The Bernina Express is a train connecting

Chur , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers , twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxembourg), ...

(or

Davos , neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Bergün/Bravuogn, Klosters-Serneus, Langwies, S-chanf, Susch , twintowns = } Davos (, ; or ; rm, ; archaic it, Tavate) is an Alpine resort town and a municipality in the Prättigau/Davos R ...

) in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Poschiavo Poschiavo ( it, Poschiavo, lmo, Pusciaaf, german: Puschlav, rm, Puschlav) is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Poschiavo is first mentioned in 824 as ''in Postclave'' though this comes from ...

in Switzerland and

Tirano Tirano ( lmo, Tiràn, german: Thiran) is a town in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio in northern Italy. It has 9,053 inhabitants (2016) and is adjacent to the Switzerland-Italy border. The river Adda flows through the town. Main s ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

by crossing the Swiss Engadin Alps. For most of its journey, the train also runs along the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

known as the

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB ...

in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes. The train is operated by the

company for the purpose of sightseeing. It takes the form of an enhanced regional service between Tirano and Chur or Davos: panoramic coaches with enlarged windows and multi-lingual (English, Italian and German) audio guide on board. It is not an "express" in the sense of being a high-speed train; passengers must make a seat reservation either directly when they purchase Bernina Express tickets, or pay a small supplement on top of their regional train tickets. The Bernina Express is popular with tourists and connects in Tirano with the

Post Bus A postbus is a public bus service that is operated as part of local mail delivery as a means of providing public transport in rural areas with lower levels of patronage, where a normal bus service would be uneconomic or inefficient. Postbus ser ...

service via

Lake Como Lake Como ( it, Lago di Como , ; lmo, label=Western Lombard, Lagh de Còmm , ''Cómm'' or ''Cùmm'' ), also known as Lario (; after the la, Larius Lacus), is a lake of glacial origin in Lombardy, Italy. It has an area of , making it the thir ...

in Italy to

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

in Switzerland. The

Albula line The Albula Railway (german: Albulalinie; it, Linea dell'Albula; rm, Lingia da l'Alvra) is a single track metre gauge railway line forming part of the so-called core network of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB), in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerlan ...

and the

Bernina line The Bernina Railway (german: Berninalinie; it, Linea del Bernina; rm, Lingia dal Bernina) is a single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the canton of Graubünden, Switz ...

on the Bernina Express's route were jointly declared a

in 2008. The trip on the Bernina Express through this World Heritage Site is a four-hour railway journey across 196 bridges, through 55 tunnels and across the

Bernina Pass The Bernina Pass (el. .) ( it, Passo del Bernina) is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley ...

at 2,253 metres above sea. The entire line is (

metre gauge Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

) and electrified. The Albula line was constructed between 1898 and 1904; it has been operated by the Rhaetian Railway since its inauguration. The Bernina line was built between 1908 and 1910 and operated independently until the 1940s, when it was acquired by the Rhaetian Railway. The Bernina Express uses

gradients In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the grad ...

of 7 % to negotiate the difference in height of about 1800 meters from the summit at Ospizio Bernina to Tirano.

Itinerary

Albula line

The train leaves the city of

(585 m) in Graubünden and follows the course of the

Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...

Bonaduz Bonaduz ( rm, Panaduz) is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. History Bonaduz is first mentioned in 960 as ''Beneduces''. Until 1854, the German-speaking hamlet of Sculms belonged to Bonaduz. Following a ...

(655 m). From there it enters the Domleschg Valley and follows the

Posterior Rhine The Hinterrhein (German; Italian: ''Reno Posteriore''; Sutsilvan: ''Ragn Posteriur''; Sursilvan: ''Rein Posteriur''; Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader, and Puter: ''Rain Posteriur''; Surmiran: ''Ragn posteriour''; en, Posterior Rhine) is one of the ...

from

Rhäzüns Rhäzüns is a municipality in the Imboden Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. History Rhäzüns is first mentioned about 840 as ''Raezunne''. It formed a single parish with Bonaduz until the Reformation. It was part of the Grey League f ...

(658 m) to

Thusis Thusis ( it, Tosana, '' Romansh: Tusàn'') is a municipality in the Viamala Region in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Mutten merged into the municipality of Thusis. History Thusis is first mentioned ...

(697 m). The train continues toward

Tiefencastel Tiefencastel ( rm, Casti) is a village and a former municipality in the district of Albula in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. On 1 January 2015 the former municipalities of Alvaschein, Mon, Stierva, Tiefencastel, Alvaneu, Brienz/ ...

(851 m) following the Albula and then crosses the

Landwasser Viaduct The Landwasser Viaduct (german: Landwasserviadukt) is a single-track six-arched curved limestone railway viaduct. It spans the Landwasser between Schmitten and Filisur, in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Designed by Alexander Acatos, ...

before arriving at

Filisur Filisur is an Alpine village and former municipality in the Albula Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. The village sits on a hillside with a view to the west where the two rivers Albula/Alvra from the Albula Pass and Landwasser ...

(1032 m). Shortly after Filisur the train passes its first

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Bergün/Bravuogn. Between Bergün/Bravuogn (1373 m) and

Preda Preda is locality within the municipality of Bergün, district of Albula, Canton Graubünden, Switzerland. Transportation Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (german: Rhätische Bahn; it, Ferrovia retica; rm, Viafier retica), abbreviat ...

(1789 m), at the end of the valley, the train has to achieve a difference in height of about 400 meters with an horizontal distance of 5 km without using

rack-and-pinion A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a circular gear (the ''pinion'') engaging a linear gear (the ''rack''). Together, they convert rotational motion into linear motion. Rotating the pinion causes the rack to be driven i ...

, but with many spirals. Then the train enters the

Albula Tunnel The Albula Tunnel is the centrepiece of the Albula Railway, which forms part of the Rhaetian Railway network, in the Canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. With its maximum elevation of above sea level, it is amongst the highest tunnels in the Alps ...

at 1,815 m under the

Albula Pass The Albula Pass ( Romansh: ''Pass d'Alvra'' or , german: Albulapass) (el. 2312 m) is a Swiss mountain pass in the canton of Graubünden. It lies at the heart of the Albula Alps, on the watershed between the Albula, tributary of the Rhine and th ...

. It emerges in the Val Bever, where it reaches Bever (1,708 m) on the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine ( rm, ;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ' ...

plain. The train continues toward

Samedan Samedan (, ) is a town and municipality in the Maloja Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. It is served by Samedan railway station on the Rhaetian Railway network and by the Samedan Airport. History Samedan is first mentioned in 1139 as ''Sa ...

(1,721 m) and arrives at the

Pontresina Pontresina ( rm, Puntraschigna) is a municipality in the Maloja Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. History and name Pontresina was first mentioned in medieval Latin documents as ''ad Pontem Sarisinam'' in 1137 and ''de Ponte Sa ...

station (1,774 m) in the Val Bernina (Bernina Valley).

Bernina line

The train leaves

and ascends progressively through the valley to the

over the Morteratsch station (1,896 m), where the

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its Ablation#Glaciology, ablation over many years, often Century, centuries. It acquires dis ...

and the highest summit of the

Eastern Alps Eastern Alps is the name given to the eastern half of the Alps, usually defined as the area east of a line from Lake Constance and the Alpine Rhine valley up to the Splügen Pass at the Alpine divide and down the Liro River to Lake Como in the ...

Piz Bernina Piz Bernina ( Romansh, it, Pizzo Bernina, ) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point of the Bernina Range, and the highest peak in the Rhaetian Alps. It rises and is located south of Pontresina and near the major Alpine r ...

(4,093 m) are visible. Before arriving at the

, the train stops at Bernina Diavolezza (2,093 m) for cable-car connections to

Diavolezza The Diavolezza is a col and ski resort above the Val Bernina in Graubünden. The col has an altitude of Swiss Confederation: Maps of Switzerland'. Retrieved 26 March 2021. and is located between Munt Pers (northwest, ) and Piz Trovat (southe ...

(2,921 m). The Bernina Express reaches the summit at the Ospizio Bernina station at 2,253 meters above Lago Bianco. Alp Grüm (2,091 m) is the first station south of the

Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...

, situated above

Lago Palü __NOTOC__ Lago, which means "lake" in Italian, Portuguese, Spanish and Galician, may refer to: Places *Lago, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy *Lago, Mexico, a municipality zone in the State of Mexico *Lago District, a ''dis ...

and right below

Piz Palü Piz Palü is a mountain in the Bernina Range of the Alps, located between Switzerland and Italy. It is a large glaciated massif composed of three main summits, on a ridge running from west to east. The main (and central) summit is 3,900 metres ...

(3,900+ m) and its

. After many

hairpin turn A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...

s the train reaches

Cavaglia Cavaglia is a hamlet on the western flank of the Val Poschiavo in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies at above sea level, and is in the municipality of Poschiavo, some north-west of the village of the same name. Because of the of ...

(1,693 m) above the

Val Poschiavo Val Poschiavo ( lmo, Pus'ciaf, german: Puschlav, ) is a valley in the southern, Italian-speaking part of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grisons). The main town is Poschiavo. Geography Val Poschiavo can be reached from the Upper Engadin valley i ...

, then the Swiss

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

-speaking town of

(1,014 meters). The train then follows the course of the

Poschiavino Poschiavino is an long river that rises in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Graubünden and flows into the Italy, Italian province of Sondrio. The majority of the river is in Switzerland, with just in Italy. The source of the river lies at abo ...

and stops at

Le Prese Le Prese is a village in the Val Poschiavo in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies at above sea level at the northern end of Lago di Poschiavo, and is in the municipality of Poschiavo, some south of the village of the same name. The ...

(964 m) and

Miralago Miralago is a village in the Val Poschiavo in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It lies at above sea level at the southern end of Lago di Poschiavo, and the Poschiavino river flows out of the lake in the village. The village is some sou ...

(965 m), both on Lake Poschiavo's shore. After Miralago it continues its descent toward

Brusio Brusio (Lombardy, Lombard: ''Brüs'', Romansh language, Romansh ''Brüsch'') is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bernina Region in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Brusio is first mentioned ...

(780 m), where it passes the spiral Brusio Viaduct. Shortly after the

border at

Campocologno Brusio ( Lombard: ''Brüs'', Romansh ''Brüsch'') is a municipality in the Bernina Region in the canton of Grisons in Switzerland. History Brusio is first mentioned in 1106 as ''Bruse''. It was first mentioned as Brusio in 1212. Previously it w ...

(553 m), the Bernina Express ends its journey at

station (430 m).

Route

During the summer, the Bernina Express comprises a special separate train that travels from Chur to Pontresina with very few stops. In Pontresina, the locomotive is changed (because of the Bernina line's different electricity current) and the train continues with few stops to Tirano. During autumn, winter and spring, the Bernina Express comprises several cars that are attached to regional services. From Chur to Samedan, they are part of a RegioExpress train Chur – St. Moritz; from Samedan to Pontresina, they are part of a Regio train Scuol-Tarasp – Pontresina; from Pontresina to Tirano, they are part of a Regio train from St. Moritz – Tirano. Each of these Bernina Express trains includes designated carriages for passengers with only regional train tickets.

References

* *

External links