The Swiss Northern Railway (German: Schweizerische Nordbahn, SNB), informally known as the Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn, opened the first railway line within Switzerland in 1847, the Zürich–Baden line. This followed the extension of a French railway to Basel in 1844. The original line generally followed the south bank of the Limmat from Zürich to near its confluence with the Aar near Brugg and then it generally followed the south bank of the Aar to Olten. It was absorbed into the Swiss Northeastern Railway (German: Schweizerische Nordostbahn, NOB) in 1853 and extended from Baden to Brugg in 1858. The line was absorbed into the Swiss Federal Railways on its establishment in 1902. It is electrified at 15 kV 16.7 Hz and its eastern 16 km section from Zürich to Killwangen-Spreitenbach is now part of the Zürich–Olten trunkline and has four tracks.
History
The section between Zürich and Baden was opened on 7 August 1847 by the Swiss Northeastern Railway. It was the first line built in Switzerland, except for the line built from Mulhouse to Basel by the French company Chemin de fer de Strasbourg à Bâle, opened to a temporary station outside Basel's walls on 15 June 1844 and to the permanent station on 11 December 1845. The construction of railways in Switzerland was delayed compared to most of its neighbours, partly as a result of its mountainous geography. In addition the cantons were in a position to influence the routes chosen, particularly because of the need for compulsory purchase to build railways. In 1836 Friedrich Hünerwadel of Lenzburg pointed out to the government of the canton of Aargau—through which the line had to pass—the importance of the route of a railway from Zurich to Basel for Aargau's commerce and industry.
In 1837, the Zürich Chamber of Commerce commissioned the engineer Alois Negrelli to investigate the route of such a line. In October of the same year the Zurich-Basel railway company was founded. The chosen route would lead from Zürich to Würenlos via Dietikon along the south bank of the Limmat, then crossing the river to follow the north bank of the Limmat via Wettingen, Ennetbaden and Obersiggenthal. In Untersiggenthal the line would turn to the north and have crossed the Aare at Döttingen. It would have then followed the south bank of the Rhine to Basel. In April 1838 surveying of the route began, but angry residents obstructed their work. The Züriputsch of 1839 and a civil war-like constitutional dispute in the canton of Aargau further delayed the start of construction.
In addition the route of the line was controversial. Some called for a line through the Bözberg Pass, which was the route of the Bözberg line opened in 1875. Although the Aargau parliament passed a law permitting compulsory purchase in November 1840, several shareholders lost their financial guarantees, and the company had to be dissolved in December 1841. In May 1843 representatives of the cantons of Aargau, Zurich and Basle met in the Baden City Hall, but they failed to come to any agreement.
Construction
In May 1845 a new committee was formed under the leadership of the Zurich industrialist Martin Escher. The planned line would now keep to the south bank of the Limmat, which it would only cross at Turgi. Finally, it was planned to cross the Rhine between Koblenz and Waldshut (then in the state of Baden) to connect with the planned Baden Mainline between Basel and Konstanz. With an assurance that Alois Negrelli would direct the engineering and that a branch line would be later built from Baden to Lenzburg and Aarau, the Aargau parliament approved the project in July 1845. The first stage of construction would be the section from Zurich to Baden. The was chosen,
Negrelli relocated the station in Baden to the north side of the town, requiring the construction of the 80-meter-long Schlossberg tunnel. Gustav Albert Wegmann designed the Zürich railway station, while Ferdinand Stadler designed the Baden station. At the end of 1845 the Nordbahn company was founded with a share capital of 20 million francs, in the spring of 1846 construction work started. The route for the most part was easy, although there were small landslides between Neuenhof and Baden. The greatest challenge was the construction of the Schlossberg tunnel, where prisoners were initially used for this work; later unskilled workers were also used there. There were three fatalities in a blasting accident and an additional six workers died of typhoid. The tunnel was broken through on 14 April 1847.