The Gruyère–Fribourg–Morat railway (GFM) is a 1942 merger of two standard gauge and one 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) gauge railways running mainly within the Swiss canton of Fribourg. The company also operates numerous regional buses in the same area. After merger with Fribourg city transport, the company was renamed Transports publics fribourgeois/Freiburgische Verkehrsbetriebe (TPF).
Contents
History
The main line of the narrow gauge network runs from Palézieux, on the SBB main line from Bern to Lausanne, via Châtel-St-Denis and Bulle to Montbovon and has a total length of 44.2 km. The short Bulle - Broc branch, which was opened for traffic in 1912, leaves the main line just before La Tour-de-Trême station and serves the nearby Nestlé chocolate factory, as well as the village of Broc.
The system was opened in stages, that from Châtel-St-Denis to Palézieux (CP) in 1901, then over the following three years by the lines which made up the Chemins de fer électriques de la Gruyère (CEG), originally named CBM, those from Chatel-St-Denis to Vuadens, Vaudens to Bulle, Bulle to La Tour-de-Trême and from La Tour-de-Trême to Montbovon. From 20 December 1907 the CP was absorbed into CEG, the branch line to Broc being added in 1912. Soon the company extended its activity into the bus sector and built up a large network. From 1 January 1942, and with the addition of two standard gauge lines, Bulle - Romont and Fribourg - Murten - Ins, they formed the Chemins de fer Fribourgeois, Gruyère - Fribourg - Morat (GFM).
Bulle is the centre of operations with depot, workshops and, within its modern station, the connection between the metre and standard gauge lines as well as many bus lines. Transfer to the trains of the Montreux-Oberland Bernois takes place in Montbovon, and until 1969, Châtel-St-Denis was also reached by a line of the CEV from Vevey.
In 2000 the company was renamed Transports publics fribourgeois SA (Freiburgische Verkehrsbetriebe AG) and the city of Fribourg motor bus and trolley bus lines were integrated.
Operations
Metre gauge. The railway operates a basic hourly frequency on all its lines using a fleet of electric railcars with driver trailers. The oldest operational class is Be 4/4 dating from 1903 which are, nowadays used on the special trains in conjunction with visits to the chocolate factory at Broc, or on special excursions. These usually, subject to demand, work with an elderly passenger coach as trailer. Normal services are in the hands of either class Be 4/4 single cab power units built in 1977 or double ended BDe 4/4 built in 1972 coupled to single end driving trailer cars (class Bt) to form two-coach sets or double ended class BDe 4/4 units built by Ateliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey (ACMV) / ABB in 1992 (No's 121 to 124 inclusive) which work on their own on lightly loaded trains or with driving trailers by the same makers. For (school) peak traffic, some more driving trailers may be added. The line was home to just two main line electric locomotives, Class GDe 4/4, built by SLM / BBC in 1983 and which are identical to the Class 6001 of the Chemin de Fer Montreux-Oberland- Bernoise. These are No. 101, named "Ville de Bulle" and No. 102, named "Neirivue". They were usually used on workings with standard gauge wagons loaded on transporter bogies or ballast hopper trains originating from Grandvillard. The company has also in its stocklist two vintage electric shunting locomotives, Class Te 2/2, No's 11 and 12, built by Oerlikon in 1912. One of these is usually to be found at Bulle in connection with the wagon transfer between standard and metre gauge, the other at Montbovon.
Standard Gauge. Like the metre gauge the standard gauge lines are operated on an hourly timetable and again with electric units and driving trailers.
Plans were announced in Autumn 2006 for the introduction of new stock on the standard gauge section with a top speed of 125 km/h to operate as fixed three - coach sets, maintaining the hourly timetable, but with faster timings. These will replace the 1964/5 built stock constructed by a consortium of SIG / SWS / BBC / Oerlikon / SAAS. As these will be built under the auspices of the Transports publics Fribourgeois they have been dealt with under that heading.
Livery
Most of the trains are still painted in a grey livery with a broad orange band below the windows, marked "La Gruyere". In 2004 the first of the repainted units were seen on the line in a plain white livery with the area around the driving cab, a "large dot" pattern along the body side and "tpf" lettering in cherry red.