The Wohlen–Dietikon railway line is a railway line in Switzerland. It connects Wohlen and Bremgarten in the canton of Aargau with Dietikon in the canton of Zürich. Passenger service on the line now forms part of the Zürich S-Bahn, branded as the S17, and a frequent service is provided, with trains running up to every 15 minutes.

The line was opened in stages by the between 1876 and 1912. Whilst the earliest section to be opened, between Wohlen and Bremgarten, was built as a traditional standard gauge branch line, the later section between Bremgarten and Dietikon was built as rural electric tramway in metre gauge. Whilst much of the line has been upgraded, this is still apparent in the long stretches of roadside track, and stretches of street running in Dietikon.

Today the line is owned and operated by Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA), a company that operates other rail and bus services in the region.

History

Wohlen-Bremgarten railway

The route between Wohlen and Bremgarten West was built to standard gauge by the Aargauische Südbahn railway, which connected Aarau and Rotkreuz via Wohlen. The service began on 1 September 1876, operated by steam locomotives.

On 1 January 1902 Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) took over the Aargauische Südbahn. The SBB continued to operate the service as a steam operated standard gauge branch line.

Bremgarten-Dietikon tramway

thumb|right|Opening of the Bremgarten-Dietikon line

The line to Wohlen had several disadvantages for Bremgarten. The timetable was poor, Bremgarten West station was too far away from the town centre, and the connection to Zürich initially proceeded in the wrong direction and was very indirect. In 1895 a plan was produced for a roadside electric tramway between Bremgarten and Dietikon. As Dietikon already had a direct rail link to Zürich, this provided a much more direct connection.

Construction began in 1901 and the route was opened on 30 April 1902.

Wohlen-Dietikon through service

thumb|right|The terminus in Wohlen after connection of the two lines

Despite the construction of the new line, there was still a gap of about a kilometre between Bremgarten and Bremgarten West where passengers had to make their own way. The BD entered into negotiations with the SBB, and in 1910, a permanent lease for the Wohlen-Bremgarten railway line was obtained.

End of the standard gauge

The last standard gauge freight train operated to Bremgarten in 2009, although occasional standard gauge passenger trains aimed at the rail enthusiast market have run since. When track renewal was due in 2015, the decision was made to relay the line as meter gauge only. The end of the standard gauge was marked with special trains on June 26–28, and in July service between Bremgarten West and Wohlen was suspended for a number of days for the removal of the standard gauge track and renewal of the meter gauge track.

Aargau Verkehr

In June 2018, BDWM Transport merged with the Wynental and Suhrental Railway to form Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA), the company which now owns and operates the Bremgarten–Dietikon line.]]

thumb|right|Map of the line

The line begins in Wohlen at a platform opposite the SBB Wohlen station at an altitude of . The line climbs to an altitude of and passes into the Bremgarterwald (Bremgarten Forest). The Erdmannlistein stop lies in the middle in the forest and serves exclusively trip traffic. After 6.6 km, the Bremgarten West station is reached. This was originally the terminus of the old standard gauge branch railway whose route has been followed since Wohlen, and thus far the line is rather flat (maximum gradient of 1.5%), has gentle turning radii (minimum ) and resembles a normal SBB standard gauge line. After Bremgarten West, the line changes its character completely, adopting the sharper curves and steeper gradients of a narrow gauge line.

After negotiating two sharp curves out of Bremgarten West station, the line runs along the bridge over the Reuss. The company's headquarters, including a depot and administration building, are located at Bremgarten station at an altitude of . From here on the line runs alongside the main road through a more densely populated, although still rural, area. A series of exceptionally tight U-shaped curves takes the line uphill, at slopes of up to 5.6%, to Berikon-Widen station on the Mutschellen pass at an altitude of . From here the line drops through equally tortuous curves to Rudolfstetten Hofacker, where the downward gradient becomes gradually flatter. From Bergfrieden station the line has tramway-like characteristics with street-running. The line ends at Dietikon station at a platform beside the SBB tracks and at an altitude of .

Infrastructure

thumb|right|An ABe 4/8 unit at the Heinrüti halt on the climb to the Mutschellen pass; note the continuation of the track alongside the road to the middle left.

The line is long, of which is double track and the rest single track. It has a minimum curve radius of , and a maximum gradient of 5.6%. A section of length in Dietikon runs in the street, sharing its road space with other traffic. The line is equipped with metre gauge ( gauge) track throughout, and is electrified at 1200 V DC, using an overhead line.

Services

The passenger services on the line now forms part of the Zürich S-Bahn, branded as the S17. A service of two trains per hour is provided every day between Wohlen and Dietikon. Except on Sundays and public holidays, an extra two trains per hour are provided between Bremgarten West and Dietikon. Apart from a small number of additional peak-hour express trains, all trains serve all stops, taking just over 30 minutes for the full length of the line.

The Limmattal light rail line shares tracks with the Bremgarten–Dietikon line, from the latter's terminus at Dietikon station to the intersection of Bremgartnerstrasse and Zentralstrasse. The common section of on-street track, which is currently single track, is doubled.

See also

  • Rail transport in Switzerland
  • ZVV fare zones
  • A-Welle tariff network (Aargau)

References

  • BDWM official web site