Métro Lausanne–Ouchy
The line was known as La Ficelle (The String) and used water balance as the means of raising and lowering the cars.
In 1958 the funicular was rebuilt into a rack and pinion railway using the Strub system and intermediate stations at Jordils and Montriond were opened.
The rolling stock was sold to the French city of Villard-de-Lans with the intention of it being used on their new rack railway, La Patache.
The first line ran from Ouchy, through Jordils, Montriond and the SBB-CFF-FFS railway station (Gare CFF) to Flon.
A second line paralleled the Métro-Ouchy from Gare CFF to Flon stations, using its own separate to one side of a double-track tunnel.
A switchback allowed trains to enter the maintenance facility, located in a building to the north and sightly to the west of the station.
Fare control was located inside a building to the east of the platform dating back to the days of the Ouchy funicular.
The rolling stock only had doors on the east side so this arrangement was necessary to accommodate both the passing track and the station.
The trains for the Lausanne-Ouchy line consisted of 2 unpowered passenger cars and a locomotive in push-pull configuration.
There were 3 rack locomotives numbered 121-123, designated He 2/2, rated at 622 hp, 6.25 m in length and weighing 18.1 tons, with a top speed of 32 km/h.
The Lausanne-Gare line was always operated by a single electric railcar built to the same specifications as the locomotives but with a length of 11.9 m and a weight of 18.5 tons.
The trains were still in excellent condition and were sold to the French town of Villiard-de-Lans for use on their new (planned) rack railway, 'La Patache'.
The trains were moved to a storage location to be overhauled for the French railway, including asbestos removal.
An idea that the locomotives and passenger cars could be used as snack booths in downtown Lausanne surfaced[citation needed] but even this fell through.
[citation needed] A final preservation effort by a group called "Save La Ficelle!"
The new M2 line of the Lausanne Metro opened in 2008, incorporating the original Métro Ouchy route, along with 8 entirely new stations on a new northern extension.
The urban tunnel sections were built using "cut and cover" construction techniques, the disruption causing much anger amongst residents and commercial premises owners along its length, with much dispute and comment over the chosen route.
