Furka-Oberalp-Bahn

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outside Brig station

The Furka-Oberalp-Bahn is a narrow gauge mountain railway in Switzerland with a gauge of 1 m (3 ft 3³⁄₈ in). It runs in the Graubünden, Uri and Canton of Valais. Since January 1, 2003 it is part of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn when it merged with the BVZ Zermatt-Bahn.

The line begins in Disentis in the canton of Graubünden, where there is a connection to the Rhätische Bahn (RhB). It then runs over the Oberalp Pass to Andermatt in the canton of Uri. Through the Furka Tunnel it reaches the Goms area and Brig in the canton of Valais. In Brig, it connects to the BVZ Zermattbahn since 1930.

The line over the Furka Pass was opened in 1911. It was the Brig-Furka-Disentis Bahn (BFD). The line to Brig via Gletsch was opened in 1915 but suffered bankruptcy. In 1923, construction works were continued and lasted until 1925, when it became the Furka-Oberalp-Bahn.

[edit] Schöllenenbahn

The Schöllenenbahn (SchB) was opened in 1917 from Göschenen up to Andermatt. It has a station connecting with the Gotthard-Line of the Swiss Federal Railways. Initially it was electrified with 1,200 V DC. In 1941 this was converted to 11,000 V AC. In 1961, it merged with the Furka-Oberalp-Bahn.

There are many avalanches between Realp and Oberwald. The section over the Furka Pass used to be closed during winters. The mountain section was closed in the winter of 1981 and was replaced by a tunnel (length: 15.381 km) in 1982. The association called Verein Furka-Bergstrecke and the company Dampfbahn Furka-Bergstrecke now run a heritage railway with steam locomotives on the old route.