Wynental and Suhrental railway
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Canton of Aargau, Switzerland |
| Number of lines | 2 |
| Technical | |
| System length | 32.3 km (20.1 mi) |
| Track gauge | 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) |
| Minimum radius of curvature | 27 metres (89 ft) |
| Electrification | Direct current 750 Volts |
The Wynental and Suhrental railway (German: Wynental- und Suhrentalbahn, WSB) is a privately owned narrow gauge railway company in the canton of Aargau in Switzerland. It operates under the brand AAR bus+bahn, together with the Busbetrieb Aarau (the regional bus service of Aarau)
The railway consists of two branch lines, from Aarau to Menziken (Wynental) and from Aarau to Schöftland (Suhrental). Its main operation is passenger traffic. On workdays until 8PM, and on Saturdays until 6PM there is a quarter-hourly service, in the evenings and on Sundays the trains run every half-hour. There is also a limited freight service in the Wynental, mainly to the metal works of Alu Menziken.
Both branches begin in Aarau south of the SBB railway station. There is a separate station called Aarau WSB with an own station building and three passenger tracks.
The Wynental branch runs partly on, partly near the main road to Suhr, with rather tramway-like characteristics. After the station Suhr Ausweiche, the line crosses the SBB railway Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing, then follows the main road to Gränichen. In the village of Gränichen the WSB line runs about 100 meters away of the road - in earlier years the line was even on the road, which consistently lead to conflicts with the motor traffic. Further on, the line again follows the main road until Oberkulm, then separately to Gontenschwil and Zetzwil, again next to the main road until Reinach. Between Reinach and Menziken (the terminal station), the WSB line is now using a part of the track of the abandoned SBB line Beinwil am See - Beromünster (Seetalbahn).
The Suhrental branch first leads to a short tunnel, then follows the main road via Unterentfelden, Oberentfelden, Muhen, Hirschthal to Schöftland. Like in Suhr, the WSB line crosses the SBB line Lenzburg-Zofingen on a level crossing in Oberentfelden. In Oberentfelden, there is still a small part on the road; in Muhen, the railway line has been diverted from the main road in 2004.
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