Europe's first mountain Railway
The cogwheel system
The Rigi Bahnen have a well deserved reputation as mountain railway pioneers. Today, we still give our all to live up to this reputation and proudly restore and maintain our unique fleet of modern and vintage trains.
THE COGWHEEL SYSTEM - EUROPE'S FIRST MOUNTAIN RAILWAY
«I want to make it possible for all people to travel up into the mountains, so that everyone can enjoy the glory of our magnificent country!» proclaimed Riggenbach in 1863 when he patented his new invention in France, a cogwheel system that enables trains to climb uphill.
THE COGWHEEL SYSTEM - THE RIGGENBACH SYSTEM
When Niklaus Riggenbach patented the cogwheel system in 1863, no-one could have predicted how quickly this system would spread in the years to follow.
Rigi Bahnen led the way with the launch of Europe's first ever cogwheel mountain railway in 1871 and subsequently added additional routes to its rail network.
During the first half of the 20th century, Mt. Rigi's cogwheel railways were gradually electrified.
The cogwheel system installed in 1871 is still in use today. The racks and other technical elements are carefully restored and maintained on a daily basis. Regular inspections and quality control of the rail network guarantee the highest standards of safety and a ride that's still as much fun as it was back in 1871.
TECHNICAL DETAILS: COGWHEEL TRAIN FROM GOLDAU
| Commissioning | 4. June 1875 |
| Start of electric operation | 1. May 1907 |
| Systems for electric operation | |
| Rectifier substation | 2 |
| Alternating current supply | 15 kV/50 Hz |
| Direct current traction power | 1'500 V |
| Rectifier substation output | 4`000 kW |
| Track standard gauge | 1'435 mm |
| Track length | 8'551 m |
| Cogwheel system | Ing. N. Riggenbach |
| Steepest gradient | 200 o/oo |
| Medium gradient | 144 o/oo |
| Smallest radius (main track) | 120 m |
| Schönenboden tunnel | length: 67 m |
| Pfädern tunnel | length: 48 m |
| 8 bridges | total length: 368 m |
| Altitude of the stations | |
| Goldau | 518 a.s.l. |
| Rigi Klösterli | 1'315 a.s.l. |
| Rigi Kulm | 1'752 a.s.l. |
Vehicles | |
| Electric traction vehicles | |
| Electric push-pull trains | 4 à 508 kW |
| Electric push-pull train | 1 à 824 kW |
| Electric railcar (world's oldes electric cogwheel railcar, built 1911) | 1 à 390 kW |
| Electric railcar | 1 à 449 kW |
| Electric locomotive with electric rotary snow plough | 1 à 449 kW |
| Passenger carriages | 4 |
| Freight wagons, service vehicles, snow ploughs etc. | 10 |
Speed | |
| Electric traction vehicles | |
| Uphill | 21 km/h |
| Downhill 0-144 o/oo | 17 km/h |
| Downhill 145-200 o/oo | 14 km/h |
| Travel time Goldau - Rigi Kulm | 40 minutes |
| Transport capacity | 1'000 people per hour |
TECHNICAL DETAILS: COGWHEEL TRAIN FROM VITZNAU
| Commissioning | |
| Vitznau - Rigi Staffelhöhe | 21. May 1871 |
| Rigi Staffelhöhe - Rigi Kulm | 23. June 1873 |
| Start of electric operation | 3. October 1937 |
Systems for electric operation | |
| Rectifier substation | 3 |
| Alternating current supply | 15 kV/50 Hz |
| Direct current traction power | 1'500 V |
| Rectifier substation output | Vitznau 2`000 kW, Romiti 2`000 kW, Staffel 2'000 kW |
| Track standard gauge | 1'435 mm |
| Track length | 6'975 m |
| Double track Freibergen - Rigi Kaltbad (since 1874) | 1'883 m |
| Cogwheel system | Ing. N. Riggenbach |
| Steepest gradient | 250 o/oo |
| Medium gradient | 190 o/oo |
| Smallest radius (main track) | 120 m |
| Schwanden tunnel | length: 67 m |
| 7 bridges | total length: 97 m |
Altitude of the stations | |
| Vitznau | 439 a.s.l. |
| Rigi Kaltbad | 1'453 a.s.l. |
| Rigi Kulm | 1'752 a.s.l. |
Vehicles | |
| Electric traction vehicles | |
| Electric locomotive | 1 à 331 kW |
| Electric motor carriage | 4 à 331 kW |
| Electric motor carriage | 1 à 824 kW |
| Electric push-pull vehicles | 2 à 824 kW |
| Rotary snow plough | 1 à 309 kW |
| Steam locomotives | 2 à 368 kW |
| Passenger carriages | 9 |
| Freight wagons, service vehicles, snow ploughs etc. | 13 |
Speed | |
| Steam locomotives | 9 km/h |
| Electric traction vehicles | Uphill: 18/23 km/h Downhill: 12/14 km/h |
| Travel time Vitznau - Rigi Kulm | 30 minutes |
| Transport capacity | 850 people per hour |