 | JUNGFRAU BAHNEN |
The Jungfrau bahnen (this is actually only one word, it's split so it will display properly on small screens), or Jungfrau railways, are located in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland known as the Jungfrau region. The area contains three major mountains, the Eiger (monster - aptly named as 64 people have died so far climbing its north face), Jungfrau (maiden), and the Mönch or (monk).
The Jungfrau bahnen are comprised of five different railways, Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB), Wengernalpbahn (WAB), Jungfrau Bahn (JB), Schynige Platte Bahn (SPB), and the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen Mürren (BLM). The BOB is a combination adhesion and rack railway, the BLM is strictly adhesion, while the other three are rack railways.
The BOB, the blue line on the map, is an adhesion and Riggenbach rack railway, metre gauge. Trains depart Interlaken Ost for Zweilütschinen where the train is split in two. The first section travels to Lauterbrunnen while the second part goes to Grindelwald. The procedure is reversed on the return and both sections are re-joined upon reaching Zweilütschinen. The rack sections are located between Zweilütschinen and Lauterbrunnen plus Zweilütschinen and Grindelwald.
The WAB, the green line on the map, is entirely Strub/Von Roll rack with a gauge of 800 millimetres (2 feet 7 1/2 inches). It shares the Lauterbrunnen station with the BOB, climbs up to Kleine Scheidegg where it shares a station with the Jungfraubahn (JB), then descends down to Grund and up once more to Grindelwald where it shares a station with the BOB.
The JB, the red line on the map, lower terminus begins at Kleine Scheidegg, elvation 6,762 feet (2,061 metres). It is a metre gauge (3 feet 3 3/8 inches) Strub rack railway. 80 percent of the railway is laid within tunnels. The topmost station, Jungfraujoch, is located at an elevation of 11,300 feet (3,444 metres) inside the mountain named the Mönch.
The SPB, the light blue line on the map, shares its lower terminus Wilderswil station with the BOB. It's entirely a Riggenbach rack railway of 800 millimetres (2 feet 7 1/2 inches) reaching the alpine botanical garden and station at the summit of a mere 6,453 feet (1,967 metres).
And lastly, we have BLM, Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen Mürren, the orange line on the map. A straight adhesion metre gauge railway with no rack sections which connects Grütschalp and Mürren isolated from the other railways. A cable car connects Grütschalp with Lauterbrunnen. The lower terminus of the cable car lies directly across the street from the Lauterbrunnen station occupied by the BOB and WAB lines.
The company Jungfrau Railway Holding AG consists of eight subsidiaries and is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. The current structure was the result of a 1994 merger between Jungfraubahn and Wengernalpbahn and is the majority shareholder in Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen Mürren (BLM). As its main activity, the Group operates excursion railways and winter sport facilities in the Jungfrau area. The customer is offered an adventure in the mountains and on the trains. The Jungfrau Railway Group has three defined business segments, Top of Europe, Winter Sports, and Mountain Experience. It has formed a strategic alliance with Berner Oberland Bahnen AG (BOB) in order to exploit opportunities.
The core business of BOB is the marketing of the two segments, Berner Oberland Bahn and Schynige Platte Bahn. The latter operates in the tourist sector. It is of fundamental importance to work closely with the Jungfrau Railway Group. The combination of the two business segments in its core business, the Schynige Platte nature experience and the synergies from the alliance with Jungfraubahn Holding AG, are the success factors of the stock corporation.
The latest project is the procurement of new rolling stock for BOB. For a total of CHF77.7 million six new three-part multiple unit trains and three control cars have been ordered. The new vehicles are to be put into operation in 2017.
Jungfraujoch, or Top of Europe, is the most profitable segment of the Group. The core of this business is the highest railway station in Europe at 11,300 feet (3,444 metres) above sea level, situated within the UNESCO World Heritage Site Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch. The trip with the Wengernalpbahn and the Jungfraubahn to the Jungfraujoch is also the strategic heart of the company. The previous attendance record was achieved in 2014 with 866,000 guests. This means that after the Jubilee year (833,000 guests) and 2013 (823,000 guests) for the third time in a row there were over 800,000 visitors to the Top of Europe.
The renewal of the WAB rolling stock is part of a recent project. In total, six three-section panoramic trains were ordered for CHF42 million. By autumn 2015, the commissioning of all panorama train on the route from Lauterbrunnen to Kleine Scheidegg will take place. Also as part of the project, new low-floor trains were ordered for the Jungfraubahn and are expected to ship in the first half of 2016. The investment amounts to around CHF32 million.
