WAB - The Wengernalp Railway (Switzerland)
Die Wengernalpbahn, the world's longest continuous cogwheel railway, connects Lauterbrunnen, Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald. At peak periods, additional trains can be put into operation following at short intervals behind the scheduled train, allowing capacity to be optimised according to demand. This demands an extremely flexible organization procedure and of course enormous care and attention with regard to dispatching trains. Trains do not travel directly from Lauterbrunnen over to Grindelwald. For safety reasons, regulations state that the electrified railcar must always be positioned at the lower end of the train, and so train compositions do not usually cross Kleine Scheidegg. However, a triangular junction specially built into the mountainside at Kleine Scheidegg allows the train to be turned if necessary so that it can also be used on the other side of the pass. The busiest stretch of railway runs from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen and this is also used to transport goods to traffic-free Wengen. The original railway tracks still run parallel to the new tracks on part of this stretch. However since the introduction of the latest freight locomotives - which travel as fast as passenger trains - they are seldom used. <> Railroads of Switzerland
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