Niesenbahn Repaired After 44 Hours
On Saturday, August 19, 2021, the two Niesenbahn vehicles got stuck in the first section. They were pulled into the stations by emergency propulsion. At this point, 150 guests were enjoying the evening in the Berghaus Niesen Kulm. The guests had to be evacuated during the night because the breakdown could not be repaired within a reasonable period of time. Two REGA helicopters were in use, one from the Wilderswil base and one from the Zweisimmen base. They evacuated a total of 147 guests over a period of 2 hours and 30 minutes. The evacuation was completed at 1:45 a.m.
Internal and external specialists meticulously searched for the errors on Sunday and Monday. A chain of different mistakes in different constellations led to repeated setbacks. For this reason, the work had to be continued on Monday. At 3.50 p.m. the definitive "OK" was given for the resumption of operations.
The glitch has been fixed. Finally, four errors led to the interruption of operations. The resumption took place on Tuesday, August 22, 2023, at 8:00 a.m.
In the end, there were four errors that led to the service interruption:
- Carbon dust and grease in the engine (the engine is now in good condition again)
- A defective fan as well
- a field regulator.
- And finally the converter/thyristor, which has been completely replaced.
The breakdown was fixed after 44 hours and the necessary measurements and tests were successful. The external specialists from the companies SISAG, Schattdorf, and Küffer Elektro-Mechanik AG, Kirchberg (BE) gave the go-ahead for operation. Technical management, management and the board of directors then set the resumption for Tuesday, August 22, 2023, 8:00 a.m.
