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1x Ltschberg alpine crossing cab ride from Basel to Brig (through Switzerland) [01. 2019] - lorirocks777

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Rating: 4.0; Vote: 1

To watch this video with the rear view camera: Welcome to another cab ride, this time travelling over one of the 2 standarg gauge alpine railway crossings in Switzerland, namely the Ltschberg. For those who aren't familiar with Swiss geography, the north is generally hilly with flat parts here and there, whereas the south lies in the middle of the alps, which span from Austria to the east right across to France in the southwest. The first alpine crossing was achieved through the Gotthardbahn in 1882, which runs from central Switzerland to the southern most tip in Ticino. In 1906, the BLS (Bern - Ltschberg - Simplon) was founded, who pioneered the alpine crossing over the Ltschberg pass, where we will be travelling today. In 2007, a base tunnel was opened, avoiding the steep ramps of the mountain pass and cutting time off the overall journey, however only one third is double tracked, reducing its capacity. This has led to most northbound freight trains taking the mountain route, while southbound trains tend to be routed through the tunnel, hence most cab ride videos on youtube showing the mountain route being northbound. We start our trip in Basel (1: 45, where most freight on the north - south axis enters Switzerland (other points include Singen, St Margarethen, Buchs and very rarely Konstanz. From Olten (22: 30, we take the new route to Rothrist, followed by the old route to Ostermundigen (1: 14: 00. From there we head to Frutigen (1: 53: 30, where the base tunnel starts, and take the mountain route to Brig. Note that Goppenstein is the highest railway station on the Swiss main network. Most of the line between Frutigen and Brig features 27 gradients, with speeds limited to 75km/h due to the curves. With heavier trains like ours, the electric regenerative brakes are not sufficient to keep the train from accelerating on the downward slopes (they may be sufficient, however electric braking is regulated in order to keep buffer pressure at safe levels and avoid a derailment. Train drivers therefore need to use the train brakes, reducing the speed for long enough so that the air brakes have at least 60 seconds to recover and reload. Some of you may be wondering why the train keeps changing tracks on the Ltschberg Pass. We are travelling with a train that is taller than the typcial Swiss structure gauge. Trains like this are referred to as SIM trains (Simplon Intermodal. The Ltschberg pass was adjusted to accommodate these, however, as you could imagine, it involved a lot of work (enlarging tunnels, relocating infrastructure) so not all parts of the pass were adjusted. This is why SIM trains change tracks, to avoid sections of track without enough clearance. Train drivers are informed of these sections with signs and purple signals, which indicate halt for SIM trains. SIM trains also have to be registered on the cab radio during entry, in our case on the viaduct in Frutigen. I will be working on the light flaring at tunnel ends, hopefully a set EV value should suffice. I also want to apologise for the glare around Thun and Spiez. It was just the time of day mixed with the condition of the windshield. I hope to get a better capture of this stretch sometime in the future - although it won't be easy getting weather like this again!
Date: 2022-06-04

← 2x Ltschberg alpine crossing cab ride from Basel to Brig (through Switzerland) [01. 2019] - lorirocks777

Cab ride Liestal - Cornaux at sunset in an ES 64 U2 Taurus - lorirocks777 →

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Comments and reviews: 10

Steeltrap
I doubt there are too many railways where the greatest danger of the driver being distracted is due to how spectacular the view out the windows is, but Switzerland seems to be one place where that's true. The trip over the mountain is of course really fantastic. Reminds me in some respects of the Tirano to St Moritz which is also brilliant.
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Kali
What an amazing and exhilarating journey. Base tunnels are boring, excuse the pun. The atmosphere dramatically changed from Spiez. The quaint car carriers are unique, never seen anywhere else. Thank you for the wonderful cab ride and the wealth of information. I have a request - is it feasible to show the temperature at each station? Thanks.
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Hyperion
Great journey
You can see a lot of anti noise panels to protect the houses adjacent to the train tracks which are always in perfect condition. These train videos from Switzerland never boring, like others from other countries. And cargo trains are the ones I like the most. It influences, of course, the landscape, which is spectacular
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AndreiTupolev
I don't think I've caught this one before. Outstanding. A lovely frosty morning, turning to fabulous sun and snow over the mountains. The descent into Brig is quite spectacular from this direction; it looks like you should have a braking parachute.
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Margreet
Some 30 odd years ago a friend of mine (Rotterdam, the Netherlands) booked a room in the station/hotel of Hohtenn to have a first row seat for trainspotting. For me, it was Kandersteg, the favorite holiday destination of our family. Thank you so much!
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frances
I really like the map at the beginning of this video. On these train rides, I look for maps and quite frequently the maps are held hostage by travel companies and it's impossible to locate even the towns on them, without having to sign up for a trip.
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Paul-Andr
Amazing engineering and equally impressive Rail Traffic Control, aka Dispatching. I am amazed however at the absence of guard rails in certain critical sectors. Thank you for posting. Ontario, Canada. 2019/12/10.
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Carole
Loved this video! Never get tired of looking at the mountains! I'd like to learn more about how the tunnels were built in those days with none of the modern equipment we have now! On to the next one! Thanks so much!
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EpicThe112
Just have a question does your train have ERTMS ETCS level 2 installed because there's the Lotschberg Base Tunnel 2007? if it has then use the base tunnel instead of Old Tunnel
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HopStepJunk
I understand SIM very well.
Thank you for the commentary.
By the way, it's the name of the wonderful music of the opening, can you tell me?
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