View source for Chur–Rorschach railway line

{{Short description|Railway line in Switzerland}}
{{Infobox rail line
 | box_width   =
 | name        = Chur–Rorschach 
 | native_name = Rheintallinie 
 | native_name_lang = de
 | image       = SBB Re 420 Buchs SG - Sevelen mit EuroNight Zürichsee.jpg
 | image_width = 
 | caption     = EuroNight ''Zürichsee'' between Buchs and Sevelen<br />with Alpstein and the Kreuzberges behind
 | type        = 
 | system      = 
 | locale      = Switzerland
 | start       = [[Rorschach railway station|Rorschach]]
 | end         = [[Chur railway station|Chur]]
 | linenumber  = 880
 | linelength_km  = 90.75
 | tracklength = 
 | tracks      =  
 | gauge       = {{RailGauge|sg|lk=on}}
 | minradius   = 
 | electrification = [[15 kV AC railway electrification|15 kV/16.7 Hz AC]] overhead catenary
 | maxincline  = 2.0%
 | speed_km/h  = 130
 | speed_mph   = 81
 | elevation   = 
 | map_state   = collapsed
 | map         = {{Chur–Rorschach railway}}
}}
The '''Chur–Rorschach railway line''', also called the '''Rhine Valley line''' ({{langx|de|Rheintallinie}}), is a standard gauge railway line in Switzerland. It belongs to the [[Swiss Federal Railways]] (SBB) and is located in the cantons of [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]] and [[Canton of Grisons|the Grisons]].

== History==
=== 19th century===
[[File:ETH-BIB-Heerbrugg m. Meldegg v. S. aus 300 m-Inlandflüge-LBS MH01-003087.tif|thumb|left|Photograph from 1923 with station (right) and Heerbrugg palace (left)]]
[[File:150 Jahre Rheintallinie - E 33 Heerbrugg - Rorschach.jpg|thumb|left|Steam trains at the 150th anniversary of the Rhine line with Ec 3/5 and E 3/3 between Au and St. Margrethen]]
 
The construction of the Rhine valley line was started by the [[United Swiss Railways|Southeastern Railway]] (''Schweizerische Südostbahn''), which sought to build a railway through the [[Lukmanier Pass]]. The first work, which was carried out by English contractors, was unsatisfactory. Due to a lack of financial resources, the Southeastern Railway was taken over during the construction by the [[United Swiss Railways]] (''Vereinigte Schweizerbahnen'', VSB), which continued the work without interruption.
 
The VSB opened the section from  [[Rorschach, Switzerland|Rorschach]] to [[Rheineck]] on 25 August 1857 and the section from Rheineck to [[Chur]] on 1&nbsp;July 1858. Sargans station was opened as a junction station with the station building between the diverging lines along with the section of the [[Ziegelbrücke–Sargans railway]] to [[Quarten#Geography|Murg]] on 15&nbsp;February 1859. In the same year, the VSB took over the continuous operation of the line via Ziegelbrücke and Rapperswil to Zürich. Since then, the section between Sargans and Chur has served traffic from both Zürich and St. Gallen.
 
The Rhine Valley line would have become a lucrative access route if an eastern Alpine railway crossing had been built.

=== 20th century===
 
The VSB was nationalised with a route length of 269&nbsp;kilometres on 1 July 1902 and its routes have since belonged to the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
 
[[File:VSB-Holzbrücke Ragaz.jpg|thumb|left|Timber Rhine bridge at [[Bad Ragaz|Ragaz]]]]
 
Until 1928, the railway line between Maienfeld and Bad Ragaz crossed the Rhine with a covered timber bridge, it was the last of its kind in the Swiss railway network.
 
The Sargans–Buchs was electrified at [[15 kV AC railway electrification|15&nbsp;kV 16⅔&nbsp;Hz]] on 15&nbsp;December 1927 as part of the ongoing electrification program of the SBB. About six months later, on 11&nbsp;May 1928, electric operations started on the Sargans–Chur section. The section from St.&nbsp;Margrethen to Rorschach was electrified on 15&nbsp;May 1934 and the last section from Buchs to St. Margrethen was wired on 21&nbsp;September 1934.
 
A second track was put into operation between St.&nbsp;Margrethen and Rheineck on 1 December 1920. The Staad–Rorschach section was duplicated on 15&nbsp;May 1930 and the Rheineck–Staad section on 12&nbsp;August 1930. The line between Sargans and Bad&nbsp;Ragaz has been duplicated since 20&nbsp;December 1957. The line between Landquart and Chur was duplicated between 15&nbsp;December 1970 and 10&nbsp;April 1973. The line from Weite-Wartau to Trübbach was duplicated on 17&nbsp;September 1982.<ref> The new track was commissioned on 1 September and the old track was then refurbished. Source: {{cite journal|title=unknown|journal=Eisenbahn Amateur |issue=8|date=1981 |page=560|language=de}}</ref> 
 
A new 5.3&nbsp;kilometre-long loop between Sargans and Trübbach was opened together with the partial commissioning of a new signalling system in Sargans station on 29 May 1983.<ref>{{cite journal|title=unknown|journal=Eisenbahn Amateur |issue=8|date=1993|page=296|language=de}}</ref> This connecting loop was constructed for freight traffic and allows trains to avoid reversing in Sargans. However, it is also used by services on line 4 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn, [[Transalpin]] services and, subsequently,  [[Railjet]] services.
 
The Rossriet–Landquart sections was duplicated on 6 June 1993 and the Bad Ragaz–Rossriet was duplicated on 8&nbsp;November 1994. Since then, duplication of the line between Sargans and Chur has been completed. The line between St.&nbsp;Margrethen and Buchs is still single-track.

=== 21st century===
[[File:Rheintal-Express Re 420 (2).jpg|thumb|left|Rheintal-Express between Trübbach and Sargans]]
[[File:Strecke Chur-Sargans-Rorschach.svg|thumb|upright]]
 
At the 2013 timetable change, the range of InterRegio and Regional services were comprehensively expanded and the lines of the [[St. Gallen S-Bahn]] were completely rearranged. Since then, the [[St Gallen railway station|St Gallen]] and Sargans junctions have formed the basis for the S-Bahn timetable, which offers half-hourly services on virtually all lines, with extras services in the core area. Infrastructure upgrades were necessary to make the new timetable possible.<ref> {{cite press release|publisher=Kanton St. Gallen |title=Für eine schnellere Bahn im Rheintal |url=http://www.gerichte.sg.ch/news/1/2006/06/fuer_eine_schnellere.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110091312/http://www.gerichte.sg.ch/news/1/2006/06/fuer_eine_schnellere.html |archive-date=10 January 2016|access-date=9 November 2018|language=de}}</ref> The travel time of the ''Rheintal-Express'' (REX) was shortened by ten minutes to just under an hour, so that better connections could be offered in Sargans and Chur. This required an acceleration of the Rheintal-Express, an increase in running speeds on the section to 160&nbsp;km/h and the dropping of intermediate stops. In addition to the stop in [[St. Gallen St. Fiden railway station|St. Gallen St. Fiden]] there are also stops in [[Rheineck railway station|Rheineck]] and Bad Ragaz. {{fact|date=June 2020}} Three stations were closed between Buchs SG and Sargans: {{rws|Räfis-Burgerau}}, {{rws|Weite}}, and {{rws|Trübbach}}.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Schwizer |first=Thomas |date=10 January 2014 |title=Eine Bahnhaltestelle erhalten |language=de |work=[[St. Galler Tagblatt]] |url=https://www.tagblatt.ch/ostschweiz/werdenberg-obertoggenburg/eine-bahnhaltestelle-erhalten-ld.983970 |access-date=6 June 2020}}</ref>

== Route description==
[[File:Weite 250413.jpg|thumb|left|Railjet passing through the then station of [[Weite]]]]
 
The Chur–Rorschach line is an important rail link in the canton of St. Gallen. It runs through the [[Chur Rhine Valley|Chur]] and St. Gallen sections of the [[Rhine]] valleys from Chur to Rheineck and on to Rorschach.
 
The Rhine valley line begins in [[Chur railway station]], where the standard gauge line connects with the [[Dual gauge#Three rails|dual gauge]] [[Landquart–Thusis railway|Domat/Ems–Chur line]] of the [[Rhaetian Railway]] (RhB). The route initially runs parallel to the [[Landquart–Thusis railway|Chur–Landquart line]] of the RhB north to [[Haldenstein]], from where the two lines run to [[Zizers]] between the [[Rhine]] and the [[A13 motorway (Switzerland)|A13]] motorway. From Zizers, the SBB line runs directly to [[Landquart railway station|Landquart]], where it again meets the RhB line [[Landquart–Davos Platz railway|to Davos]], which has detoured via [[Igis]]. Between [[Maienfeld]] and [[Bad Ragaz]], the Rhine valley line crosses the A13 and the Rhine, which at this point forms the canton border between the [[Canton of the Grisons|Grisons]] and [[Canton of St. Gallen|St. Gallen]]. The section to Maienfeld is the only standard gauge line in the Grisons. From Bad Ragaz the trains run parallel to the A13 to [[Sargans railway station|Sargans station]], where the line splits to Zürich and St. Gallen.
 
[[File:SBB 511 022 St. Margrethen.JPG|thumb|left|[[Stadler KISS]] (class RABe 511) running as the Rheintal-Express Chur–Wil at a stop in St. Margrethen.]]
 
Sargans, the starting point for the measurement of the line-kilometrage (chainage), follows a junction with the Sargans loop (''Sargans Schleife''), which allows trains coming [[Ziegelbrücke–Sargans railway|from Ziegelbrücke]] to proceed to [[Trübbach]] next to the A13, avoiding the need to reverse in Sargans. A short double track section between Trübbach and Neugrüt allows train crossings, otherwise the line to St. Margrethen is single-track. It no longer runs along the A13 and the Rhine, but has its own route between the motorway and the valley slope. In [[Buchs, St. Gallen|Buchs]], the Rhine valley line meets the [[Feldkirch–Buchs railway|line from Feldkirch]] of the [[Austrian Federal Railways]] (ÖBB). Trains coming from Sargans and continuing over the [[Arlberg Railway]] have to reverse in Buchs, which in the case of freight trains, requires a locomotive change.
 
From Buchs to [[Oberriet]] the Rhine valley line more or less follows the Werdenberger and Rheintaler canals and main road 13 as far as [[Altstätten]]. The [[Altstätten–Gais railway]] of the [[Appenzell Railways]] (AB) has ended in Altstätten Stadt since 1975. Since then the connection between the two Altstätt stations has been provided by a short bus line operated by the ''Rheintalische Verkehrsbetriebe'' (Rhine Valley Transport Company). The Rhine Valley line runs directly to [[Au, St. Gallen|Au]] and meets and runs along the inland canal and the St. Margrethen motorway, where it connects with the [[Vorarlberg Railway|Bregenz line]] of the ÖBB. As the SBB and ÖBB have the same electrical system, there is often no change in traction for international trains in St. Margrethen. The [[EuroCity]] services running from Zürich via St.&nbsp;Gallen to Munich are hauled to [[Lindau]] by [[SBB-CFF-FFS Re 420|class Re 421]] locomotives registered in Germany and Austria. [[DB Cargo]] operates its freight trains on the [[Kornwestheim]]–Rorschach–[[Wolfurt]] route with its own Swiss-made [[TRAXX]] (class 185) locomotives.
 
From St. Margrethen to [[Rheineck]], the now double-track line follows the [[A1 motorway (Switzerland)|A1]] and the [[Alter Rhein]] (old Rhine). In Rheineck, the [[Rheineck–Walzenhausen mountain railway]] of the AB connects to the Vorderland mountain resort. The Rhine valley line runs to Staad and along the [[Thal, St. Gallen|shore]] of Lake Constance to [[Rorschach railway station|Rorschach]], where SBB services continue on the [[Rorschach–St. Gallen railway|line to St.&nbsp;Gallen]] or the [[Lake Line|line to Romanshorn]] and AB services run  on the [[Rorschach–Heiden railway|line to Heiden]].

== Operations==
[[File:Bahnhof Rapperswil - SOB - Seedamm (Gleis 4) 2011-03-21 18-25-40.JPG|thumb|[[Stadler FLIRT]] sets of the [[Südostbahn]] are operated on the circular line S4]]
 
Since 13&nbsp;December 2009, two of the three daily [[EuroCity]]s to and from Austria have been replaced by [[Railjet]] services. This saves a total of 40 minutes running time between Zürich and Vienna, due, among other things, to having faster turnarounds in Buchs.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/region/Mit-dem-Railjet-40-Minuten-schneller-in-Wien/story/15261547 | newspaper = Tages Anzeiger | title = Mit dem Railjet 40 Minuten schneller in Wien | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091111025226/http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/region/Mit-dem-Railjet-40-Minuten-schneller-in-Wien/story/15261547|archive-date=11 November 2009|date=9 November 2009|access-date=10 November 2018|language=de}}</ref> The third train, the former Transalpin service, was also replaced by a Railjet service in June 2010, but, unlike the first two, runs as two coupled sets. Nine day and night trains a day connect Zürich with Austria, all with stops in Sargans and Buchs. The section from Rorschach to St. Margrethen is served four times a day by a EuroCity service on the Zürich–Munich route.
 
Rheintal Express (REX) services now run between Chur and St. Gallen every hour. Between Sargans and Rorschach, line S4 St Gallen S-Bahn services operated by Südostbahn also run every hour on a circular route with stops at all stations. Between [[Altstätten]] and St.&nbsp;Gallen the line is served by lines S1 and S2 of the S-Bahn. Overall, this results in two trains per hour between St. Gallen and Altstätten and three between Heerbrugg and St. Gallen. On the Sargans–Chur section the good connections from Zürich on two [[InterCity]] services and a [[RegioExpress]] are supplemented by the S12 (Sargans–Chur) service.
 
=== Freight traffic===
 
Freight traffic is heavy between Sargans and Buchs, because this is the transit route to the [[Vorarlberg]] and to the rest of Austria. The trains from France ([[Mulhouse]]) and the Limmattal marshalling yard (west of Zürich) to the [[Hall in Tirol]] marshalling yard use the route through the Buchs border crossing. The crossing at St. Margrethen is only used by trains to and from the [[Wolfurt]] marshalling yard. The Buchs marshalling yard serves the whole Swiss Rhine valley.
 
Since 2004 [[DB Cargo]] has been operating freight trains from [[Kornwestheim marshalling yard|Stuttgart Kornwestheim]] via the electrified [[Lake Line]] and then via Rorschach and St. Margrethen to the Wolfurt marshalling yard to avoid the use of diesel locomotives on the [[Lake Constance Belt Railway]] and the [[Ulm–Friedrichshafen railway]].<ref>{{cite journal | url = https://www.parlament.ch/de/ratsbetrieb/suche-curia-vista/geschaeft?AffairId=20083786 | first= Hermann |last=Bürgi | title = Güterzugsverkehr auf der Seelinie Konstanz-Romanshorn-Rorschach (parliamentary question) | journal= Parliamentary Records |publisher=[[Federal Assembly (Switzerland)|Federal Assembly]]
 | date = 8 December 2008 | access-date= 10 November 2018|language=de}}</ref>

== References ==
===Footnotes===
{{reflist}}

===Sources===
* {{cite book|first=Anton |last=Heer |title=Rorschach-St.Gallen-Winterthur: zwischen 170-jähriger Eisenbahngeschichte und Zukunft |publisher=Sabon-Verlag |location=St. Gallen |date=2006 |isbn =3-907928-55-5 |url=http://www.hvsg.ch/njb/NJB-146.pdf |format= PDF; 14.2&nbsp;MB}}
*{{cite book|first=Hans G. |last=Wägli |editor=Generalsekretariat SBB|title=Schienennetz Schweiz |publisher= AS-Verlag |location=Zürich |date=1998 |isbn= 978-3-905111-21-7|language=de}}
* {{cite book|first= Hans G. |last=Wägli|title= Bahnprofil Schweiz 2005| publisher = Diplory Verlag | location= Grafenried | date= 2004| language=de}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chur-Rorschach railway}}
[[Category:Railway lines in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Railway lines opened in 1856]]
[[Category:1856 establishments in Switzerland]]
[[Category:Swiss Federal Railways lines]]
[[Category:15 kV AC railway electrification]]