A brief history of "Sustenbahn"

Railways first came to this part of the Berner Oberland in August 1872 when the Bödeli-Bahn opened a line from Därligen to Interlaken West. This was quickly followed in 1874 by an extension to Bönigen on Lake Brienz. At the same time, in the Italian speaking canton of Ticino, work was well advanced on the first sections of the Gotthard-Bahn that would eventually link Germany with Italy. Railway fever had well and truly come to Switzerland. The good citizens of Gental and Gadmental could see the benefits of having their own connection to the rapidly expanding rail system but one important obstacle stood in their way…….money !! The area consisted mainly of small, relatively poor, farming communities and building railways was very expensive at the best of times. To drive a railway through the mountains to meet up with the Gotthard-Bahn was unthinkable and to reach the newly opened lines around Interlaken, would still be costly, even allowing for the more friendly terrain. By sheer determination the Brienzersee-Winkeldorf-Bahn (BSWB) was eventually formed and in 1881 a line was opened from Winkeldorf to Bönigen where a connection with the Bödeli-Bahn was made. The route chosen passed through the important town of Meiringen before hugging the southern shores of Lake Brienz and was the first section of what would later be known as the Sustenbahn. The BSWB deemed this to be the most direct and cheapest route but its decision was later to prove costly and eventually resulted in near bankruptcy for the company and the line under threat of closure. Initially the BSWB was surprisingly successful and soon became the most popular way for the inhabitants of Gental, Gadmental, Meiringen and the villages of the Brienzer See to reach Interlaken. It provided an efficient means of getting the farm produce to market and its three small locomotives and limited amount of rolling stock often struggled to meet demand. The first signs of trouble came in 1889 when the Jura-Bern-Luzern railway reached Brienz, on the northern shore of the lake, with its Brünig line. This opened up the area and gave the residents of Meiringen and the valleys easy access to the large city of Luzern. Those living in the villages on the northern shores, who had previously journeyed across the lake by steamer to use the services of the BSWB, also started to change their traveling habits. The losses started to accumulate with only the section between Winkeldorf and Meiringen showing any profit and by 1890 the BSWB was in desperate financial trouble after only 9 years of operation.

In stark contrast the Gotthard-Bahn, completed in 1882, was operating successfully and plans had been made to link the Bödeli-Bahn with the Thunersee-Bahn which would eventually provide a connection with the Swiss capital, Bern by 1893. It was to be these two projects which would save the BSWB from closure. The wealthy businessmen in and around Bern wanted easier access to the large cities of Northern Italy without having to send their goods via Olten and the northern Gotthard ramp which at times could lead to delays. The Lötschberg tunnel was still many years away so the solution to their problem was to take over the ailing BSWB and extend the line from a new junction at Zweikirchen to rejoin the Gotthard route at Göschenen. The new company, GZI (Göschenen-Zweikirchen-Interlaken Bahn) still had the mountains to contend with but the tunneling experience gained by the Gotthard-Bahn and the seemingly endless supply of cash from its' financiers made the unthinkable of 10 years before possible. The Susten tunnel and its' associated earthworks were comparatively easy constructions compared with those of the Gotthard-Bahn. The first GZI train ran over the newly completed line in 1896 and the Sustenbahn as we know it today, was born. Locomotives and rolling stock were hired from the GB with which the GZI had very close links and in many respects the line was operated as a branch of the main Gotthard route. Despite initially being in competition with the northern section of the Gotthard-Bahn, the GZI was never regarded as a threat by the directors of the GB and the two companies always enjoyed a good working relationship. The small amount of freight revenue lost to the GZI in the north was more than offset by the ability to use the GZI route should an incident close the Gotthard northern ramp.

The GZI continued to operate as a separate company until 1909 when, together with the Gotthard-Bahn, it became part of the SBB with the exception of the short section between Bönigen and Interlaken Ost which by this time had been taken over by the Thunersee-Bahn and over which the GZI had a joint running agreement. On the 1/1/1913 the BLS took over control of the Thunersee-Bahn and the joint running agreement was extended over the full length of the Sustenbahn to Göschenen. The line had now become an International route and its' newfound success had prevented any line closures and protected the local services. Had the line not been extended it would definitely have been committed to the history books when the SBB Brünig line finally reached Interlaken in 1916. Sustenbahn was electrified between 1920 - 1922 together with the Spiez - Bönigen section and the Gotthard line and today continues to provide a useful alternative route for international freight and passenger traffic. It also serves an area of increasing tourism as well as providing a car-carrying service when the Susten Pass is closed during the winter months. Despite the joint running agreement of 1913, BLS locomotives, other than those on the Susten car-carrying services, are rare east of Zweikirchen but this could well change with the new "open access" policy if the BLS decide to use this route as their gateway to the SBB/FFS Gotthard line.

The next milestone in the history of the Sustenbahn will probably come with the completion of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Will the extra capacity released, threaten this rail route once again ?

Source of Information: Schienennetz Schweiz (Wägli) and a very vivid imagination. John Whitby 2000

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