page_title: Chur–Arosa railway
section_title: Foundation of the ChA and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Chur–Arosa railway / History / Foundation of the ChA and construction
caption_attribution_description: English: Share of the Chur-Arosa Bahn AG, issued 15. December 1913 Deutsch: Aktie über 500 Franken der Chur-Arosa Bahn AG vom 15. Dezember 1913
context_page_description: The Chur–Arosa railway, also called the Arosabahn, Arosalinie, Aroserbahn or Aroserlinie, is a Swiss metre-gauge railway, which is operated by the Rhaetian Railway. It was built in 1914 by the former Chur-Arosa-Bahn to connect the Grisons capital, Chur, with the spa town of Arosa. Since 1942, it has been integrated into the network of the Rhaetian Railway. The name of the former company is still used as a name for the line.
context_section_description: Even before finance for the railway was definitively secured, the ChA was provisionally constituted on 15 July 1911 and formally established in Chur with a share capital of CHF 7.6 million at its general meeting on 4 July 1912. The canton of Grisons was a majority shareholder from the beginning. Gustav Bener, who had been commissioned as chief engineer, and the Wildberger company resolved outstanding issues and presented plans to the Grisons government for approval on 4 March 1912. Construction began on 1 August 1912 under the direction of Bener and his deputy Hans Studer, the builder of the Wiesen Viaduct. Since the city of Chur was planning to build a tram line at the same time, it suggested that the route from Arosa to Sassal be routed through the city. With the elimination of the Rosenhügelel tunnel and the two bridges over the Plessur, the ChA reduced construction costs by approximately CHF 150,000. The track was divided into four lots, which employed a total of about 1,000 workers. The unstable terrain made site management difficult, causing the original opening date of 15 November 1914 to be postponed.
  In November 1913, a retaining wall collapsed at the Dorfbach bridge; the existing steel girder bridge was being extended with the addition of three segments, which as a result lay on a curve with a radius of 60 metres. In February 1914, after the collapse of a retaining wall, 740 cubic metres of fill along with the track collapsed. In March 1914, the tracks were dislodged at the east portal of the Sassal III tunnel. In April 1914, the dome of the Nesslaries tunnel deformed and the vault in the Bärenfalle tunnel collapsed. The ground had to be stabilised and drained between km 4.7 and 5. In addition, the vault of the 148 metre-long Spundscha tunnel was so deformed that a 216 metre-long bypass tunnel had to be built. This tunnel work started on 9 April 1914 and took only five months. During this time, the trains ran over a wooden bypass bridge, which could support an axle load of 12 tonnes. The construction of the Lüen power plant, which was intended to supply both the railway line and the city of Chur with electricity, was not allowed to fall behind, unlike the other works. In addition to the difficult terrain, preparations for the general mobilisation at the beginning of the First World War also caused serious problems, as various construction workers and engineers were drafted for military service. In particular this affected Hans Studer, who had to resign from his post as deputy chief engineer.
  Despite all difficulties, the line was finally opened on 12 December 1914 after only two years of construction. With construction costs of CHF 402,700 per kilometer, the Chur–Arosa line was the most expensive on the Rhaetian Railway network.
caption: Share certificate worth 500 francs of the Chur-Arosa Bahn AG of 15 December 1913
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