Stadtbahn Chur

Stadtbahn Chur

No, not a tram on steroids, but an actual locomotive-pulled train rumbling along a main thoroughfare in the old city of Chur, capital of Switzerland’s Canton Graubünden.

This is a quite frequent sight in Chur as the Chur-Arosa trains of the Rhätische Bahn, after departing from in front of the Hauptbahnhof, actually serve as a Stadtbahn, carrying local passengers between several stops within Chur before heading up from the Plessur River to climb to the resort village of Arosa.

This train is being pulled by one of RhB’s trusty Ge 4/4 Series II electric locomotives, positioned on the Arosa-end of the train. For the return trip down to Chur, the driver will operate the train from the control cab fitted to the end of the last carriage.

This photo, taken on a bright, sunny autumn day in 2010, and making its first F-C appearance here, was part of a happy return to the Chur-Arosa line, which I rode a few days later. My initial experience with this special line was in 1994, when the train did not use locomotives, but motor cars and (un-powered) coaches. A subsequent change in the powering of the Arosa line to AC allowed locomotives such as this one to appear, making the Stadtbahn all the more railfan-impressive as it navigated the streets of Chur on its meter gauge tracks.

© Steve Ember