Arth-Rigi Railway has been writing Swiss railway history for 150 years
Keystone-SDA
In its 150 years of existence, the Arth-Rigi Railway has repeatedly played a pioneering role in rail transport. It celebrated this history with an anniversary festival on Whit Sunday.
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Opened on June 4, 1875, the Arth-Rigi Railway (ARB) was the first railway line to be located entirely in the canton of Schwyz. In 1907, it became the world’s first electrically operated standard-gauge cogwheel railway. In 1949, its commuter trains were considered the most modern of their time.
Throughout its 150 years, ARB has always been closely linked to Swiss railway history. The fact that the ARB’s headquarters are located in Goldau today, and not in Arth as the name would suggest, can be traced back to a change in the Gotthard Railway’s plans at the end of the 19th century.
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The little mountain that attracted giants
Originally, Oberarth was chosen as the headquarters of the ARB because the Gotthard railway station planned at the time was to be built there. However, the project turned out to be much more expensive than expected – which is why the Gotthard Railway began planning the station at a new location in Goldau. This led to “a local uprising” in 1878, as the ARB noted in a press release to mark the anniversary. Goldau, not Arth, was to be connected to the world.
The federal government wanted to bring calm to the matter. There was a financial settlement, and the Gotthard railway station in Goldau was given the double name it still bears today: Arth-Goldau.
In 1880, the ARB moved its headquarters to Goldau. To this day, its valley station is located on a high platform above the railway station tracks.
Popular tourist route
While tourists from Lucerne travelled on the Vitznau-Rigi Railway from 1874, guests from Zurich and Zug came to their “local mountain” via Lake Zug.
The opening of the Arth-Rigi railway in 1875 simplified access and, in combination with the boat trip, offered a popular travel experience. After the Gotthard railway was completed in 1897, however, traffic shifted to Goldau and the Lake Zug route became less important.
Today, the easy journey by boat is possible again. At the start of the season on April 13, Zugersee Schiffahrt opened a new connection from Zug to Arth. The courses are coordinated with the bus and ARB and make it possible to travel on to the Rigi. The offer is even today “very attractive for tourists”, as Zugersee Schiffahrt wrote in April.
Parade of historic aircraft cancelled
The ARB celebrations started on June 5 and included free rides, concerts, a market and more.
Historic vehicles were on the road on Whit Sunday. A historic fleet from Rigi Railways travelled in parallel between Rigi Staffel and Rigi Kulm.
The Sunday programme would also have included a flypast by around 20 historic aircraft. “Unfortunately, these could not take off due to the unfavourable flying weather,” said Frédéric Füssenich, CEO of Rigi Railways. This is to be made up for on August 1, when the “Rigi Historic XXL DaysExternal link” will be celebrated.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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