page_title: Bodensee–Toggenburg railway
section_title: Development of the modern private railway
hierarchical_section_title: Bodensee–Toggenburg railway / History / Development of the modern private railway
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: BT-Triebwagen RBDe 4/12 76 in St. Gallen
context_page_description: The Bodensee–Toggenburg railway is a mainly single-track standard-gauge line connecting Romanshorn on Lake Constance and the Toggenburg region in Eastern Switzerland. It was built by the Bodensee-Toggenburg-Bahn, a former railway company, which existed from 1910 until its merger with the "old" Südostbahn to form the "new" Südostbahn on 1 January 2001. Today, the line together with the Wattwil–Ebnat-Kappel section forms the eastern network of the Südostbahn.
  The BT consisted of the standard gauge adhesion railway from Romanshorn to St. Gallen St. Fiden opened on 3 October 1910 and the standard gauge adhesion line from St. Gallen to Wattwil, as well as the line from Ebnat-Kappel to Nesslau-Neu St. Johann opened on 1 October 1912.
  The connecting sections of line from St. Gallen St. Fiden to St. Gallen HB and from Wattwil to Ebnat-Kappel were controlled by the Swiss Federal Railways, as it leased the Wattwil–Ebnat-Kappel section from the BT.
context_section_description: Apart from electrification, the condition of BT changed little during the first forty years. The highly-engineered lines in the foothills of the Alps created a debt burden and interest charges that were an enormous burden for the company. In the 1930s, the financial situation deteriorated so much that a partial renovation of the line was necessary in 1942/43 at the expense of the Federation and the cantons of St. Gallen and Thurgau. It was not until a new Railways Act was passed by the federal government in 1958 that the way was clear for the comprehensive renewal of the infrastructure and rolling stock fleet.
  The BT equipped its lines with automatic block signaling between 1954 and 1956. It used its proprietary Teleblock system, which was cheaper than the usual systems thanks to the use of telephone relays. For its fiftieth anniversary, BT was able to commission push–pull operations with BDe 4/4 set No. 50. This train was equipped with fluorescent tube lighting, rubber-covered gangway connections and a built-in end-of-train device. Two BDe 2/4 + ABt local push–pull trains were built in its own workshop and put into operation in 1961 and 1965.
  With its first investment program, the rolling stock fleet was expanded in 1966–68 with three other BDe 4/4 push–pull trains and twelve Einheitswagen I (Swiss "unity coach 1", built between 1956 and 1967) and the mechanical signal boxes were replaced by relay interlockings. A second stage included the upgrade of the entire infrastructure. The focus of the upgrade of the Wittenbach–St.Gallen–Herisau–Degersheim section in 1973–1982 was to create a modern suburban line with customer-friendly station facilities. In a third stage, in 1984, six three-coach phase-controlled push–pull trains RBDe 4/4 + B + ABt were procured, which were used in regional transport. The fourth investment program enabled the purchase of six Re 4/4 locomotives in 1987/88, These were the world's first frequency changer locomotives with three-phase asynchronous motors and gate turn-off thyristors. The first section of double track was opened in Gübsensee in 1989, allowing half-hourly services between St. Gallen and Wattwil.
caption: Push-pull train with RBDe 4/4 76 on the way out of the Rosenberg tunnel to the St. Gallen station.
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