The Forch railway (, FB, nicknamed Förchler, Frieda, Frieda Bünzli by locals) is a local mixed tramway / railway line in the Swiss canton of Zürich. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG, and is branded as line S18 of the Zürich S-Bahn. The standard Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV) zonal fare tariffs apply to the line.

The line opened in 1912 and links the towns of Esslingen and Forch to Rehalp, an outer suburb of the city of Zürich. From Rehalp, trains continue over the Zürich tram system to a terminus at , outside the Zürich Stadelhofen railway station in central Zürich.

In 1970, a new depot and station was built at Forch, together with a new section of line and underpass under the new main road. Between 1973 and 1976 a tunnel was built under the village of Zumikon, eliminating the street section through that village. In 1976, new Tram 2000 trains were introduced and a regular 15-minute train frequency was introduced. By 1979 the line had been doubled as far as Neue Forch.

Operation

Route

The line starts from at Stadelhoferplatz, outside the main line Stadelhofen station, where the line terminates on a loop with its own two platforms. The Forchbahn platforms are flanked by platforms for tram routes 2 and 4 of the Zürich tram system (routes 8 and 11 respectively before network revision on 14.12.2025), which share tracks with the initial stretch of the Forchbahn.

Between Stadelhofen and Rehalp, the Forchbahn trains use the tracks of the tram system, owned by the Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ), which are electrified at 600 V DC and are largely situated in the street. Between these two points, Forchbahn trains serve intermediate tram stops at Kreuzplatz (where tram route 2 diverges), Hegibachplatz and Balgrist.

Rolling stock

Trailer car, B 119 originally built 1930 for Lausanne Tramways, was preserved in the Zürich Tram Museum from 2007 until 2021.

In spring 2021 it was regauged for and is used for heritage trains on the Agnita railway line in Romania.

After the 1950/60 stock was rendered surplus by the new Stadler cars, the Forchbahn motor cars BDe 4/4 11 to 16, and driving trailers Bt 101 to 108 (less the scrapped Bt 107) were donated to the municipality of Antananarivo in Madagascar. The vehicles were shipped to Madagascar in 2004/5, for use in creating a suburban train service, but by 2021 they were still in store there.

In 2021, according to a news item in the madegassian paper «La Vérité», using the trailer cars for a jungle express in the south east of the island was proposed.

Current

The line uses the following rolling stock:

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:95%; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:5px;"

!Image

!Numbers

!Type

!Manufacturer

!Notation

!Year

!Notes

|-

|180px

|21/22-31/32

| rowspan="3" |Tram 2000

| rowspan="3" |SWS / SIG / BBC

|Be 8/8

|1976-1986

|Units comprising pairs of motor cars permanently coupled back-to-back with a drivers cab at each end of the unit, and doors on both sides.

|-

|180px

|51-58

|Be 4/4

|1994

|Motor cars, with a cab at one end and doors on both sides.

|-

|180px

|201-204

|Bt

|1981-1982

|Unpowered driving trailer cars, for use with type tram 2000 units 21/22-31/32 and 51–58, with a cab at one end and doors on both sides.

|-

|180px

|61-73

|Stadler Tango

|Stadler

|Be 4/6

|2004

|Articulated motor cars, with a cab at one end and doors on both sides. Cars have a partial low floor, with low level entry. The cars were built by Stadler Rail to a custom design, but including components from their GTW standard product.

|}

Preserved

{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse; font-size:95%; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:5px;"

!Image

!Number

!Notation

!Year

!Notes

|-

|180px

|4

|CFe 2/2

|1912

|Four wheeled motor car from the original fleet purchased for the opening of the line. Preserved in the line's original blue livery, and used on special services.

|-

|180px

|10

|BDe 4/4

|1948

|Bogie motor car from the generation of vehicles that formed part of the renewal of the line in the 1950s. Preserved and used on special services.

|-

|180px

|11

|C

|1912

|Four wheeled trailer car from the original fleet purchased for the opening of the line. Preserved in the line's original blue livery, and used on special services.

|-

|}

See also

  • Rail transport in Switzerland
  • List of railway stations in Zurich
  • Public transport in Zurich
  • ZVV fare zones

References

  • Official website
  • ZVV official website: zone map

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