Type Light rail Character 841 Locale Switzerland | Services 1 Line length 17.44km Terminis Wil, Frauenfeld | |
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Opened 1887
electrification 1921 Electrification 1200 V DC Overhead line Track gauge Metre gauge railway (3 ft 3 ³⁄₈ in) | ||
The Frauenfeld–Wil railway (German: Frauenfeld–Wil-Bahn, FW) is a metre gauge (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in gauge) railway line in Switzerland, which connects the town of Frauenfeld in the canton of Thurgau, to the town of Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, following the valley of the Murg river. The line is owned and operated by the Frauenfeld-Wil-Bahn AG, forms part of the Tarifverbund Ostwind, and operates as service S15 of the St. Gallen S-Bahn.
Contents
Plans to build a tramway between Frauenfeld and Wil were first made in the early 1850s. The rail line opened in 1887, and was electrified in 1921. Around 1.25 million passengers use the line every year.
Locals call the train "Wilerbähnli" or "Wiler Bähnli".
Operation
Trains run every 30 minutes, requiring 3 trains in operation at once, with trains crossing at the stations of Matzingen and Schweizerhof.
In 2011 the railway company ordered five new ABe4/8 low floor trains from Stadler Rail, to replace the old trains. However, there are plans for a 15 minutes interval in future and therefore some of the old trains will be retained. The first train was delivered in March 2013 and was tested for 3 months. It went into regular service on 26 June 2013.
Stations
15 stations are served by the line.
Freight Traffic
Freight trains ran on the line from 1907 until the early 2000s. This included transporter wagons from 1977 onwards.