The basic facts & figures

What is the Skitube?

The Skitube is a Swiss designed, primarily Australian built electric powered cog / rack driven railway system, operating 18kms south-west of Jindabyne within the Kosciuszko National Park - New South Wales’ largest national park and Australia's greatest alpine reserve - in Australia's Snowy Mountains. It provides access between the Alpine Way and Perisher Valley by way of a tunnel through the Ramshead Range to the Perisher Blue Ski Resort, stopping at the underground station in Perisher Valley. It then proceeds onwards to the resort of Blue Cow Mountain via another tunnel through the Perisher Range.

Primarily, the Skitube was designed as a winter based access system to improve entry to the Perisher skifields. Until then these fields were served by a single road of limited capacity that was, and still is, often adversely affected by snow and ice conditions during the winter months. It was also deemed to be the most efficient and environmentally acceptable alternative available. When it was decided to go ahead with the development of Blue Cow Mountain in 1984, Skitube was the most practical option for providing access to the resort and so Skitube was extended from Perisher to Blue Cow Mountain.

What is a rack rail system?

The cog / rack system is used where grades are too steep for normal wheel traction adhesion lines. In a cog / rack system, cogs mounted beneath the powered rail cars mesh into a rack of teeth set between the wheel tracks. As the cogs revolve, they pull the train forward and can thus cope with considerably steeper gradients than can wheel traction driven systems. Downhill, the rack system is used for braking. As the Skitube travels downhill the braking system generates electricity back into the internal power grid which assists the trains travelling uphill. The majority of the technology used in the building of Skitube was imported from Switzerland, as the Swiss are world leaders in cog / rack technology.

Skitube uses a rack system invented by a Swiss engineer, Roman Abt, and first used in the Harz Mountains in central Germany in 1885.

The safety record of cog / rack systems is an enviable one in the world of railways. These trains are capable of running under extreme conditions, normally in steep alpine environments with their accompanying snow and ice hazards. In Australia, the alpine diurnal fluctuations of temperature can be as great as 25ºc. Skitube features a high level of safety control technology built into the train and railway.

Some of these include -

  • Four independent braking systems, two electrical and two mechanical
  • A time dependent deadman pedal and attentiveness control in the driver's cabin
  • Computerised speed monitoring devices on the train and rail - a Hasler speed detection unit on the train and magnetic speed control units on the track
  • A sophisticated railway computerised monitoring system which allows a controller at Bullocks Flat to monitor the train’s progress, points status and state of the electrical grid
  • Roll-back protection devices
  • A state-of-the-art communication talkback system between trains and the control room



Skitube Basic Data
Principal Owners
Perisher Blue Pty Ltd. The Skitube was constructed by the former owners being the joint venture partners of Kumagai (NSW) Pty Ltd and Transfield Corporate Pty Ltd. Originally these partners were joined with Bilston Welding Engineers Pty Ltd who together formed the Perisher Skitube Joint Venture. This changed to the current ownership in March 1995.
Construction Time
October 1984 - March 1988
Tunnel Construction
Bilston tunnel was constructed using a 5.5 metre diameter tunnel boring machine, while the Blue Cow tunnel was constructed by the traditional drill and blast method.
Depth
Maximum - 550 metres underground
Minimum - 4 metres underground
Length of Rail
Underground - 6.3 kilometres
Above ground - 2.2 kilometres
Total - 8.5 kilometres
Power Supply
1500v DC overhead electrical. Each car set has 4 x 310kw motors supplying a total of 1650 horsepower.
Movement of People
Currently this is 4,500 people per hour in total.
Speed
Uphill speed - 40 kilometres per hour
Downhill speed - 21 kilometres per hour
Travel Time
Bullocks Flat to Perisher Valley - 10 minutes
Perisher Valley to Blue Cow Mountain - 5 minutes
Carriage
Length - 16.8 metres
Width - 3.8 metres
Capacity - 225 passengers

Tunnel Specifications
Vertical Rise
Bullocks Flat to Perisher - 590 metres
Perisher Valley to Blue Cow Mountain - 165 metres
Total - 755 metres
Diameter
5.0 - 5.5 metres
Gradient
12.5% maximum
Rail Gauge
Standard (1435 millimetres)
Bilston Tunnel
3300 metres length
Blue Cow Tunnel
2600 metres length