page_title: Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern Railway
section_title: Oron Railway Conflict
hierarchical_section_title: Lausanne–Fribourg–Bern Railway / History / Oron Railway Conflict
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Alter Grandfey-Viadukt über die Saane von 1862.
context_page_description: The Lausanne-Bern-Fribourg Railway was a former railway company in Switzerland, which was formed in 1858 and absorbed into the Western Swiss Railway in 1872.
  The aim of the LFB was to connect the French-speaking part of western Switzerland with the German-speaking part of central Switzerland with a line from Lausanne to Bern via Oron and Fribourg. The line now forms part of the Lausanne–Bern railway, now owned by the Swiss Federal Railways.
context_section_description: The aim of the LFB was to connect the western and French-speaking part of Switzerland with the central and German-speaking part of Switzerland with a line from Lausanne to Bern via Oron and Fribourg. The line now forms the Lausanne–Bern railway. However, it was preceded by a long history of dispute over the selection of the route between various canton interests between 1852 and 1857, known in German as the Oronbahnkonflikt (Oron railway conflict).
  The cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Vaud and Geneva agreed on a rail link between Geneva and Bern in 1852. This line was to run from Bern to Geneva via Laupen, Murten, Payerne, Yverdon and Lausanne. Immediately thereafter, the West Switzerland Company (Compagnie de l'Ouest Suisse, OS) received the concession for its section through the Vaud.
  The canton of Fribourg, however, wanted to benefit from the line and finally insisted that the line would have to run via Fribourg instead of via Laupen. The West Switzerland did not agree and insisted on the route via Murten and called on the Federal Assembly to issue a "compulsory" concession, overriding Fribourg.
  The Fribourg Grand Council decided on 27 November 1855 to build a railway line at public expense from Yverdon via Payerne-Freiburg to Thörishaus on the border with the canton of Bern at the request of Julien Schaller. The concession was to be issued to a start-up company called the Chemin de fer du canton de Fribourg ou du Centre Ouest Suisse (Canton of Fribourg or Central West Switzerland Railway). The Federal Assembly decided on 6 February 1856 in favour of Fribourg and the canton issued a concession to its company. Shortly later, Fribourg changed its plans and sought the construction of a direct route via Oron, which was about 26 km shorter, and issued a concession for it on 24 May 1856 to the Lyon-Geneva Railway (Chemin de fer Lyon-Genève).
  Lausanne, on the other hand, returned to the Federal Assembly and applied for a compulsory concession for the line via Murten. The Federal Council then consulted foreign experts, who recommended against the Oron line because of the considerable technical difficulties and higher development costs. Nevertheless, after violent debates on 23 September 1856, the Federal Assembly supported in principle the direct route via Oron.
  Lausanne did not want to take part in negotiations proposed by the Federal Assembly, so the Confederation issued a compulsory concession for the construction of the line on Vaud soil to Fribourg. Vaud, on the other hand, sought a compulsory concession for the Murten line, but was rejected by the Federal Council on 31 July 1857. Vaud then objected to the federal decision and claimed the Federal Council had a conflict of competence. Finally, the unified Federal Assembly rejected the claim that it had a conflict of competence on 19 December 1857 and found that the national interest was greater for a line via Oron than a line via Murten.
caption: Grandfey Viaduct over the Saane in about 1862
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