SWITZERLAND SCENIC TRAINS
Mountain Cogs and Swiss Alps View Panoramas
One
of the joys of touring Switzerland are its scenic rail routes, and of
course, because that's where they keep the Alps. The Swiss long ago
determined getting around their small but altitudinous country through
the mountains and valleys was best by railway and developed a system
which is extensive and convenient. One rarely needs a car for getting
to most
of the most beautiful and famous sights, and sometimes a car can't get
there. The prime attraction of the Swiss rail system are the long distance
panoramic trains traversing deep valleys, soaring across the high viaducts
above deep river gorges, and cog wheel rack railways up the steep sides
of mountains to glacier ice caves and stunning alpine mountain views.
There are a variety of scenic routes to choose from and you could cover
nearly the entire country by scenic rail train, though most of them tend
to be in the central and southern area of Switzerland.
Themed Panoramic Scenic Trains
The oldest and most famous panoramic train is the Glacier Express which
runs from Zermatt, the Alpine village of 300 year old wooden chalets
at the base of the majestic Matterhorn through the Rhone and Rhine valleys
to the jetsetter playground of St Moritz in the south eastern end of
the country. The Glacier Express experience includes gourmet lunch dining
at your panoramic window seat. Covering part of that same route over
viaducts and through tunnels so remarkable for their engineering feats
they are listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, the Bernina
Express glides across the highest pass in the snowy Alps to Tirano in Italy.
From Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva through the Fribourg Region
and the Bernese Oberland to Lucerne on its own beautiful lake is the Golden
Pass Route. Part of this routing can be taking in historic
cars of the Wagons-Lit from the days of the “Orient Express” (which
unfortunately no longer runs through Switzerland). The route travels
on three separate rail companies tracks with narrow guage from Montreux
while from Interlaken standard standard guage. The journey passes
by both high mountains and along a few different lakes. Also departing
from Montreux, the Chocolate
Train makes a one day round trip to Gruyeres
for a visit to the Gruyere Cheese Dairy factory, Nestle-Cailler Chocolate
factory and Gruyeres Castle.
For a scenic journey past beautiful lakeshores as well as mountains the Wilhelm
Tell Express starts in Lucerne with the first part of the
trip by turn-of-the-century lake paddle-steamer, with the journey from
German
speaking Switzerland to Italian Switzerland through the Gotthard Tunnel
the shores of Lake Lugano and Lago Maggiore. The boat trip is probably
a little more impressive, quite stunning with good weather. The train
portion is by regular rail cars and actually passes over its own track, but
this happens inside a tunnel.
The Mont-Blanc
Express runs
from Martigny in the Valais at the eastern end of Lake Geneva to Chamonix
in France.
These scenic rail journey routes are marketed as unique tourist experiences
by the Swiss National Railway SBB with reservations and special ticketing
required. Some include a meal and a souvenir keepsake. However, each
of the long panorama routes are on the same tracks taken by the
standard Swiss rail
trains,
so
it
is
possible
to
see
the very
same
scenery without the extras and the panoramic windows. All of these can
be taken with individual single journey tickets purchased in Switzerland
from any rail ticket office, or with a Swiss
Rail Pass or a Eurail
Pass, with a reservation
suppliment.
Some other scenic routes are the high pass railways surpassed by the
mountain tunnels. The Lotscheberger follows the route
between Lake Thun and Brig, the standard trains took before the completion
of the Lotscheberg
Tunnel, as is now the local train through the higher mountain villages.
The VorAlpen Express runs from Romanshorn at Lake Constance
to Lucerne. These don't require any special ticketing.
Mountain Trains - Cogs and Rack Railways
For views high up mountan peaks of flower festooned mountain meadows,
permanent snows and glacier ice caves, there are a variety of cog wheel
trains running on narrow gauge tracks up some very steep mountain sides.
From Zermatt,
the Gornergrat
Bahn Matterhorn Railway rises up past skis
runs and snow covered valleys to the foot of the mighty Matterhorn and
Monte Rosa mountain peaks, over looking the Gornergrat Glacier and Glacier
Paradise
ski area.
Though
not a really a rail trip, you can also take a breath taking aerial cable
car ride to the highest viewpoint
in the Swiss Alps on the Klein
Matterhorn.
From Interlaken the Jungfraujoch Railway climbs to the highest rail station
in the Alps, making much of the journey through the inside of the Eiger
and Monck Mountains to the Jungfraujoch (the saddle between the peaks).
The train stops for a look through the view windows of the Eiger peak.
From Lucerne the Mt
Pilatus Cog Train is the world’s steepest rack
railway. It is possible to take the rail trip on one side of the
moutain and the cable car down the other. The Mt Pilatus route is
very easy
to reach and probably the quickest to a mountain peak if you have
little time, as its just outside the city of Lucerne. Or take a Lake
Lucerne
steamer boat to Vitznau
and
the Mt.
Rigi Bahn. Mt Rigi was the first of the cog
trains in Switzerland and still runs a steam engine up the mountain.
(Though the first contemplated mountain train was one that was planned
to go up through the Matterhorn, a scary contrapition from the 1880s
that was never realized). Mt. Rigi offers some of central Switzerland's
best hiking, noted since the days of Mark Twain. The Mt
Titlis Rotair Cable is not in itself a rail ride, but the
train to Engelberg takes about 40 minutes from Lucerne, part
of it on a cog track.
The mountain rack trains require special ticketing ranging from about
28 CHF up to 90 CHF, depending which one and how far you go on them.
Holders of Swiss Rail Passes or Eurail Passes get a
discount ranging from 25%
to
50%
(except for Mt Rigi which can be taken with a Rail Pass, though the steam
engine version requires a reservation as it fills up).
Which is the best? Are they worth it? The best scenic train to take really depends on where you're starting from, where you're going, and how much time you have. Personally, I prefer the Bernina to the Glacier, but would always recommend getting to Zermatt for the Matterhorn. The Gornergrat is a bit easier and less weather dependent than the Klein Matterhorn, but the views from the latter are truly spectacular any time of year. The Jungfrau is mostly inside the mountain and unique for that, its pretty much a full day to get there from Interlaken and back, though the Eiger windows may be the most memorable, while Mt Pilatus is also impressive and can be explored in a few hours from Lucerne. As to worth the price - definately, at least once. Individually each is relatively expensive, but if you already have a rail pass, some just requiring a reservation. The Golden Pass covers the most diverse scenery, and is the best scenic way to get from Lake Geneva region to Lucerne. With kids, try to get them seats in the front with the engineer's view. Of the mountain trains, the cheapest is Mt. Rigi, which you can get to by steamer and up to the top with a pass alone, but its views aren't as high as the others. It can be combined with the William Tell route if you stop-over for a night in Vitznau or Weggis. And the experience of any of these routes may depend on the time of year and weather along on the way. But if you're going all the way to Switzerland, you'll wanna see some scenery. © Bargain Travel Europe
RailEurope
Switzerland Rail Guide
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See Also:
RENTING
A CAR IN EUROPE
EUROSTAR
"CHUNNEL" FROM LONDON TO PARIS
CRUISING LAKE LUCERNE - SCENIC STEAMER
