BLM - small Railway with great transport
Monday, 09.21 h. A train of the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren mountain railway (BLM) arrives at Mürren station. On the rear car is a concrete trough. As soon as the guests have alighted, Thomas Stäger sets the course, climbs the train and gives the train driver the sign for the departure. The concrete load is unhurriedly pushed onto the goods ramp. Once there, the railway employee attaches the crane to the trough and carefully lifts it from the train car to the waiting van. The driver of the electric van
gives his thanks and makes his way towards the construction site.
Material transport for locals, guests and animals
Daily, the various goods are transported by BLM to car-free Mürren: from building materials, food, drinks to animal feed. A maximum of six tonnes of material with a maximum length of 5 metres, 2.20 metres in width and 2 metres in height can be transported per train. The railway employees in Mürren unload the deliveries with the help of a crane or a pallet trolley. The deliveries are either picked up immediately or temporarily stored in the underground garage. The railway employees inform the customer when the delivery is ready for collection.
200 pieces of luggage per day
Luggage is also often transported by train to Mürren. Especially in winter, guests like to use this service and only travel with their hand luggage in the ski holidays. The heavy equipment will be sent to Mürren by train in advance. In high season, train staff unload around 200 pieces of luggage per day from the train, transport them to the station building and sort them alphabetically. The luggage is picked up either by the guests or the hotels.
Patient packages
Packages delivered by courier services also travel to Mürren by rail. The shipments are sorted and the recipients notified. But this is often difficult. There is usually only an address on the package, but no phone number. If the recipient is not known to a railway employee and is not listed in the telephone directory, it may take a few weeks before the package is finally picked up by the owner.
Versatile work in a multi-cultural environment
Thomas Stäger likes the versatile and physical work. Aside from the coordination of freight and luggage transport, he sets the overall course, cleans the station square and toilets and takes on snow removal in winter. The former hut keeper has been working at BLM for five years and appreciates the contact with international guests. The 56-year-old has already travelled to many foreign countries and his travel experience has brought a lot of understanding for other cultures. During his travels through New Zealand, Australia, Asia and Canada, he was often dependent on the help of locals, which is why he is also happy to help others.