Pilatus Railway

Pilatus Railway
A train on the final section
Overview
Native name	Pilatusbahn
Status	Operational
Owner	Pilatus-Bahnen AG [de]
Locale	Obwalden, Switzerland
Termini	Alpnachstad Pilatus Kulm
Stations	5
Service
Services	1
History
Opened	4 June 1889 (Steam), reopened 15 May 1937
Technical
Line length	4.6 km (2.86 mi)
Rack system	Locher
Track gauge	800 mm (2 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Electrification	1,650 V DC overhead line
Operating speed	9 km/h (5.6 mph) downhill, about 10 km/h (6.2 mph) uphill.
Highest elevation	2,073 m (6,801 ft)
Maximum incline	48 %
Route diagram Legend km elevation (M) or length (m) 0.0 Alpnachstad PB 440 M 1.3 Wolfort 890 M Wolforttunnel 40 m Spycher tunnel I 47 m Spycher tunnel II 97 m 2.3 Aemsigen 1,355 M 3.3 Mattalp 1,600 M Eselwand tunnel I 44 m Eselwand tunnel II 50 m Eselwand tunnel III 46 m Eselwand tunnel IV 9 m 4.8 Pilatus Kulm (for Mount Pilatus) 2,073 M Aerial cable car Kriens-Krienseregg-Fräkmüntegg This diagram: view talk edit

The Pilatus Railway (German: Pilatusbahn, PB) is a mountain railway in Switzerland and the steepest rack railway in the world, with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%. The line runs from Alpnachstad, on Lake Alpnach, to a terminus near the Esel summit of Pilatus at an elevation of 2,073 m (6,801 ft), which makes it the highest railway in the canton of Obwalden and the second highest in Central Switzerland after the Furka line. At Alpnachstad, the Pilatus Railway connects with steamers on Lake Lucerne and with trains on the Brünigbahn line of Zentralbahn.^[1]