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Swiss train bridges the (track) gap

 

One of Switzerland's most scenic train routes, from Montreux on Lake Geneva to Interlaken in the Bernese Oberland, has become a single-train journey after over 100 years of all passengers and baggage having to shift trains along the way.

When the Golden Pass line was built between 1901 and 1916, the mountainous terrain of the Montreux to Zweisimmen section required metre-gauge track, rather than the standard 1.435 metres used the rest of the way to Interlaken. The wider gauge was used where possible to allow connections to the rest of the rail network.

Now, the companies operating the two segments have come up with a unique solution. Rather than shifting the passengers across the platform and onto another train, Alstom engineers developed wheel structures that can adjust the nearly half-metre difference on the fly; as the cars cross a custom ramp, flaps briefly support the weight to allow the wheels to move.

There's one more issue to solve, though; even though the passengers aren't involved, there's still an eight-minute stop to change locomotives; the two parts of the route still use different electric systems!

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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