The Glacier Express leads from Zermatt in the Swiss Canton Valais above Brig-Glis and Andermatt to St. Moritz and Davos in the canton Grisons. The Glacier Express is the slowest express train in the world and one of the most famous railways in the world. The 291 km long route is supported by the Matterhorn Gotthard Railway and the Rhaetian Railway operated and runs over the main Alpine ridge over 291 bridges and viaducts and through 91 tunnels. The highest point on the route is the Oberalp Pass at 2033 meters above sea level.
Route description
First of all, the Glacier Express runs from Zermatt (1604 m asl) through the Mattertal to about 1000 m below Brig-Glis (670 m a.s.l.). On the opposite slope of the valley it goes uphill again and high above the Rhône it then disappears for 15 kilometers in the Furka Base Tunnel. In Andermatt (1450 m above sea level) it leads past the foot of the St. Gotthard massif and finally becomes the Oberalp Pass (2033 m a.s.l.), the highest point of the route. The further course leads over Disentis (1130 m asl), above which the Benedictine Abbey of St. Martin is enthroned. The route then continues through the wildly romantic Rhine Gorge and past the grandiose 65 m high Landwasser Viaduct at Filisur. Finally the train reaches the oldest city in Switzerland, Chur and ends in the world-famous health resort St. Moritz. One train per day continues from Chur Davos Place. The train runs on the between Thusis and St. Moritz Albula Railway, which together with the Bernina Railway (Bernina Express) Was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008.
history
The success story of the Glacier Express began in 1925. With the luxury train, those in charge of the Rhaetian Railway, Furka-Oberalp-Bahn and Visp-Zermatt-Bahn wanted to build on the tradition of large and sonorous luxury trains. The train should be extremely comfortable. It was therefore planned to carry a saloon car and a dining car with the train. The maiden voyage was on June 25, 1930. The first Glacier Express left the mountain village at 7.30 a.m. Zermatt. The journey to St. Moritz took 11.5 hours, and at the time the locomotive was partly powered by electric crocodiles and partly by steam locomotives. In the early days up to 1981, the Glacier Express only ran in the summer months from June to October, as winter operations were not possible on some sections of the route. In the war years from 1943 to 1946, the Glacier Express had to be stopped because the foreign tourists stayed away. The great popularity of the Glacier Express meant that from 1976 the trains had to be run twice. This was followed by the construction of the 15-kilometer Furka Base Tunnel. This triggered a rush of travelers. Many wanted to drive over the old mountain route on the Rhone glacier again. So, again, wagons had to be attached. On September 13, 1981, 56 relief trains were on the way to cope with the influx of visitors. With the opening of the Furka Base Tunnel in 1982, a piece of tradition was also lost. Because on the so-called Furka mountain route, between Oberwald and Realp the train led past the Rhone glacier, because the luxury train was named after the Rhone glacier. Glacier is French and means glacier. Since 2010, after a 28-year break, the Furka mountain route has been continuously passable again. It is a gear-driven steam train.
Unfortunately, the Glacier Express was not spared from train accidents. On July 23, 2010, as a result of excessive speed between the Lax and Fiesch Feriendorf stations (in the Brig-Glis - Oberwald section), a train accident occurred in which three cars of the Glacier Express derailed; two of the cars overturned. The dining car, which was already standing on a viaduct, was fortunately caught by a catenary mast. One traveler died and 42 people were injured, twelve of them seriously. It is the worst train accident in Switzerland since 1990.
Today, around 250,000 passengers from all over the world take the Glacier Express every year! In the overseas market, the "Glacier Express Railway Experience" is being marketed with the "Ultimate Railway Experience". As well as the world's best ski areas Zermatt Matterhorn and St. Moritz-Engadin and the constant expansion and expansion will contribute to a further increase in visitors over the next few years.
Today's operation
In the summer months (mid-May to the end of October) 3 trains run daily between Zermatt and St. Moritz and back, as well as 1 train between Zermatt and Davos Place and back. The Zermatt-Davos train unit has a classic dining car, with only 1 train running in the winter season (mid-December to mid-May) Zermatt and St. Moritz. As well as 1 move between Brig-Glis and Chur. There are no Glacier Express trains running from November to mid-December.
Passengers receive all the route information they need to know via headphones in German, French, English, Italian, Japanese or Chinese.
Regional trains of the Rhaetian Railway and Matterhorn Gotthard Railway every hour. The timetables are available on the Homepage of the SBB.
Fares
- Zermatt-St. Moritz, one way: 2nd class CHF 136 (approx. 123 €), 1st class CHF 226 (approx. 205 €)
- Zermatt-Davos Platz, one way: 2nd class CHF 129 (approx. 117 €), 1st class CHF 214 (approx. 194 €)
- Children up to 6 years of age travel for free, children and young people up to 16 years of age receive a 50% discount
- Reservations are required for the Glacier Express. In summer the surcharge is 33 CHF (approx. 30 €), in winter 13 CHF (approx. 11 €).
- It is possible to have a freshly prepared lunch (dish of the day) or even a 3-course menu during the trip. The prices for this: Dish of the day 30 CHF (approx. 27 €), 3-course menu 43 CHF (approx. 39 €)
- The prices are as of October 2011. The prices in euros are guide prices; the current exchange rate is calculated.
Discounts
- The Swiss Pass or the Swiss Card are valid. All you have to do is pay for the reservation.
Swiss Pass
The Swiss Pass entitles you to free travel on the entire Swiss rail network, on PostBus Switzerland buses, on numerous mountain railways and shipping companies, as well as in cities with local transport companies (trams, buses, etc.).
The Swiss Pass costs CHF 266 (approx. € 216) for 2nd class and CHF 399 (approx. € 323) for 1st class for 4 days. It is a little cheaper from the 2nd person and for young people under the age of 26 (Swiss Youth Pass). More information is available at Swiss Travel System.
getting there
Starting point in Zermatt
Spiez on Lake Thun is the ICE train station on the Berlin-Braunschweig-Kassel-Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Basel-Bern-Interlaken line. In Spiez there are connections to the SBB trains Visp through the Lötschberg base tunnel, but it is more scenic to change to the trains of the Bernese Oberlandbahn BLS, which over the Lötschberg mountain route (Kandersteg, Goppenstein) drive. In Visp you can take the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn to Zermatt.
Coming from Austria you drive over Zurich, Bern, Spiez and Visp to Zermatt. However, we recommend the trip to St. Moritz or Davos to start.
For drivers, it should be noted that Zermatt is car-free. You have to go to 5 kilometers away Bag park your car and take the train to Zermatt.
Starting point in St. Moritz or Davos
ICE trains on the Kiel-Hamburg-Hanover-Kassel-Frankfurt-Karlsruhe-Basel-Zurich line end in Zurich. There you get on the SBB trains Chur around. From Chur you can take the Albula Railway (UNESCO World Heritage Site) with the Rhaetian Railway St. Moritz. who in Davos want to start gets in Landquart around.
From the Ruhr area and the Rhine Valley there are 2 EuroCity trains daily that go directly to Landquart and Chur drive.
Coming from Austria, the RailJet trains run to Sargans or Box. There is a connection after Landquart and Davos as Chur and St. Moritz.
It is also possible to travel with the Glacier Express in Chur to start. But then you miss them Albula Railway, and possibly also the Bernina Railway (Bernina Express), which, as already mentioned, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site !!!
Top travel destinations
Gornergratbahn Zermatt
The Gornergrat is located at an altitude of 3089 meters. It is one of the TOP excursion destinations in the Switzerland. The panorama from the viewing platform is one of the most beautiful: Monte Rosa massif with the highest Swiss mountain (Dufourspitze at 4,634 m above sea level), with a view of the second largest glacier in the Alps, the Gorner glacier, and almost 30 4000m peaks. The highest hotel in Switzerland, the 3100 Kulmhotel Gornergrat, with a restaurant, observatory and shopping mall is located on the Gornergrat. In winter you can spend the night in a very special hotel, in igloos, packed in warm sleeping bags. Hot whirlpool, Swiss cheese fondue and mulled wine included.
The Gornergratbahn, which is operated by the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn, is the highest outdoor rack railway in Europe. It was put into operation in 1898 and was electrified with three-phase current right from the start. It thus became the first electrically operated rack railway in Switzerland. It starts at Zermatt train station, the journey for the 9.3 kilometer route takes 40 minutes and runs every 20 minutes in the high season. Try to get a seat on the right in the direction of travel because of the view of the Matterhorn.
On the return journey you can get off at the Riffelalp station in summer. This is where the Riffelalptram, Europe's highest tram line, begins. With a length of 675 m, it leads from the Riffelalp train station of the Gornergrat Railway to the Riffelalp Hotel.
Matterhorn Glacier Paradiese and Zermatt Glacier Palace
The highest cable car station in Europe is located on the Matterhorn Glacier Paradiese (3883 m a.s.l.). Breathtaking panorama of Italian, French and Swiss alpine giants included - and with a lot of "imagination" you can even see the Mediterranean on the horizon. Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, seems close enough to touch. Up here you can also ski in summer. Zermatt is by the way one of the best ski areas in the world!
Up here is also the highest glacier palace in the world, which can be reached via 2 passenger elevators directly from the Matterhorn glacier paradise station. You walk through an ice tunnel directly into the palace, which is about fifteen meters below the surface of the glacier. The way back can be started through a crevasse.
Steam railway Furka mountain line Realp-Oberwald
If you want to follow the former course of the Glacier Express, you should definitely take the Furka mountain route steam train, which has been in full operation again since 2010 after a 28-year break. There is one small problem with this, however. The Glacier Express does not stop in Oberwald still in Realp. However, you can take the Glacier Express in Andermatt leave and take regular trains to Realp. There in the summer months 1-2 trains a day run up over the Furka Pass (2163 m a.s.l.) and past the Rhone Glacier to Oberwald. Then you can drive back to Andermatt, spend a night there or take regular trains to travel to St. Moritz or Davos or towards Zermatt as the Glacier Express no longer operates in the late afternoon / evening. More information is available on the website below.
Schöllenenbahn Andermatt-Göschenen
A trip with the is also recommended Schöllenenbahn of Andermatt to Göschenen. It is a cog railway and leads through the impressive Schöllenen Gorge, which you should definitely visit while taking a walk. Göschenen is on the old Gotthard line Lucerne-Arth-Goldau-Gotthard tunnel-Airolo-Bellinzona-Lugano-Chiasso-Italy.
Cities worth seeing
Well worth the swanky St. Moritz, Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland, Andermatt, Brig-Glis, Visp and the car-free Zermatt with its scattered Walser settlements (Zmutt, Findeln, etc.).
Go on...
Of St. Moritz off, you can with the Bernina Express into Italian Tirano to drive. Trains of the Italian State Railways continue to run from Tirano Milan, (Milano). Or you can take the Swiss Postbus through it Veltin , past the Lake Como to Lugano at the Lake Lugano.
From Lugano you can then over Bellinzona and Locarno go on. That is where the Centovalli Railway to Domodossola, from here it goes through the Simplon tunnel to Brig-Glis.
literature
- Glacier Express - From St. Moritz to Zermatt, Reto Steiner, EK-Verlag Freiburg 2009, ISBN 978-3-88255-731-2
- Glacier Express - From Engadin to Matterhorn, Klaus Fader, Kosmos-Verlag Stuttgart 2000, ISBN 3-440-07799-3
- 75 years (1930-2005) Glacier Express St. Moritz / Davos-Zermatt, Eisenbahn-Kurier Magazin Spezial 76
- Dream trip with Glacier Express, Eisenbahn-Kurier Magazin Spezial 25
media
- DVD "Glacier Express", EK-Verlag Freiburg, order no. 8038
- DVD "Furka Mountain Route Steam Railway", EK-Verlag Freiburg, order no. 8045
- DVD "Swiss Railways Behind the Scenes", EK-Verlag Freiburg, order no. 8109
- DVD "Adventure snow clearing train", EK-Verlag Freiburg, order no. 8040
Web links
- Glacier Express website
- Website of the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn
- Website of the Gornergrat Railway
- Website of the Rhaetian Railway with the Bernina Express
- Steam railway Furka mountain line Realp-Oberwald
- Website of the tourist destination Zermatt
- Website of the tourist destination St. Moritz
- Website of the Eisenbahn-Kurier-Verlag
