Altstätten–Gais railway line

The Altstätten–Gais railway is a metre-gauge railway in Switzerland. The 7.65 km (4.75 mi) long line was opened in 1911 by the Altstätten-Gais-Bahn (AG) and has been operated by the Appenzell Railways (Appenzeller Bahnen, AB). Three sections of the line are equipped with the Strub rack system, while the rest of the line uses adhesion.

Altstätten–Gais railway (S24)
Push-pull train on the rack section above Altstätten
Overview
Locale	Switzerland
Service
Route number	856
Technical
Line length	7.65
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	1000–1500 V DC overhead catenary
Maximum incline	16.0%
Route map km elev S2 S4 to Rorschach Altstätten SG S2 S4 to Sargans Bus Link former tramway from Berneck and Altstätten SG -0.40 Altstätten Rathaus 0.00 Altstätten Stadt terminus of S24 467 m beginning of rack section end of rack section 1.67 Alter Zoll 615 m beginning of rack section 2.44 Warmesberg 724 m end of rack section 3.13 Kreuzstrasse 818 m beginning of rack section 3.76 SG AR canton border end of rack section 4.07 Stoss 942 m 4.70 Rietli 945 m 5.45 Schachen (Gais) 961 m 6.36 Hebrig high point of line 972 m from Appenzell 7.65 Gais terminus ofS24 915 m to St. Gallen Source: Swiss railway atlas

History

End of the line in Altstätten Stadt, 1988

BDeh 4/4 motor coach and coaches ascending from Altstätten in 2010

The line from Altstätten Stadt via Stoss to Gais—where there was a connection to the line of the St. Gallen-Gais-Appenzell-Altstätten-Bahn (St. Gallen-Gais-Appenzell-Altstätten Railway) to St. Gallen—was opened on 18 November 1911 and operated with three CFe 3/3 class railcars. The three rack sections with a total of 3,264 m (10,709 ft) in length are located between Altstätten and Stoss, while the rest of the line to Gais is an adhesion railway. The railway was electrically operated at 1000V DC from the beginning.

Another short section in the old town of Altstätten was opened on 26 June 1912 between Stadt and Rathaus (town hall). The short link along Marktgasse established a connection to the Rathaus–Bahnhof SBB line of the Altstätten–Berneck tramway, opened in 1897 and operated by the Altstätten-Berneck-Bahn (ABB), which in turn was replaced in 1940 by the Altstätten–Berneck Trolleybus. The Altstätten–Gais line was managed by the ABB, which allowed the trains to run continuously between Gais and Altstätten SBB station.

As a result of a merger in 1949, the St. Gallen-Gais-Appenzell-Altstätten Railway (SGA) took over operations between Altstätten and Gais. In 1953, the catenary voltage was increased to 1500V, so that the then new ABDeh 4/4 6 to 8 railcars could operate freely on the whole SGA network.

S-Bahn St. Gallen network as of December 2021

On 2 June 1973, tram operations were closed on the remaining section in Altstätten. Until the final closure of the Altstätten SBB–Altstätten Stadt section on 31 May 1975, the SGA trains continued to operate over this section.

Due to declining frequencies and a cost recovery rate of less than 30 percent, the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and St. Gallen have established an engineering office review of whether "more customer-friendly and cheaper alternatives" would be feasible for the three rack railways of the Appenzell Railways, from Altstätten Stadt to Gais, from Rorschach Hafen to Heiden and from Rheineck to Walzenhausen. In particular, a changeover to bus operations or fully automatic operations is under discussion.

Since 2013, the route from Altstätten Stadt to Gais is operated by the S24 service of the St. Gallen S-Bahn. The S24 is also part of the Bodensee S-Bahn.

Operation

S24
AB BDeh 4-4 at Altstätten Stadt
Overview
Service type	St. Gallen S-Bahn service
Current operator(s)	Appenzell Railways (AB)
Route
Termini	Altstätten Stadt Gais
Stops	7
Service frequency	Every 60 minutes
Technical
Rolling stock	Class BDeh 4-4

Route

S24 Altstätten Stadt – Stoss – Gais

• Altstätten Stadt
• Alter Zoll (stops only on request)
• Warmesberg (stops only on request)
• Kreuzstrasse (stops only on request)
• Stoss (stops only on request)
• Rietli (stops only on request)
• Schachen (Gais) (stops only on request)
• Hebrig (stops only on request)
• Gais

During the warmer seasons and sunny weather, some services feature a special railroad car for the transportation of bicycles.

Bicycle transport

Further reading

• Leuthold, Emil (1981). Elektrische Bahn Altstätten–Gais (in German). Selbstverlag des Verfassers.
• Wägli, Hans G. (2010). Schienennetz Schweiz und Bahnprofil Schweiz CH+ (in German). AS Verlag. ISBN 978-3-909111-74-9.