Jura Foot Line

Jura Foot Line
ICN running near Twann. This single track section will by-passed by the new, double track Ligerz Tunnel
Overview
Termini	Olten Geneva
Technical
Number of tracks	2
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	15 kV/162⁄3 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map km elev from Basel from Aarau 39.2 Olten 396 m to Bern, to Luzern Aare bridge, Olten Hammer (135 m) 40.6 Olten Hammer 403 m 43.0 Wangen bei Olten 417 m 45.3 Hägendorf 427 m 49.1 Egerkingen 435 m 51.4 Oberbuchsiten 442 m OeBB from Balsthal–Klus 56.6 Oensingen 462 m 58.8 Niederbipp 468 m asm to Langenthal Aare bridge, Wangen (96 m) 64.3 Wangen an der Aare 422 m 67.6 Deitingen 429 m 70.3 Luterbach-Attisholz 429 m to Olten by HSL narrow gauge line from Bern 73.8 Solothurn 431 m asm Niederbipp–Solothurn   closed line to Lyss / to Burgdorf Aare bridge at Solothurn (104 m) 74.7 Solothurn West 432 m to Moutier (BLS) 75.7 Solothurn Allmend 443 m 76.7 Bellach 443 m 77.6 Bellach 429 m 80.6 Selzach 438 m 82.8 Bettlach 440 m 85.3 Grenchen Süd 440 m Mösli viaduct (285 m) 88.0 Jura line from Basel 88.0 Lengnau 439 m 90.2 Pieterlen 435 m 94.0 Biel/Bienne Bözingenfeld/​Champ 444 m 95.8 Biel Mett 443 m 98.0 to Bern narrow gauge line to Ins 99.4 104.5 Biel/Bienne 437 m to La Chaux-de-Fonds Vingelz tunnel (2432 m) 99.8 Tüscherz 434 m 96.0 Twann 433 m 94.0 Ligerz funicular to Prêles 434 m 90.0 La Neuveville 433 m 87.7 Le Landeron 437 m 85.5 Cressier NE 436 m 83.6 Cornaux NE 435 m St-Blaise tunnel (155 m) 85.5 St-Blaise CFF 464 m from Bern (BLS) 75.3 Neuchâtel 479 m 73.6 to La Chaux-de-Fonds Route-de-France tunnel (58 m) 72.3 Neuchâtel-Serrières 437 m 70.3 Auvernier 492 m to Pontarlier 67.6 Colombier NE 490 m 66.3 Boudry 491 m 62.3 Bevaix 489 m 58.1 Gorgier-St-Aubin 451 m beginning of rebuilt line St-Aubin-Sauges tunnel (2252 m) 54.8 Vaumarcus 447 m La Raisse tunnel (1245 m) Fin-de-Lance tunnel (286 m) 50.7 Concise 430 m Concise tunnel (365 m) end of rebuilt line 47.5 Onnens-Bonvillars 435 m 42.7 Grandson 437 m Yverdon William Barbey narrow gauge line to Ste-Croix Thièle bridge, Yverdon (79 m) 39.1 Yverdon-les-Bains 434 m to Payerne 32.7 Ependes VD 440 m 29.6 Essert-Pittet 438 m 27.4 Chavornay 447 m from Orbe 24.9 Bavois 442 m Nord-de-Mormont tunnel (182 m) Sud-de-Mormont tunnel (302 m) 21.4 Eclépens 455 m 20.2 industrial siding from Vallorbe 19.3 Daillens 445 m 19.0 Swiss Post logistics centre 14.4 Cossonay-Penthalaz funicular to Cossonay-Ville 428 m 11.0 Vufflens-la-Ville 406 m 10.0 industrial siding 6.9 14.9 Bussigny 407 m Poimbœuf bridge ( right: 64 m left: 71 m ) Poudrière III bridge (216 m) Larges-Pièces bridge (106 m) 13.2 7.3 Lécheires yard 4.5 Renens VD 416 m 0.0 Lausanne 447 m to Geneva to Bern to Brig   Source: Swiss railway atlas

The Jura Foot Line (French: ligne du Pied-du-Jura, German: Jurafusslinie) or Jura South Foot Line, is a railway line in Switzerland. It runs from Olten along the foot of the southern Jura range through Solothurn, Grenchen, Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains and Morges to Lausanne. It is one of two routes used by intercity trains between Geneva and Zürich. The other is the Midland line (German: Mittellandlinie) which connects Olten via Langenthal, Burgdorf, Bern, Fribourg, Lausanne to Morges. The line was built by five railway companies, which after several mergers were absorbed into the Swiss Federal Railways in 1903.

The line is electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz AC and is two track almost throughout. The sole remaining single section, south of Twann station and north of Neuveville, is the location of the new Ligerz Tunnel. This is due to open at the end of 2026 and will complete the double-tracking of the line.

The southern part of the line forms part of the Lausanne–Geneva railway.

History

ICN above Lake Neuchâtel, near Vaumarcus

ICN near Essert-Pittet

The Jura Foot Line was built in several stages. The oldest part are the sections opened by the West Switzerland Company (French: Compagnie de l'Ouest-Suisse, OS) in May 1855 from Yverdon-les-Bains to Bussigny-près-Lausanne and in July 1855 from Bussigny to Morges via Renens. On 5 May 1856, the company opened two new sections, Renens to Lausanne and the connecting curve from Morges to Bussigny. The OS opened a line from Morges to Coppet on 14 April 1858 and a line from Coppet to Versoix on the following 21 April. On 25 June 1858 the OS connected with Geneva with the opening of the Versoix–Geneva route of the Geneva–Versoix Railway (French: Chemin de fer Genève–Versoix, GM). In 1859 it opened the section from Yverdon to Vaumarcus. On 7 November 1859 the Franco-Swiss Company (French: Compagnie Franco-Suisse, LFB) opened an extension from Vaumarcus to the village of Frienisberg, near Le Landeron on Lake Biel. A temporary station was established at a pier in Frienisberg for a link by boat across Lake Biel to a station at Nidau near Biel built by the Swiss Central Railway (German: Schweizerische Centralbahn, SCB).

From the other direction in 1857 the SCB opened the line from Olten via Herzogenbuchsee to Solothurn and along the current route to Biel south of Solothurn. This route avoided having to cross the Aare river between Olten and Solothurn, but is longer than the route opened in 1876. In 1858 the SCB built a short line from Biel station to Nidau on Lake Biel, from where a connection by ship over Lake Biel was opened in 1859 to the temporary station at Frienisberg. The gap along the northern shore of Lake Biel from Biel to Landeron was closed on 3 December 1860 by the Swiss East–West Railway (German: Schweizerische Ostwestbahn, OWB). As a result, the short line from Biel to Nidau closed on 10 December 1860. It was now possible for the first time to travel from the east of Switzerland at St. Margrethen to its west at Geneva by train, although the different railway companies involved meant that several changes of train were necessary.

The last section of the line to be completed was the section from Olten to Solothurn via Oensingen opened on 4 December 1876 by the SCB, also called the Gäu railway (German: Gäubahn). This was originally planned as part of the Swiss National Railway's proposed line from Lake Constance to Lake Geneva. The line from Herzogenbuchsee to Solothurn became a local railway after it was bypassed by the Gäu railway. As part of Rail 2000, the line and its stations at Derendingen, Subingen, Etziken and Inkwil were closed in 1992 and most of it was rebuilt as a connecting line without stations for high-speed passenger trains from Solothurn to the Mattstetten–Rothrist new line, connecting at a junction at Wanzwil and opened on 12 December 2004. Under the Rail 2000 program, a winding single-track section along the shore of Lake Neuchâtel between Gorgier-St-Aubin and Concise was replaced by a double track section mostly in tunnel, which was opened in 2000.