Glarner Sprinter
Encyclopedia
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
of the Swiss Federal Railways
SBB-CFF-FFS
Swiss Federal Railways and SFR are not in official use) is the national railway company of Switzerland headquartered in Bern. Formerly a government institution, it is since 1999 a special stock corporation with all shares held by the Swiss Confederation or the Swiss cantons...
(SBB). It runs from Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
into the Canton of Glarus
Canton of Glarus
The Canton of Glarus is a canton in east central Switzerland. The capital is Glarus.The population speaks a variety of Alemannic German.The majority of the population identifies as Christian, about evenly split between the Protestant and Catholic confessions.-History:According to legend, the...
, where it terminates in Schwanden
Schwanden, Glarus
Schwanden is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Schwanden is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
on weekdays or Linthal
Linthal
Linthal is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Linthal is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
on weekends. This is a RegioExpress
RegioExpress
The RegioExpress is a fast regional train in Switzerland, run by the Swiss Federal Railways or by other private railways ....
service.
After leaving Zürich, the train runs all the way along the west side of the Zürichsee (Lake Zürich). Later it follows the path of the River Linth
Linth
The Linth is a Swiss river starting above Linthal the mountains of Glarus near the Klausen Pass and flowing from there north through the Glarus valley passing Schwanden, where it is joined by its main tributary Sernft, Ennenda, the town of Glarus, Netstal, and Näfels, from where it is channeled to...
. In addition to the endpoints, major cities served by the Glarner Sprinter route include Pfäffikon SZ, Ziegelbrücke
Ziegelbrücke
Ziegelbrücke is a village in Switzerland. Ziegelbrücke is shared by the municipalities of Niederurnen in the canton of Glarus and Schänis in the canton of St...
, and Glarus
Glarus
Glarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Glarus municipality since 1 January 2011 incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern....
.
Background
Weesen
Weesen is a village in See-Gaster in the canton of St. Gallen, Switzerland.-Geography:Weesen has an area, , of . Of this area, 36.3% is used for agricultural purposes, while 51.9% is forested...
and Näfels
Näfels
Näfels is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Näfels is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-History:Näfels is first mentioned in 1240 as Nevels....
in 1918, local rail services only operated to Ziegelbrücke instead of Näfels. Therefore there was no longer a direct connection from the Canton of Glarus to Zurich.
The "Glarner Dream" of a direct connection to Zürich was finally realized by the Pendlerverein (commuter association) of the Glarus government and the SBB as a component of the Swiss Bahn 2000 modernization plan and put into service with the large timetable change on 2004-12-04. The original plan was for an hourly service, but this could not be achieved due to financial problems in the canton Glarus and technical problems on the part of the SBB.
The Glarner Sprinter is primarily a commuter service for those travelling from the towns and villages of Glarus to the greater Zürich region. Conversely, the Canton of Glarus can expect increased weekend tourism (for winter sports, hiking, mountain climbing, etc.) because of this direct connection to the large Glarus valley.
Schedule
As of 2006, the train frequency is bi-hourly (every 120 minutes). The train does not run late at night. The trip from Zürich to Schwanden takes from 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 7 minutes; to Linthal, from 1 hour and 19 minutes to 1 hour and 33 minutes.As a RegioExpress train, and in keeping with the idea behind the service, the train does not serve any stations along the west shore of the Zürichsee until Pfäffikon SZ. The train does not begin to stop at every station until turning off the SBB main line after Ziegelbrücke. In effect, the train runs as a local service within the Canton of Glarus and provides an express service to Zürich for those communities.
Motive power
Locomotive
A locomotive is a railway vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. The word originates from the Latin loco – "from a place", ablative of locus, "place" + Medieval Latin motivus, "causing motion", and is a shortened form of the term locomotive engine, first used in the early 19th...
used on this route is the RBDe 560
SBB-CFF-FFS RBDe 560
The RBDe 560 and its derivatives provide motive power for S-Bahn, suburban, and regional traffic on the Swiss Federal Railways network. The derivative versions belong to the SBB as well as various private railroads...
. 3 Einheitswagen ("standard coaches") I (2 second class, 1 first class) as well as a Bt control car
Control car (rail)
A control car is a generic term for a non-powered railroad vehicle that can control operation of a train from the end opposite to the position of the locomotive...
make up the rest of the consist.
Occasionally, a consist made up of two RBe 540
SBB-CFF-FFS RBe 540
Starting in 1959, the SBB-CFF-FFS put motored coaches of the type RBe 540 into service for push-pull operation on the Gotthard line...
on either end of a set of Einheitswagen I/II cars is substituted for these dedicated trainsets.
Train livery
The SBB has painted 2 NPZ trainsets (RBDe 560 120 "Netstal" and 560 123 "Braunwald") in a special livery which is a variation of the standard NPZ (blue over white) color scheme that has Glarner Sprinter titles and other enhancements http://mypage.bluewin.ch/bruno.laemmli/Lokomotiven/SBB-RBDe_560.htm.Railbar
The Glarner Sprinter is the only RegioExpress service in Switzerland offering passengers a Railbar (onboard drink & snack cart), provided on the morning and evening trains. The usual Railbar selection is supplemented by individual Glarus specialities.Stations
- ZürichZürichZurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
- Pfäffikon SZ
- Siebnen-WangenWangen, SchwyzWangen is a municipality in March District in the canton of Schwyz in Switzerland.-Geography:Wangen has an area, , of . Of this area, 64.9% is used for agricultural purposes, while 10.3% is forested...
- ZiegelbrückeZiegelbrückeZiegelbrücke is a village in Switzerland. Ziegelbrücke is shared by the municipalities of Niederurnen in the canton of Glarus and Schänis in the canton of St...
- NiederurnenNiederurnenNiederurnen is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Niederurnen is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-History:...
/OberurnenOberurnenOberurnen is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Oberurnen is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-Geography:... - NäfelsNäfelsNäfels is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Näfels is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-History:Näfels is first mentioned in 1240 as Nevels....
-MollisMollisMollis is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Mollis is part of the municipality of Glarus Nord.-Geography:... - NetstalNetstalNetstal is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Netstal is part of the municipality of Glarus.-Geography:...
- GlarusGlarusGlarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Glarus municipality since 1 January 2011 incorporates the former municipalities of Ennenda, Netstal and Riedern....
- EnnendaEnnendaEnnenda is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Ennenda is part of the municipality of Glarus.-History:Ennenda is first mentioned around 1303-07 as Obront-Ennant-A and Nydern-Ennant-A....
- MitlödiMitlödiMitlödi is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Mitlödi is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
- SchwandenSchwanden, GlarusSchwanden is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Schwanden is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
(weekday terminus) - NidfurnNidfurnNidfurn is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Haslen in 2006. At that time Nidfurn municipality had a population of 255.-References:...
-HaslenHaslenHaslen is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. On July 1, 2006, Haslen incorporated the neighbouring municipalities of Leuggelbach and Nidfurn.Effective from 1 January 2011, Haslen is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.... - LeuggelbachLeuggelbachLeuggelbach is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Haslen in 2006. At that time Leuggelbach municipality had a population of 171.-References:...
- LuchsingenLuchsingenLuchsingen is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Since 2004 the former municipalities of Hätzingen and Diesbach have been part of Luchsingen. Effective from 1 January 2011, Luchsingen is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd....
-HätzingenHätzingenHätzingen is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Luchsingen in 2004. At that time Hätzingen municipality had a population of 359.-References:... - DiesbachDiesbachDiesbach is a village and former municipality in the canton of Glarus, Switzerland.It was formerly a municipality of its own, having been incorporated into Luchsingen in 2004. At that time Diesbach municipality had a population of 221....
-BetschwandenBetschwandenBetschwanden is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Betschwanden is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:... - Rüti GL
- LinthalLinthalLinthal is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Linthal is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
(Braunwaldbahn) - LinthalLinthalLinthal is a former municipality in the canton of Glarus in Switzerland. Effective from 1 January 2011, Linthal is part of the municipality of Glarus Süd.-Geography:...
(weekend terminus)
Sources
- Partial translation from the German language version (August 2006).
- Official site of the train
- Official site of the SBB
- Eisenbahn Kurier (in German)
- Schweizer Eisenbahn-RevueSchweizer Eisenbahn-RevueThe Schweizer Eisenbahn-Revue , is a Swiss trade journal for the rail transport industry.Appearing monthly since 1978, the SER is written by correspondents in rail transport companies, in the industry and in government...
(Periodical, published by Minirex AG, Luzern, Switzerland)