Coordinates: 46°24′32″N 10°1′11″E / 46.40889°N 10.01972°E / 46.40889; 10.01972

Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
The Glacier Express in the Albula Valley.
State Party	Italy and  Switzerland
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	1276
Region**	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2008  (32nd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. ** Region as classified by UNESCO.

The RhB (Rhaetian Railway / Rhätische Bahn (German) / Ferrovia Retica (Italian) / Viafier Retica (Romansh) is an Italian-Swiss transport company, owning the largest network of all the private railways in Switzerland. The company operates most of the railways in the south-easternmost canton of Graubünden (Italian: Grigioni, Romansh: Grischun, French/English: Grisons) since the Federal Railways SBB-CFF-FFS extend only a few kilometres over the cantonal border to the capital at Chur.

RhB serves the major tourist centre of St Moritz and Davos, and one of the lines, the Berninabahn, crosses the Bernina Pass to the Italian border and on to Tirano, where there is a link to the Italian railways.

In 2008 the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

In 2009 it was announced that an examination of the Albula Tunnel conducted in 2006 had found major degradation of the tunnel, with over 60% of the lining in need of replacement. Furthermore, the bores are small by modern standards, and cabling, signalling and drainage all need replacement. As a result, it was announced that an inquiry would decide from two options a course action; either comprehensive renewal of the existing tunnel or the construction of a new bore to modern standards. In any case, after assessments and financing, which could be potentially complicated due to the split ownership of the tunnel, no construction will start until 2011 no matter what is decided.^[1]

Contents 1 Network 2 Ownership 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Network

Rhätische Bahn
RhB train on the Landwasser Viaduct
Locale	Switzerland
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in)
Electrification	11 kV 16⅔ Hz (322 km) 1000 V DC (62 km, Bernina line)
Length	384 km (238.6 mi)
Headquarters	Chur
This box: view • talk

Rhaetian Railway
Technical
Electrification	11 kV 16⅔ Hz (322 km) 1000 V DC (62 km, Bernina line)
Maximum incline	4 %, except Bernina line 7 %
Rack system	None

The RhB network was developed in various stages at the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries, with the result that several different electrification systems are in use, and one 12 km section between Castione and Cama was completely separate from all other railways following a landslide in the mid-20th century, before later closure. All the RhB is of 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+³⁄₈ in) gauge, and is electrified:

• 61 km (37.9 mi), the Bernina Railway (Pontresina - Tirano) is electrified at 1000 V DC.
• 321 km (199.5 mi) is electrified at 11 kV 16⅔ Hz (including Chur-Arosa and the new Vereina tunnel route).

The network contains 84 tunnels (the longest being the 19.042 km (11.832 mi) Vereina tunnel, opened on 19 November 1999, and the 5.864 km (3.644 mi) Albula Tunnel), and 383 bridges. The maximum gradient is 4.5%, except on the Bernina Railway, where it is 7%^[2].

Current services operated by the RhB (2008):

• Basic hourly service:
  • Regio Express RE1: Chur – St. Moritz
  • Regio Express RE2: Landquart – Davos
  • Regio Express RE3: Disentis/Muster - Chur – Landquart - Scuol-Tarasp
  • Regio R4: Chur – Arosa
  • Regio R5: St. Moritz - Tirano (Italy)
  • Regio R6: Davos Platz - Filisur
  • Regio R7: Pontresina - Sagliains - Scuol-Tarasp
  • S-Bahn S8: Schiers - Landquart - Chur - Rhäzüns
  • S-Bahn S9: Chur - Thusis
• Off-peak hours:
  • Regio R11: Chur - St. Moritz
  • Regio R21: Landquart - Davos
  • Regio R31: Disentis - Landquart
• Vehicle transporter services:
  • Through the Vereina Tunnel: Klosters - Sagliains.
  • Through the Albula Tunnel: Thusis - Samedan.

The annual traffic carried by the RhB (2002) is 300,000,000 passenger-kilometres, and 54,000,000 tonne-kilometres of freight. 80% of passenger income comes from tourists, though 40% of passengers are local people.

[edit] Ownership

The RhB is 53% owned by the Cantonal government of Graubünden, 43% by the Swiss Confederation, and 4% is held privately. It employs 1479 staff (2002).

[edit] See also

• List of railway companies in Switzerland
• Albula Railway
• Bernina Railway
• Glacier Express
• Bernina Express
• Hakone Tozan Railway: Japanese private mountain railway, twinning railway with RhB.
• Table of turn tunnels

[edit] References

• Hill, Ken and Pattison, Tony (eds) (2000). Jane’s World Railways. London: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 0-7106-2034-9. 
• Marshall, John (1974). Metre Gauge Railways in South and East Switzerland. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-6408-1. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Rhätische Bahn

• RhB official website
• The Rhaetian Network Image presentations of famous Rhaetian lines
• Rail-info.ch description
• Railfaneurope.net, RhB photos

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