Polybahn
Encyclopedia
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...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. Previous names for the line include the SBG Polybahn and the Zürichbergbahn.
The line operates out of Zurich Central-Hochschulen, and carries passengers up to the terrace by the main building of ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich or ETH Zürich is an engineering, science, technology, mathematics and management university in the City of Zurich, Switzerland....
, which was formerly called Eidgenössisches Polytechnikum, and from which the railway derives its name.
History
In 1886 a concession for the railway was issued, and the line was opened by the Zürichbergbahn company in 1889. The funicular was initially water-driven (filling water in a ballast tank under the carriage at the top station, emptying at the bottom); the railway was converted to electric drive in 1897.In 1950 the Zürichbergbahn company began losing money, and eventually (in the 1970s) decided not to renew the concession. In 1972 a foundation was created to help preserve the Polybahn. In 1976 the Union Bank of Switzerland
Union Bank of Switzerland
Union Bank of Switzerland was a large integrated financial services company located in Switzerland. The bank, which at the time was the second largest bank in Switzerland, merged with Swiss Bank Corporation in 1998, to become UBS to form what was then the largest bank in Europe and the second...
, then known in German as the Schweizerische Bankgesellschaft or SBG, rescued the Polybahn, branding it as the SBG Polybahn. The line and cars were refurbished for a planned 20 more years service.
In 1996 the railway was completely rebuilt. The haulage mechanism was replaced, and fully automated, whilst the old three-rail tracks were replaced with the current two-rail tracks. On 21 October 1996 the railway reopened and is now advertised under the name UBS Polybahn, reflecting the rebranding (in 1998) of the owning banking group as UBS AG
UBS AG
UBS AG is a Swiss global financial services company headquartered in Basel and Zürich, Switzerland, which provides investment banking, asset management, and wealth management services for private, corporate, and institutional clients worldwide, as well as retail clients in Switzerland...
. In 1998 the line set a new record, carrying more than 2 million passengers.
Operation
The line has the following parameters:| Number of cars | 2 |
| Number of stops | 2 |
| Configuration | Single track with passing loop |
| Mode of operation | Automated |
| Drive | Three-phase AC motor AC motor An AC motor is an electric motor driven by an alternating current.It commonly consists of two basic parts, an outside stationary stator having coils supplied with alternating current to produce a rotating magnetic field, and an inside rotor attached to the output shaft that is given a torque by the... with frequency changer Frequency changer A frequency changer or frequency converter is an electronic device that converts alternating current of one frequency to alternating current of another frequency. The device may also change the voltage, but if it does, that is incidental to its principal purpose.Traditionally, these devices were... |
| Track length | 176 metres (577.4 ft) |
| Rise | 41 metres (134.5 ft) |
| Average gradient | 23% |
| Track gauge | Meter gauge |
| Capacity | 50 persons per car |
| Maximum speed | 2.5 m/s |
| Capacity per direction | 1200 Persons/hour |
| Travel time | 100 seconds |
| Frequency | Every 2.5 minutes |
The standard Zürcher Verkehrsverbund zonal fare tariffs apply, with the whole of the line being within fare zone 10 (Zurich city).
External links
- Page on the Polybahn from the official web site of the VBZ (in German)
- Funimag article on the Polybahn
- Video of descent of the line from YouTube