Skitube Alpine Railway
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The Skitube Alpine Railway is an electric rack railway in the Kosciuszko National Park in New South Wales, Australia.
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[edit] Brief description
The Swiss-designed railway provides easy access between the Alpine Way at Bullocks Flat and the Perisher Blue ski resort sites of Perisher Valley and Blue Cow Mountain. The Skitube passes through two tunnels and three stations, two of which are underground. An off-peak schedule is run in early to late June and mid to late September, either side of the peak July-September ski season. Trains run between 5 a.m. and 1 a.m., allowing for après-ski activities or night skiing.
The Skitube was built to provide better access to the skifields and resorts in the area during winter. The single road that provided the only access before the construction of the railway was (and still is) often blocked by adverse weather conditions. The 8.5 km-long, standard gauge railway was built between October 1984 and March 1988. The majority of the railway is underground, comprising the Bilston and Blue Cow tunnels, 3.3 km and 2.6 km long respectively. The depth of the tunnels varies from between 4 m and 550 m, and their diameter between 5 m and 5.5 m.
The Bullocks Flat terminus has a large, three-sided station with extensive parking, a pass office, a ski and snowboard school, information desk, kiosk, souvenir shop, and ski and snowboard hire shop. This allows day trippers to get tickets and equipment and be loaded for the 10-minute journey to the Perisher Valley station, and a further 7 minutes to Blue Cow. It is adjacent to the Lake Crackenback Resort (accommodation).
Each of the carriages, which typically make up a 4-carriage train, is 16.8 m long and 3.8 m wide, and can carry 225 passengers. This provides for the movement of around 4,500 people per hour.
The rack system Skitube operates on was designed by the Swiss engineer Roman Abt, and was first used in Germany's Harz Mountains in 1885.
[edit] List of stations
[edit] Safety Record
- 18:45 Sunday, 3 July 2005 - An uphill train was derailed before reaching the tunnel. None of the 17 passengers or two crew members were hurt in the incident. The train apparently jumped off the rack and pinion.
- 12:35 Wednesday, 23 June 2006 - A downhill train stopped suddenly in between Blue Cow and perisher valley station, no damage or injuries to train or the packed midafter train passenagers. It is unknown why it had stopped suddenly but rumors have it that there was a boulder on the line.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Railway lines in New South Wales: | |
|---|---|
| Main lines: | Broken Hill Line, Main Northern Line, Main Southern Line, Main Western Line, North Coast Line, South Coast (Illawarra) Line |
| Country Branch Lines: | Berrima Line, Blayney - Demondrille Line, Bombala Line, BHP Port Kembla, Binnaway - Werris Creek Line, Boggabilla Branch, Canberra Branch, Cobar Branch, Coonamble Branch, Gwabegar Line, Grenfell Branch, Hay Branch, Lake Cargelligo Branch, Medway Quarry Branch, Merriwa Branch, Mungindi Line, Murwillumbah Branch, Naradhan Branch, Oaklands Branch, Parkes - Narromine Line, Picton Loop Line, Pokataroo Branch, Sandy Hollow - Gulgong Line, Skitube, Stockinbingal - Parkes Line, Temora - Roto Line, Tottenham Branch, Troy Junction - Merrygoen Line, Unanderra - Moss Vale Line, Walgett Branch, Wallerawang Colliery Branch, Warren Branch, Yanco - Griffith Line |
| Sydney Suburban Lines: | Airport and East Hills Line, Bankstown Line, Carlingford Line, Cumberland Line, Eastern Suburbs Line, Cronulla Line, Inner West Line, Illawarra Line, Metropolitan Goods Line, North Shore Line, Northern Line, Olympic Park Line, Richmond Line, Sandown Line, South Line, Western Line |
