Goods Traffic
Unusually for a narrow gauge railway, the BVZ still has very intensive goods traffic. However, this is exclusively for the supply of Zermatt, which, now as before, can be served by trucks only to a limited extent.
As the remaining municipalities in the Mattertal can be supplied by trucks using the valley road, rail transport of goods generally plays no role for them. The only exception is the transport of so-called Embder Steinplatten, which are used in the region as traditional material for roofing. These stone slabs are moved by goods cable cars from the stone quarries at Embd to two loading tracks in the Kipfenschlucht, from where they are transported further by train to Visp.
The most important goods transported to Zermatt are foodstuffs, building materials and heating oil. Some other consumer goods are similarly transported by rail, and also tourist baggage. Transhipment facilities are provided at Visp station, where containers from trucks and standard gauge goods wagons are loaded onto narrow gauge wagons. To the east of Visp, there are facilities for filling tank wagons. At Zermatt, the station has been equipped since 1983 with partially underground facilities for transshipment of oil products.
The majority of the goods volume to Zermatt is transported in standard containers, for which bogie and four wheel carrying wagons are available. Freight not transported in containers is loaded at Visp into sliding wall box cars, and later delivered to recipients in Zermatt by electric road vehicles. For non moisture sensitive goods, many open wagons of various types can be used. Oil transport is undertaken in tank cars with either four wheels or bogies. Classic covered wagons play no role in normal traffic any more. During the high season, up to three purely goods trains operate daily in each direction, and goods wagons are also attached to some passenger trains.
Some of the goods wagons are suitable for use on the Gornergratbahn. By means of special railcars of type Bhe 4/4, goods can also be transported all the way to the Gornergrat without being transhipped at Zermatt.
Read more about this topic: BVZ Zermatt-Bahn
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