{{Short description|Mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais}} {{Infobox rail line |box_width = |native_name = Gornergrat Bahn (GGB) |color = {{rcr|Gornergrat Railway}} |logo = |logo_width = |image = Gornergrat railway.JPG |image_width = 300px |caption = A train approaching the summit station |type = |system = |status = |locale = |start = |end = |stations = |routes = |daily_ridership = |open = |close = |owner = BVZ Holding |operator = |character = |depot = |stock = |linelength = {{convert|9.339|km|mi|3|abbr=on}} |tracklength = |tracks = Single track<br>{{convert|3.79|km|mi|3|abbr=on}} Double track |gauge = {{RailGauge|1000mm|allk=on}}<ref name="buckley"/><ref name="janes2001">Harris, Ken (Ed.) (2001). ''Jane's World Railways 2001–2002'' (43rd edition), p. 352. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK): Jane's Information Group. {{ISBN|978-0-7106-2335-5}}.</ref> |minradius = |electrification = 725 V, 50 Hz, 3-phase,<ref name="buckley">Buckley, Richard (2000). ''Tramways and Light Railways of Switzerland and Austria'' (2nd edition), p. 86. Gloucester, UK: Light Rail Transit Association. {{ISBN|0-948106-27-1}}.</ref><ref name="janes2001"/><br>2 Overhead lines<ref name="buckley"/> |maxincline = |racksystem = Abt<ref name="buckley"/><ref name="janes2001"/> |speed = |elevation = {{convert|3089|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=5}} |map = {{Gornergrat Railway}} |map_state = }} thumb|Aerial panorama of the Gornergrat The '''Gornergrat Railway''' ({{langx|de|Gornergrat Bahn}}; GGB) is a mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It links the resort village of Zermatt, situated at {{convert|1604|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=4}} above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gornergrat railway station is situated at an altitude of {{convert|3089|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=5}}, which makes the Gornergrat Railway the second highest railway in Europe after the Jungfrau, and the highest open-air railway of the continent. The line opened in 1898, and was the first electric rack railway to be built in Switzerland.<ref name="buckley"/><ref name="janes2001"/><ref name=sar>{{cite book | title = Switzerland's Amazing Railways | year = 1958 | publisher = Thomas Nelson and Sons | location = London | first = Cecil J. | last = Allen | pages = 130–132}}</ref> The Gornergrat is a starting point for many hikes, as it lies surrounded by 29 peaks rising above {{convert|4000|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=5}} in the Alps and several glaciers, including the Gorner Glacier (which is billed as the second longest glacier in the Alps). At the end of the line on Gornergrat, the Matterhorn is visible on a clear day. It is also a popular skiing area.<ref name=sar/>
The Gornergrat Railway Ltd (''Gornergrat Bahn AG'') is a wholly owned subsidiary of ''BVZ Holdings AG'', who are also the majority owners of the '' Matterhorn Gotthard Verkehrs AG'', the company that operates the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB), with which the GGB connects in Zermatt.<ref name=sar/><ref name=gfbvzh>{{cite web | url = https://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?rpc=66&symbol=BVZN.S | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140714113850/http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/companyProfile?rpc=66&symbol=BVZN.S | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2014-07-14 | title = BVZ Holding AG (BVZN.S) | publisher = Reuters | accessdate = 2014-06-12}}</ref>
==History== Work on the railway started in 1896, five years after the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn had linked Zermatt to Visp and the Rhone Valley. The line opened on August 20, 1898, and was electrified from the start. Initially it operated only in summer, but year-round operation was extended to the lower section of the line in 1929, and to the summit in 1941.<ref name=sar/><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.zermatt.ch/en/Media/Attractions/Gornergrat-Bahn-building | title = Gornergrat Bahn building | work = www.zermatt.ch | publisher = Zermatt Tourism | accessdate = 2014-06-02}}</ref> The Gornegrat Railway was the highest railway in Europe until the opening of the Jungfrau Railway in 1912.
The upper terminal was remodelled in 2004.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}
==Operation== ===Route=== There are several passenger stops on the line:<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.gornergratbahn.ch/de/fahrplan_bahn_ticket/fahrplan/apr_jun14/ztt_gg/Pages/default.aspx | title = Fahrplan Zermatt - Gornergrat (28.04.2014 - 06.06.2014) | language = German |trans-title=Timetable Zermatt - Gornergrat (28.04.2014 - 06.06.2014) | publisher = Gornergratbahn | accessdate = 2014-05-30 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140605051111/http://www.gornergratbahn.ch/de/fahrplan_bahn_ticket/fahrplan/apr_jun14/ztt_gg/Pages/default.aspx | archivedate = 2014-06-05 }}</ref><ref name=btdaten>{{cite web | url = http://www.gornergratbahn.ch/de/footer/ueber_gornergrat_bahn/betriebsdaten/Pages/default.aspx | title = Betriebsdaten | language = German |trans-title=Operating data | publisher = Gornergratbahn | accessdate = 2014-05-30 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20140602201112/http://www.gornergratbahn.ch/de/footer/ueber_gornergrat_bahn/betriebsdaten/Pages/default.aspx | archivedate = 2014-06-02 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable sortable" !Station !Distance !Height (AMSL) !Notes |- | Zermatt GGB | <div align=center>0.00</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|1605|m|abbr=on}}</div> | Link to Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn and the Zermatt–Sunnegga funicular |- | Findelbach | <div align=center>{{convert|1.75|km|abbr=on}}</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|1770|m|abbr=on}}</div> | <!-- note space --> |- | Riffelalp | <div align=center>{{convert|4.03|km|abbr=on}}</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|2211|m|abbr=on}}</div> | Link to the Riffelalp tram, providing connection to Riffelalp Resort |- | Riffelberg | <div align=center>{{convert|6.47|km|abbr=on}}</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|2582|m|abbr=on}}</div> | With a three-star hotel |- | Rotenboden | <div align=center>{{convert|7.91|km|abbr=on}}</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|2815|m|abbr=on}}</div> | <!-- note space --> |- | Gornergrat | <div align=center>{{convert|9.34|km|abbr=on}}</div> | <div align=center>{{convert|3089|m|abbr=on}}</div> | With a three-star hotel and observatory |}
There are also freight-only stations at Ladegleis Findelbach, which is on a short branch from the passenger station at Findelbach, and at Riffelboden, which is situated between Riffelalp and Riffelberg passenger stations.<ref name=btdaten/>
===Infrastructure=== The line is {{convert|9339|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=5}} in length, including {{convert|3790|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=5}} of double track, and traverses an altitude difference of {{convert|1469|m|ft|abbr=on|sigfig=4}}. It is built to metre gauge ({{RailGauge|1000mm|first=imp|disp=1}}) and uses the Abt rack system throughout. It is one of four lines in the world using three-phase electric power, requiring two overhead conductors, with the track forming the third conductor.<ref name="buckley"/><ref name="janes2001"/> There is a non-powered connection with the metre gauge Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn at Zermatt to allow transfer of freight and delivery of rolling stock.
=== Rolling stock === The line uses the following rolling stock:<ref name=btdaten/>
{| class="wikitable sortable" !Image !Numbers !Notation !Year !Notes |- |180px |3001–3003 |He 2/2 |1898 |Locomotives. Unit 3002 is displayed on a roundabout at Stalden, while 3003 is displayed at the Gornergrat railway station with gold paint as of September 2023. |- | |3015 |Dhe 2/4 | |Baggage car, rebuilt from sister car to 3019-3022 |- |180px |3017 |Xhe 2/4 | |Works car, rebuilt from sister car to 3019-3022. Carries re-railing equipment and equipment to apply anti-freeze to the overhead wires. |- |180px |3019-3022 |Bhe 2/4 |1947-61 |Single unit railcars, remaining four cars of a once much larger class (3011-3022). Two other members of this class have been rebuilt (3015/3017), the remainder have been scrapped. |- |180px |3041-3044 |Bhe 4/8 |1965-75 |Twin unit railcars |- |180px |3051-3054 |Bhe 4/8 |1993 |Twin unit railcars |- |180px |3061-3062 |Bhe 4/4 |1981 |Multi-purpose railcars, which can operate in passenger service with matching driving trailers Bt 3071-3072, or in freight/works service. |- |180px |3081-3084 |Bhe 4/6 |2006 |Low floor two-section articulated railcars, built by Stadler Rail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.stadlerrail.com/media/uploads/factsheets/ZB_GGB_0107_II_d.pdf |title=Zahnrad - Doppeltriebwagen Bhe 4/6 in Niederflurbauweise für die Gornergrat Bahn (GGB) |language=German |trans-title=Double low floor rack railcar Bhe 4/6 for the Gornergrat Bahn (GGB) |publisher=Stadler Rail |accessdate=2014-06-13 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731191947/http://www.stadlerrail.com/media/uploads/factsheets/ZB_GGB_0107_II_d.pdf |archivedate=2013-07-31 }}</ref> |- |180px |3091-3095 |Bhe 4/6 |2022 |Low floor two-section articulated railcars, built by Stadler Rail, designed by Pininfarina<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gornergrat.ch/en/pages/polaris |title=Polaris Trains }}</ref> |- |}
The railway typically operates two-railcar trains, and can carry approximately 2,500 people per hour from Zermatt to the mountain summit.<ref name=btdaten/>
==Gallery== <gallery widths=150> File:Riffelberg.jpg|Above Riffelberg File:Gornergrat03.jpg|Summit station; the train has two pantographs for the three-phase power-supply File:Riffelalp.jpg|Riffelalp intermediate station. In the left, beside station building, the track of the ''Riffelalptram'' File:2012-08-17 11-27-08 Switzerland Canton du Valais Blatten.JPG|Gornergrat station building File:Above_Rotenboden.JPG|Above Rotenboden File:Лето-2009 954.jpg|Switch point
File:Map Gornergratbahn.png|Map of the railway </gallery>
==See also== * List of mountain railways in Switzerland
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Gornergratbahn}} * [https://www.gornergratbahn.ch/en/summer/ Gornergrat Bahn website] (English version)
{{coord|46|01|25|N|7|44|59|E|region:CH-VS_type:landmark|display=title}}
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Category:Railway lines in Switzerland Category:Metre-gauge railways in Switzerland Category:Mountain railways Category:Railway companies of Switzerland Category:Railway lines opened in 1898 Category:Railways using three-phase power Category:Rack railways in Switzerland Category:Electric railways in Switzerland Category:Transport in Zermatt Category:1898 establishments in Switzerland