Transports publics Fribourgeois

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The Transports Publics Fribourgeois is a renaming of the former Chemins de fer Fribourgeois Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat when the municipal Transport en commun de Fribourg (TF) was absorbed in 2000.

[edit] The Railways

The company is a railway operator with both narrow and standard gauge lines centred in the town of Bulle. 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. The short Bulle - Broc branch, which leaves this line between Bulle and La Tour-de-Trême, serves the nearby Nestlé (formerly Cailler) chocolate factory. The company also operates two standard-gauge lines, between Bulle and Romont and, completely separate, between Fribourg, Murten and Ins.

The Palézieux - Montbovon line was opened throughout in 1904. The Chemin de fer Châtel-St-Denis-Palézieux (CP) and the Chemin de fer Châtel-St-Denis-Bulle-Montbovon (CBM) amalgamated in 1907 to form the Chemins de fer électriques de la Gruyère (CEG), adding the Bulle - Broc branch line in 1912. The two standard gauge operations joined in a further amalgamation on 1st January 1942 when together they formed the Chemins de fer Fribourgeois, Gruyère-Fribourg-Morat (GFM).

Operations are centred on Bulle which has a depot, workshops and offers a connection to the standard gauge line to Romont as well as express bus services to the capital. The transfer to the MOB takes place in Montbovon.

Today, on both systems, passenger traffic is carried out by electric units, single driving cars, coupled at busy times to trailers. Standard gauge goods traffic can transfer to the metre gauge where the wagons are transported on carrier trucks. The company still has few metre gauge wagons, all now connected with railway engineering.

[edit] Locomotives and Rolling Stock

A few vehicles inherited from the former companies and even dating back to pre - First World War days are in use for shunting and departmental use.

Metre Gauge Locomotives and Rolling Stock.

¹Gruyère is the name of the Region while Gruyères stands for the small town, situated between Bulle and Montbovon

Abbreviations.

• ACMV / Vevey : Atéliers de Constructions Mécaniques de Vevey / Vevey Technologies (now Bombardier)
• AI  : Electrizitätsgesellschaft Alioth, Münchenstein BL
• BBC / ABB  : Brown Boveri & Cie / Asea Brown Boveri (later ADtranz, then Bombardier)
• MFO  : Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (later BBC)
• SAAS  : S.A. Ateliers de Sécheron, Geneva.
• SIG  : Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft, Neuhausen am Rheinfall (now Alstom)
• SWS  : Schweizerische Wagons- und Aufzügefabrik AG, Schlieren ZH (closed)

Standard Gauge Locomotives and Rolling Stock.

Abbreviations (see also above listing)

• Aebi  : Robert Aebi
• Asper  : Victor Asper Maschinenbau

New Deliveries

Five existing motor coaches 171-173, 181-182 plus one identical vehicle RBDe 567 316 on long-term lease from TRN SA were recently modernized, incorporating new seating, air condition, information displays and video recording. The same modernization occurred with matching driving trailers 371, 373, 381, 382 and 383 ex TRN SA plus one, ABt 204, on long-term lease from TRN SA. Also the two matching coaches 364-365 were treated accordingly. First class compartment is now in the driving trailer and no longer in the motor coach, which had before been classified RABDe 537.

Three new intermediate coaches, all second class, have been delivered from Stadler and incorporate a low level centre section suitable for pram / buggy and disabled access. These cars have large windows and other facilities as featured throughout the train.

Modernized ABt 371 and RBDe 567 171 with B 362 in old livery in Neuchâtel on 29 March 2006

Leased and modernized RBDe 567 316 and ABt 204 with tpf B 361 and 369 in Fribourg on 29 September 2006

New low-floor coach B 369 on 29 September 2006 in Fribourg

[edit] Livery

The trains were painted in an uninspiring grey livery with a broad orange band below the windows, marked "La Gruyère", a few vehicles even still had the older green/cream livery. In 2001 the first of the repainted units appeared on the line in a plain white livery with lining and "tpf" lettering in cherry red.

[edit] Fare Structure

From 12th December 2006 the "tpf" together with SBB-CFF-FFS, BLS, CarPostal Suisse, MOB, STB and VMCV introduced a canton-wide zone fare known as "frimobil", ordered and subsidized by the canton. It was advertised as "offering freedom and mobility throughout the region".

[edit] Vintage Train

The company operate a "Retro Train" using vintage stock and railcar. Operating at weekends throughout the year it offers travel in a 1926 built coach named Moléjon coupled to a bar-coach named La Grevire (built in 1932), the power being supplied by an electric railcar dating from the early 1920's. Included in the price is a fondue followed by Meringues with local delicacy, Crème de Gruyère.

[edit] Narrow Gauge Freight Services

Until 10th December 2006 the company operated three main freight routes:

• To and from the Cailler chocolate factory at Broc, standard gauge wagons carried "piggy-back" on narrow gauge transporter trucks from and to Bulle. Haulage was performed by the branch electric unit of 121-124 series attaching the "piggy-backs" at Broc Fabrique.
• Timber traffic originating at Montbovon, carried "piggy-back" to Bulle, and, on occasions other traffic to and from other stations.
• Ballast traffic from Grandvillard in narrow gauge hopper cars to Gstaad.

From that date the handling of the first two freight routes was taken over by SBB Cargo, the third by MOB. Thus, the company's two GDe 4/4 locomotives, together with the hopper cars, became surplus to requirements and were sold to the MOB in April 2007. TPF is paid by SBB Cargo for conveying the standard gauge wagons on transporter trucks to/from Bulle and Montbovon by accordingly fitted motor coaches 121-124.

Meter gauge TPF BDe 4/4 123 is coupled to a standard gauge wagon on transporter trucks in Broc-Fabrique

Detail view of the coupling

Detail view of a transporter truck

[edit] Sources

• Magazine des Transports publics Fribourgeois, No.8, January 2007.
• Grandguillaume Michel, et al., Voies étroites de Veveyse et de Gruyère. BVA, Lausanne, 1984, ISBN 3-88125-003-3