7 things you didn’t know about the Bernina Express
The Bernina Express is one of the world’s most beautiful train journeys. Crossing spectacular Swiss mountain, lake, and glacier scenery, it travels between the Italian town of Tirano and the Swiss resort village of St. Moritz.
This excursion can be done as part of a great day trip from either Lake Como or the Swiss city of Lugano. Iit is about a two-hour drive from either location. Take a ride on the Bernina Express as part of our “Italian Lakes and Swiss Mountains Small Group Journey”.
What is the Bernina Express?
The Bernina Express is a train line that was built with scenic travel in mind. It connect parts of Switzerland’s Engadin Alps, including the resort village of St. Moritz, to Italy. There are two lines, the Bernina line that runs from St. Moritz to the Italian town of Tirano, and the Albula line that runs between Chur and St. Moritz in Switzerland. The Bernina line journey takes about 2 ½ hours.
The Bernina Express trail. Image from: www.rhb.ch
The bright red train cars offer special first-class panoramic carriages. Specially designed tall windows provide the best views of the gorgeous scenery. These carriages require an extra supplemental charge and must be booked in advance.
When was it built?
The Albula line was the first to be constructed, between 1898 and 1904. The Bernina Line then followed between 1908 and 1910. In the 1940s, the two lines were merged by the Rhaetian Railways.
The Bernina Express was always envisioned as a sightseeing attraction. It connects difficult mountainous terrain using daring and artistic architectural feats such as towering viaducts over deep gorges, curving tunnels through the mountains and a unique section of track that doubles back on itself to gain elevation for the train. Engineers built a total of 196 bridges and 55 tunnels to traverse the landscape while connecting 20 villages by rail.
The specific section between St. Moritz and Tirano covers about 38 miles of track with 52 viaducts and 13 tunnels as it connects Switzerland with Italy.
View from Alp Grum Station
What is unique about the journey?
The Bernina Express is the highest railway journey in Europe. It reaches a maximum altitude of 7,392 feet above sea level at the Ospizio Bernina station. An engineering feat, it is also one of the steepest railways journeys, with an incline of up to 7%. The railway takes it all in stride, powered electrically rather than steam or cog wheels.
The trip offers amazing architectural and natural beauty
The Bernina Express was built as an excursion train to take travellers through some of Switzerland’s most beautiful Alpine landscapes. There are spectacular architectural feats that were built to enable the train to pass through this challenging terrain. On the Bernina line, there is the scenic Brusio Circular Viaduct. This is a nine arched stone marvel that doubles back like a double helix to enable the train to gain elevation. On the Albula Line there is the stunning Landwasser Viaduct, whose pillars were built in 1902 of natural stone. The train passes over the Viaduct while navigating a deep gorge.
The natural beauty includes majestic Alpine scenery, including the Morteratsch Glacier, icy Alpine waters such as at Poschiavo Lake or White Lake (Lago Bianco) and the panoramic terrace at Alp Grüm from which to take in the views of the Bernina massif and the Palü glacier.
It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site
It became a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008, one hundred years after it first opened to the public. In naming it a World Heritage Site, UNESCO recognised the Albula/Bernina lines for their “outstanding technical, architectural, and environmental ensemble that embodies architectural and civil engineering achievements, in harmony with the landscapes through which they pass.”
It can be enjoyed in any season
The stunning panoramas of the Bernina Express can be enjoyed at any time of year. Winter is especially spectacular as you pass the hushed snowy landscapes past frozen lakes from the warm comfort of the train cars. Summer brings the beauty of verdant green hillsides, flower-filled alpine meadows, and the lovely blue of the lakes, and in the fall, there are the vibrant changing colors of autumn.
Brusio Circular Viaduct
Where does the Bernina Express stop?
Along the way from Tirano in Italy to St. Moritz in Switzerland, the train makes limited stops. One includes a 15-minute photo opportunity at Alp Grüm, where there is a hotel and restaurant only reachable by train or on foot, along with a panoramic terrace for taking in the stunning Alpine surroundings. The Bernina Line ends its route in the resort village of St. Moritz. Here you can stroll around the town. There is plenty to do including shopping, restaurants and cafes, walk around the shores of the lake where there is sailing in summer months, or take a cable car up the mountain.
The Bernina Express is one of the world’s most beautiful train journeys, affording views of some of the most beautiful Alpine terrain in Switzerland and connecting German, Romansch, and Italian speaking areas of Switzerland with Italy. Why not enjoy a trip on this fabulous train line as part of our “Italian Lakes and Swiss Mountains Small Group Journey”?
Tags: Bernina Express, Lake Lugano, Lugano, St Moritz, Tirano