Who we are

BLS and its predecessor railways have repeatedly provided pioneering services, helping to shape the railway system in Switzerland. State-of-the-art technology was used right from the start. In 1913, as steam locomotives were hauling goods trains at 26 km/h on the Gotthard, the world's most powerful electric locomotives were pulling both passenger and goods trains at 50 km/h on the Lötschberg over the mountain route.

In the 1930s, BLS procured the first light railcars for regional transport. At the beginning of the 1940s, together with the industry, it developed the world's first high-performance locomotive without a carrying axle, the Ae 4/4.

The non-profit BLS Foundation is tasked with preserving this unique historical heritage and bringing it to life. It collects, maintains and presents the most important pioneering achievements of BLS and its predecessor railways.

Vehicles can be best experienced when they are in use. For this reason, the BLS Foundation deliberately uses selected vehicles, making them visible and bringing them to life for the public. The Foundation provides access to non-operational vehicles and other meticulously chosen artefacts from BLS history for interested members of the public via group tours and events. These can be seen at the Foundation's site, located in the centrally positioned depot of the former Emmental railway in Burgdorf.