Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway

Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway
Overview
Type	narrow gauge commuter rail
Locale	Vaud
Termini	Lausanne-Flon Bercher
Stations	21
Website	http://www.leb.ch
Operation
Opened	4 November 1873
Technical
Track length	23.67 km (14.71 mi)
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in)
Electrification	1500 V DC
Maximum incline	6%
Route diagram Legend -0,9 Lausanne-Flon(Exchange with TSOL) 472 m ü. M. Chauderon tunnel (445 m) -0,4 Lausanne-Chauderon 471 m ü. M. Chauderon tunnel (540 m) 1,0 Montétan 498 m ü. M. 1,6 Union-Prilly 510 m ü. M. 2,2 Prilly-Chasseur 524 m ü. M. 2,7 Cery-Fleur-de-Lys 542 m ü. M. 3,3 Jouxtens-Mézery 552 m ü. M. 4,2 Le Lussex 590 m ü. M. 4,9 Romanel-sur-Lausanne 590 m ü. M. 5,9 Vernand-Camarès 597 m ü. M. 6,7 Bel-Air LEB 605 m ü. M. 7,4 Cheseaux 608 m ü. M. 8,2 Les Ripes 623 m ü. M. 9,2 Étagnières 628 m ü. M. 10,8 Assens 625 m ü. M. 14,2 ÉchallensDepot and workshop 617 m ü. M. 14,8 Sur Roche 625 m ü. M. 15,2 Grésaley 622 m ü. M. 17,4 Sugnens 647 m ü. M. 20,2 Fey 645 m ü. M. 22,8 Bercher 627 m ü. M.

The Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher railway (French: Chemin de fer Lausanne-Échallens-Bercher, LEB) is a metre gauge railway in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The line connects the city of Lausanne with Bercher via Echallens, and is 23.67 km (14.71 mi) long.

History

After an initial test train ran between Lausanne-Chauderon station and Prilly-Chasseur on 3 October 1873, the first section of line came into service from Lausanne to Cheseaux on 4 November. The line through to Échallens opened in June 1874. Under a legally separate entity, the route to Bercher was completed and opened on 28 November 1889.

At the Lausanne end of the line, developments came later. Chauderon station was moved underground and the original station razed in 1995. Trains continued to terminate at Chauderon until 2000, when an extension to Lausanne-Flon station opened, permitting interchange with the Lausanne Métro.

Future

Together, the railway company, the Canton and the City of Lausanne have plans to upgrade the line to permit more frequent trains. Building of a new double track tunnel between Chauderon and Montétan stations is expected to take place by 2022, permitting up to 8 trains to run per hour in each direction on the urban section as far as Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne.

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Official web site of the LEB (in French)