Thread by @dominicstucki

Another month, another Swiss railway goodbye.
Today: #CJ's really old school standard gauge branch line Porrentruy–Bonfol and the last days of their class RBDe 566 I trainsets.
Join @Felyxorez and me for a little goodbye tour!
⬇️⬇️⬇️
#AjoieBijou

First point: What line again?
We're in the #Ajoie, a secluded and quite France-like part of 🇨🇭, separated from the rest of the country by the Jura mountains.
It's here, where the Chemins de fer du Jura operate a short branch line from Porrentruy to Bonfol.
[Maps: SBB]
#AjoieBijou

The 11 km long line opened in 1901 as «Régional Porrentruy–Bonfol» (RPB). Only 9 years later, the line became international, as it was extended by 2km to the border to connect to the German (after 1945: French) Dannemaire–Pfetterhouse line built in 1910!
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1944, RPB was integrated in the newly founded Chemins de fer du Jura (CJ), together with other, mostly narrow gauge, loss-making railways. Thats why CJ, known today for the scenic narrow gauge network (see 📷) also operates this little known normal gauge railway.
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#CJ's international career didn't last long, though. As trains across the border were mostly empty, traffic was shut down in 1946; the tracks remained until 1970. The Swiss part however was electrified and modernised in the 1950s.
📷: Schweizerisches Bundesarchiv
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But even on the Swiss side, demand remained low. The line survived anyway, but fell in a kind of hibernation with little to no modernisation, saving an otherwise long lost atmosphere until today. But this is about to change rapidly - and that's why we're here!
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Now, you know what you need to know – let's start!
Porrentruy, capital of Ajoie, features a big #SBB station telling stories from "better" times, when a good part of the 🇨🇵/🇨🇭 traffic passed over the SBB line here.
Our #CJ train awaits the connection from Basel.
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First stop up the line is Alle. 1800 inhabitants, a lovely farmer's village. Hourly trains and busses to Porrentruy.
And there's an interesting train parked here, which you might know, if you're following me already a bit longer. But more on this later.
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Welcome to Change... erm, I mean Alle!
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The station still has a ticket office, as it needs to be staffed anyway - someone has to operate the manual (!) switches for the Mon to Fri peak hour train crossings here!
Also note the properly branded ticket machine.
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Following the line out of town. After a while, we reach the freight centre of La Fenatte. Expanding it and concentrating the remaining rail freight traffic from/to the whole region here has played a major role for the decision to keep and modernise the line.
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Then, finally, it's photo time!
One of the two trainsets here – sadly the one working today – has been covered in comic-style illustrations, messing up the original design. But apart from that, I really do like these trains.
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🎥 Motion picture:

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Like most of the trains here in the last 120 years, they were bought second hand, in this case from #BLS.
Tomorrow, as the thread will continue towards Bonfol, I'll explain what makes them so special and why they're of railway historical importance.
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Porrentruy–Bonfol, part 2️⃣➡️!
#CJ has are only two trainsets avaliable for this line. They consist of a class RBDe 566 I railcar and a matching driving trailer. They were built in 1973/74 for the #EBT-Group, today part of #BLS, and taken over by #CJ in 2013/2016.
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These trains are of historical importance. As +/- the only ones, they represent the transition between the widespread 1960 stock and the NPZ series from the 80s on nearly all 🇨🇭normal gauge railways.
📷 1: Peter Hürzeler, CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CH, bahnbilder.ch
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8 railcars, 9 driving trailers, 10 coaches were delivered to the three railways of EBT group by SWS/Sécheron. Technically, they were still close to the 1960 stock, construction is based on the EW I coaches.
📷: Nigel Menzies, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0, flickr.com/nigelmenzies
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From the conceptional point hovever, they were revolutionary:
➡️ Railcar with cab on one end only
➡️ Large, swinging-sliding doors
➡️ Big entrance platforms
➡️ Traction characteristics tailored for S-Bahn traffic
➡️ New front design without front door
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It's interesting, that these trains were never used for suburban traffic. #EBT operated rural lines and when some of them have been integrated into S-Bahn Bern, other stock was working these services.
📷: Hans-Peter Bärtschi, CC BY-SA 4.0, e-pics.ethz.ch
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But the new concept was successful! The conception of the «NPZ» generation with roughly 200 trainsets built in the 80s and 90s was based on these #EBT trains. They therefore paved the way for one of the most successful and widespread regional train generations in 🇨🇭.
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For most of their life, the class RBDe 566 stayed aroud the Emmental, working local trains. In the 1990s, after the EBT group was rebranded as «Regionalverkehr Mittelland» (RM) they were repainted in a beautiful, bold livery by famous designer Luigi #Colani.
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The winged wheel livery was sadly rather short lived. When RM was integrated into #BLS in 2006, the large logo had to go - although the symbol was still part of the #BLS identity!
In a modified design, they were used until 2013, when BLS took them out of service.
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This brings us back to our Porrentruy–Bonfol line, as #CJ looked for an opportunity to replace one of their original class BDe 4/4 railcars. The #BLS class RBDe 566 I seemed suitable and so, one trainset was saved from scrapping and transferred to the Ajoie in 2013.
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In 2016, #CJ's NPZ was due for an overhaul. As this was apparently to expensive, they decided to rent another old RBDe 566 I from BLS and to scrap the newer NPZ (see 📷), bought in 2009 only.
Correction: BLS took the trains out of service end of 2014 (not 2013).
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In the meantime, we walked towards Vendlincourt. The line crosses over a small pass here, mostly running in a cutting.
En route, we spot a local celeb, which is also immortalised on the train!
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Vendlincourt. 447 m, 560 inhabitants and a big surprise! The station has been completely modernised and moved some 100 m towards Alle. The passing loop is gone. The new station is incredibly well equipped, including bike racks and car charging station! Well done, #CJ!
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The old station building still features the sign, but isn't in use anymore. The electrified (!) siding to the left leads to a sawmill. During my last visit in 2017 it was still in service, but for today I don't kown. Maybe @CJTrainDriver knows?
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Cloud lottery north of Vendlincourt. Also note the new signals. I suppose, the line is now equipped with ETCS L1LS.
With these pictures, I'll take a break. Last part coming this evening.
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Porrentruy–Bonfol, part 3️⃣
The way from Vendlincourt to Bonfol leads along the peaceful Etangs de Bonfol. Once built to provide fish for the Bishop of Basel, they are a nature reserve today. If you're in Bonfol, don't miss a visit here!
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Branch line atmosphere south of Bonfol. Notice the beautiful, filigree lattice catenary supports, which most probably date back to the electrification in 1952.
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Finally: Bonfol.440 m, 650 inhabitants. Terminus. A once very typical branch line terminus with two tracks, a freight loading ramp, a two-track depot, station building and goods shed. Not much is going on here in the early afternoon.
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The second trainset with railcar 221 awaits the next working, which will probably never come. This train is set to leave for the scrapyard very soon.
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Interesting railway references around the station. The sign saying «SBB CJ CFF» outside the former Hôtel de la Gare is technically correct, as #SBB operated the line from 1902 to 1908 on behalf of RPB.
Sadly no «produits du terroir» in the vending machine.
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Short pause for the friendly driver and the trainset shuttling between Porrentruy and Bonfol today. Later, we have the chance to photograph the two trains side by side, when 222 leaves again for Porrentruy.
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If you look closely at this picture, you'll spot that there's a track leaving the station northwards. It is the former international line towards France, which later served as freight siding, when an old hazardous waste landfill had to be excavated in the 2010s.
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It's worth exploring the first few hundred metres of this approximately 2 km long track, as Félix' drone video showed an interesting train hidden there. The second of the two NPZ formerly owned by TPF, bought to replace the current RBDe 566 I trainsets.
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I chased these trains last year during their last months with TPF, and of course I'm delighted that two of them will survive here! 😊
A smart buy from #CJ, as they were thoroughly modernised in the 2000s and meet the accessibility standards.
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Speaking of which: To provide level boarding, the station of Bonfol has to be modernised as well! Works should start this year, so if you want to get the full branch line experience here, better hurry up!
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As the next train leaves in 1.5 hours only (as on every authentic old school branch line, there is kind of a takt gap), we walk back to Vendlincourt, where we tried the new «station park». Good, but will be much better, once the trees are a few decades old.😉
🐴💉🚞🌳
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After a good 15 km by foot, it's now time to hop on a train. The "journey" from Bonfol to Porrentruy is 15 minutes only. We enjoy the sound of the old motors, the slightly bumpy ride and #FensterAuf!
The spartan interior is typical for EBT stock from the 70s/80s.
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A short Pause in Porrentruy and back to Alle, to make something out of the last sunrays.
The second TPF trainset is parked, well..., a bit unfortunate from a photographers perspective. But I really wanted to get this shoot of old and new side by side.
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Sunset in Alle. The future is bright for the NPZ trainset, waiting for its indian summer in the Ajoie.
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The hourly service leaves quite a bit of waiting time. Enough to study timetables (every 30 mins in peak hours and a takt switch in order to optimize connections from/to Basel with one diagram only).
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Goodbye to the NPZ (I'll definitely come back for them!) and boarding a last train to Bonfol.
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Bonfol, 17:37. The sun is gone and it's freezing cold. The driver disappears in the station building and soon, it's really quiet. Only the purring of the old trains and occasional cars on the road break the silence. Time for a final goodbye to these trains.
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Then, the warm train interior where the heating is fighting against the Jurassian frost for one of the last times lures me in. It's a cozy and quiet last ride down to Porrentruy.
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If you like the line and/or these trains, make sure you don't miss @Felyxorez' video from today, including bird's eye views.
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Porrentruy. Terminus. Last photos before I board the SBB train. Another chapter in railway history is closing.
But, although modernised, the line will survive! So if you're around, do go and see one of the most original branch lines in 🇨🇭 – the Porrentruy–Bonfol, the #AjoieBijou.