Oensingen–Balsthal railway line

The Oensingen–Balsthal railway line is a standard gauge railway line in the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It runs 4.1 kilometres (2.5 mi) from a junction with the Jura Foot Line at Oensingen to Balsthal. The Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn [de] owns the line; Swiss Federal Railways operates scheduled passenger services.

Oensingen–Balsthal
Train at Balsthal in 2009
Overview
Owner	Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn [de]
Line number	412
Termini	Oensingen Balsthal
Stations	4
History
Opened	17 July 1899 (1899-07-17)
Electrification	4 October 1943 (1943-10-04)
Technical
Line length	4.1 km (2.5 mi)
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	15 kV  16.7 Hz AC overhead catenary
Route map Legend km Swiss Quality Paper 4.0 Balsthal 3.3 Thalbrücke 2.6 Klus KEBAG AG Von Roll Jura Foot Line (SBB) to Olten 0.0 56.6 Oensingen 58.6 Niederbipp Langenthal–Oensingen line (asm) to Langenthal Solothurn–Niederbipp line (asm) to Solothurn Jura Foot Line (SBB) to Geneva Source[1] This diagram: view talk edit

History

The Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn [de] opened the line between Oensingen and Balsthal on 17 July 1899.^[2] The line was electrified at 15 kV  16.7 Hz AC in 1943.^[3]

Operation

Swiss Federal Railways operates the S22 on a half-hourly interval between Oensingen and Balsthal, with connections available at Oensingen to Olten, Biel/Bienne, and Zürich Hauptbahnhof.^[4] Major freight customers on the line include Swiss Quality Paper, KEBAG AG, and Von Roll.^[5]