page_title: Brünig railway line
section_title: Route
hierarchical_section_title: Brünig railway line / Operation / Route
caption_attribution_description: Stahlbrücke der Zentralbahn, welche bei Interlaken über die Aare führt. Länge des gesamten Bauwerks: 165 Meter, Länge des Hauptträgers: 92,8 Meter.
context_page_description: The Brünig railway line is a Swiss narrow gauge railway line that links Lucerne, in central Switzerland, with Interlaken, in the Bernese Oberland. The line runs via Alpnachstad, Giswil, Meiringen and Brienz, and passes over the Brünig Pass, using sections of rack railway to overcome the gradients, but with most of the line operated by normal adhesion methods.
  The line is 74 kilometres long. It opened in stages between 1888 and 1916, and was, between 1903 and 2004, the only narrow gauge line of the Swiss Federal Railways. Today the line forms part, along with the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, of the Zentralbahn company. The line is served by InterRegio trains that operate the full length of the line, with regular Regio trains between Interlaken and Meiringen, and Lucerne S-Bahn trains between Lucerne and Giswil. The section between Hergiswil and Lucerne is shared with the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line.
context_section_description: The line begins at Lucerne station, one of Switzerland's principal railway stations and which is shared with the standard gauge lines of the Swiss Federal Railways. The metre gauge terminal platforms, and the first section of the line, are shared with trains of the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line. Shortly after leaving the station, the line enters a tunnel under Lucerne's southern suburbs as far as Kriens Mattenhof station. From here the line runs on the surface to Hergiswil, where the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line diverges.
  From Hergiswil station the Brünig line runs through the Lopper I tunnel, under a shoulder of Mount Pilatus, to Alpnachstad, which is the starting point of the Pilatus Railway. The two lines are of different gauges, and there is no track connection. From Alpnachstad station, the Brünig  line follows the Sarner Aa and Lake Sarnen to Giswil. Beyond Giswil station, the line's first rack section then allows the line to climb to Kaiserstuhl station. From here, the runs through the upper basin of the Sarner Aa and alongside Lake Lungern as far as Lungern. This is the steepest adhesion worked section of the line.
  After Lungern station, a second rack section lifts the line to its summit at Brünig-Hasliberg station in the Brünig Pass. Beyond the pass, the line descends its third and final rack section, down the steep side of the valley of the Aare, to Meiringen. This is the steepest rack worked section of the line. At Meiringen station, the Brünig line reverses direction with trains both entering and leaving the station from the west end. The Meiringen–Innertkirchen Railway (MIB) connects here, leaving the station from its eastern end. Although there is a track connection between the two lines, they are electrically incompatible, and no through trains operate.
  From Meiringen to Brienz the line runs close to the Aare, in that river's valley. At Brienz station, the starting point of the Brienz Rothorn Railway is beside the Brünig railway station. The two lines are of different gauges, and there is no track connection. Beyond Brienz, the Brünig line runs along the northern shore of Lake Brienz, in a section often affected by landslides. Finally the line crosses the Aare on a high bridge, so built in order to allow lake shipping to reach Interlaken. It then passes over the standard gauge access to the BLS AG works at Bönigen, before descending into its terminus at Interlaken Ost station, which is shared with the BLS AG and Berner Oberland Railway (BOB). There is a physical connection with the BOB, which is also metre gauge, but again the lines are electrically incompatible and no through trains operate.
caption: Bridge carrying the line over the Aare into Interlaken Ost.
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