Métro Lausanne-Ouchy

The Métro - Lausanne – Ouchy (LO) was a railway which linked the lakeside at Ouchy with the main line railway station in Lausanne and Flon. The system also includes a parallel system between the railway station and Flon

History

The line was opened in 1877 as the the first Swiss funicular. The line was known as “La Ficelle” and used water balance as the means of raising and lowering the cars. In 1958 the funicular was rebuilt into a rack railway using the Strub system and intermediate stations at Jordils and Montriond were opened.

The line was sold by the operating company to the town of Lausanne in 1984 and on 22nd January 2006 it was closed to be rebuilt as part of Metro line 2 (M2) with a completion date in Autumn 2008. The project will incorporate the railway into a longer line from Ouchy to Epalinges with 14 intermediate stations and use 15 trains fitted with tyred wheels, similar to those in use on Line 1 of the Paris Metro system. The urban sections are being built in tunnel using "cut and cover" building techniques, the disruption causing much anger amongst residents and commercial premises owners along its length with much dispute and comment over the chosen route.

Technical Details

The system consists of two lines, the first from Ouchy, through Jordils, Montriond and the CFF railway station to Flon. This is known as “Metro – Ouchy” and is paralleled between the CFF railway station and Flon by a separate line, known as the “Metro – Gare”.

The line between Ouchy and Flon is 1482 m. in length, and rises 106 m. at a maximum gradient of 11.6% ( 1 in 8.66 ). This journey is completed in 8 minutes. The system is single track with a double track section in the station at Montriond to allow crossing of trains. The second line from the CFF railway station to Flon is just 318 m. in length, rises 37 m. at a maximum gradient of 12% (1 in 8.33 ). The trains were two 2-car units and offered a fast service, with trains every 6 to 10 minutes. The line is now referred to as Métro-Ouchy or M2.