetal-Bern-Schwarzenburg-Bahn (GBS), the Bern-Neuenburg-Bahn (BN) and the Berner Alpenbahn-Gesellschaft Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon (BLS) to form the BLS Lötschbergbahn, which itself merged with the Regionalverkehr Mittelland to form the BLS AG in 2006.

In Zweisimmen there is a connection to the narrow-gauge Montreux–Lenk im Simmental railway of the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (MOB), which runs from Lake Geneva to Lenk im Simmental. Local services operate hourly over the line. Regional Express services operate every two hours.[2]

500 franc share certificate of the Erlenbach-Zweisimmen-Bahn issued on 4 February 1903

References

1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz [Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. pp. 10, 21. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
2. "320: Spiez–Zweisimmen" (PDF) (in German). Official Swiss Railway Timetable. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2019.