Calag Gangloff Builds New Cars For Gurtenbahn
Just in time for its 125th anniversary in 2024, the existing funicular railway on Bern's local mountain will receive a complete renovation. This applies to the railway line, the stations, as well as the cars, which are built according to today's requirements. The new, modern panorama cars of the Gurtenbahn come from Calag Gangloff from Langenthal.
The existing cars from 1999 come from Gangloff. This, and the geographical proximity to Gurten, make the project virtually a home game for Calag Carrosserie Langenthal AG, based in the canton of Bern. “Of course we at Calag Gangloff are proud to be able to build the new cars for the Gurtenbahn here in Langenthal,” says Michael Reinhard, marketing manager at Calag.
The innovations at Gurten are intended to make access to the Gurten Park in the countryside even easier for all groups of visitors. In order to achieve this and to meet the increased requirements in terms of comfort and accessibility, the cabins offer a number of new features compared to the current cars.
The new cars will be built by Calag Gangloff. The work on the entire railway system on Gurten is being carried out by Garaventa AG. The project is managed by Hili Manz GmbH as general planner, which also designed the vehicle concept and design in collaboration with Gurtenbahn AG in the initial planning phase.
More space for all travelers
The capacity of the new cars remains at 120 people per trip. In order to accommodate the different groups of visitors on the Gurten, the cars now have different sized compartments. The previous panoramic compartment will be optimized for barrier-free travel with strollers, mobile assistants and wheelchairs thanks to the new space layout and ground-level access. In the future, the view of Bern's old town will no longer only be possible from the panorama compartment, but will also be available to all passengers thanks to large panoramic windows. The journey out of the city is an experience for all passengers, regardless of the compartment.
Mountain bikers who use the Gurten Bahn as a taxi for the local downhill route are also catered for. This gives them a separate entrance to the station. The car compartments for transporting the bikes receive an additional protective coating on the inside to protect the floor and cabin from scratches.
Cool passengers even in midsummer
The new cars also offer more comfort during the summer heat periods. In order to ensure a pleasant driving temperature despite the panoramic glazing, the roof has hatches which, thanks to temperature sensors, open automatically against the direction of travel and thus ensure pleasant fresh air circulation in the car. So that the train can pass under the existing bridges despite the windows being raised, the glass roof is installed slightly lowered. The cars also have an air blower to provide passengers with enough fresh air even when the roof windows are closed.
Automated railway operations planned
With the renovation of the stations and the new cars, the Gurten Bahn's operations can be made more efficient. In the future, passengers will buy their tickets cashlessly, at machines on site or digitally via electronic channels. A uniform ticket and payment system is used for the Gurten Bahn, the parking garage, the toboggan run as well as the ski lift and the toboggan run. In normal operation, the train will travel unaccompanied in the future. In the evening, fully automated operation without the presence of personnel is even planned. In order to be able to optimally manage the flow of passengers even in unaccompanied operation, the stations will have additional platform doors. The entrances to the doors, as well as all doors on the new cars, guide passengers in the correct direction via green/red LED light strips in the traffic light system to guarantee smooth entry and exit.
www.calag.ch
