A French railway in Switzerland The 150 anniversary of the LausanneEchallens-Bercher railway

The Lausanne-Echallens-Bercher railway, located in the canton of Vaud, in Switzerland, celebrated its 150th anniversary in November 2023. This was the first metre gauge line built in the country, and today it is part of the regional express network of Vaud. Completely modernised, it carries more than 3.800,000 passengers a year between Lausanne, its suburbs and the Vaud countryside.

Gèrald Hadorn

DISCOVERY Note: Only the stock originally from France is described in this article At the time the LausanneEchallens line was planned, starting in the1860s, all existing railway lines in Switzerland were standard gauge. A cheaper solution had to be found, and one of the first ideas put forward was the Larmanjat system, based on a single guiding rail built along an ordinary road. It was not successful, and it was decided to go for a traditional two-rail railway, built in metre gauge. From Mont-Cenis to Switzerland In the early years of operation, small steam locomotives hauled trains whose speed did not exceed 25km/h. This was very reminiscent of the old French local railways, confirmed by the fact that most of the line’s facilities were from the former Franco-Italian Mont-Cenis summit…

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Voie Libre International (Digital) - 1 Issue, JANUARY / FEBRUARY / MARCH 2024 - 116

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