Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway

The Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil line is a railway line in the Swiss canton of Zurich. It is also known as the Glatthalbahn, Glatttalbahn or Glattalbahn (Gl-TB), although the latter name is now more commonly used to refer to the Stadtbahn Glattal, a nearby light rail system.

Wallisellen–Uster–Rapperswil railway
Overview
Native nameGlatthalbahn
Service
Route number740
Technical
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
ElectrificationOverhead line (15 kV 16.7 Hz AC)
Maximum incline1.7 %
Route map
km
elev
SBB line from Zürich HB via Oerlikon
93.2
 Wallisellen
92.8
SBB to Winterthur
Glatttal Viaduct of the Zürichberg line
91.7
SBB line from Zürich HB via Stettbach
90.4
 Dübendorf
90.5
to Dübendorf Air Base (until 2005)
87.1
 Schwerzenbach
84.5
 Nänikon-Greifensee
81.3
 Uster
77.1
 Aathal
Aathal
265 m
74.5
SBB from Effretikon
74.5
 Wetzikon
74.5
SBB to Hinwil
68.6
Former UeBB from Hinwil
68.6
 Bubikon
68.6
Siding to Wolfhausen (former UeBB)
66.4
SBB line from Winterthur
65.9
 Rüti ZH
Täusi
157 m
60.9
 Jona
59.4
from Ziegelbrücke
59.4
SBB Zurich via Meilen
59.3
 Rapperswil
to Pfäffikon
Source: Swiss railway atlas[1]
The preserved roundhouse at Uster
A train on the southern end of the line, near Jona

The line runs from Wallisellen, where it diverges from the Zurich to Winterthur line, to Uster and Rapperswil. A second link from Zurich, via the Zürichberg Tunnel, joins the line just before Dübendorf, and both routes are used by through trains from Zurich. The line also has junctions with the Effretikon to Hinwil line, at Wetzikon, and the Tösstalbahn, at Rüti. At Rapperswil, it connects with the Lake Zurich right bank line, the Rapperswil to Ziegelbrücke line, and the Südostbahn over the Seedamm.[2]

The name Glattalbahn is German for Glattal railway, or Glatt valley railway. The river Glatt is a tributary of the river Rhine flowing from Greifensee lake to Glattfelden in Switzerland.

History

The original section of the railway line from Wallisellen to Uster was opened in 1856 by the Glatttalbahn company. That company was taken over by the Vereinigte Schweizerbahnen (VSB) one year later in 1857, and that company extended the line to Rapperswil. The VSB was in turn taken over by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) in 1902. The original roundhouse at Uster railway station is preserved.

At Bubikon, the Wallisellen to Rapperswil line was crossed by the former Uerikon to Bauma railway (UeBB). The section of this line from Bubikon in the direction of Bauma was closed in 1948 and little now remains. The line towards Uerikon was largely closed at the same time, but a short stretch is still in use as a siding.[2]

Operation

Today the line carries trains of the Zurich S-Bahn and freight traffic.

The line is double track from Wallisellen to Uster, and is then single track with shorter stretches of double track between Aathal and Wetzikon, Bubikon and Rüti, and Jona and Rapperswil.[2]

Whilst no single S-Bahn line traverses the full length of the line from Wallisellen to Rapperswil, no fewer than six lines traverse some part of the line, providing a high frequency of service to many stations.[3]

The following lines operate:[3]

See also

References
  1. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz [Swiss railway atlas]. Schweers + Wall. 2012. p. 12, 13, 65. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  2. Eisenbahnatlas Schweiz. Verlag Schweers + Wall GmbH. 2012. pp. 12–13, 64–65. ISBN 978-3-89494-130-7.
  3. "S-Bahn trains, buses and boats" (PDF). ZVV. Retrieved 2011-12-02.


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