The Bernina Express

The Bernina Express is a Swiss panoramic train, designated a Panorama Express, that links Chur in Switzerland with Tirano in Italy, winding through the Engadin Alps. For the bulk of its route, it travels through the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina landscapes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Rhaetian Railway runs this sightseeing service, which features coaches with oversized windows and an audio guide available in six languages: English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Japanese.

Despite its name, the Bernina Express is not a high-speed train; rather, it is an express that stops only at select stations. Its trainsets are typically pulled by class RhB ABe 4/4III locomotives. To ride, passengers must either book a seat when buying a Bernina Express ticket or pay a small extra fee on top of a standard regional ticket. The train is especially popular with tourists. In Tirano, it connects to a bus service that runs via Lake Como in Italy to Lugano in Switzerland, where travelers can link up with the Gotthard Panorama Express, another tourist train.

The Albula and Bernina lines that the Bernina Express follows were jointly named a World Heritage Site in 2008. The full trip through this site takes about four hours, crossing 196 bridges, passing through 55 tunnels, and climbing over the Bernina Pass at 2,253 meters (7,392 feet) above sea level. The entire line uses metre-gauge track (1,000 mm) and is electrified. The Albula line was built from 1898 to 1904 and has been run by the Rhaetian Railway since it opened. The Bernina line, constructed from 1908 to 1910, operated independently until the Rhaetian Railway took it over in the 1940s. To handle the roughly 1,800-meter (5,900-foot) drop from the summit at Ospizio Bernina down to Tirano, the Bernina Express uses gradients as steep as 7%.

**Itinerary**

**Albula line**

The journey starts in Chur (585 meters [1,919 feet]) in the canton of Graubünden, following the Rhine River to Bonaduz (655 meters [2,149 feet]). From there, it enters the Domleschg Valley and traces the Posterior Rhine from Rhäzüns (658 meters [2,159 feet]) to Thusis (697 meters [2,287 feet]). The train then heads toward Tiefencastel (851 meters [2,792 feet]) along the Albula River, crosses the Landwasser Viaduct, and arrives at Filisur (1,032 meters [3,386 feet]). Just past Filisur, it enters its first spiral tunnel and continues to Bergün/Bravuogn. Between Bergün/Bravuogn (1,373 meters [4,505 feet]) and Preda (1,789 meters [5,869 feet]), the train must gain about 400 meters (1,300 feet) in elevation over a horizontal distance of just 5 kilometers (3.1 miles)—achieved through multiple spirals, not rack-and-pinion. It then enters the Albula Tunnel at 1,815 meters (5,955 feet) beneath the Albula Pass, emerging into the Val Bever and reaching Bever (1,708 meters [5,604 feet]) on the Engadin plain. The route continues to Samedan (1,721 meters [5,646 feet]) and ends this section at Pontresina station (1,774 meters [5,820 feet]) in the Val Bernina.

**Bernina line**

Leaving Pontresina, the train climbs steadily through the valley to the Bernina Pass, passing Morteratsch station (1,896 meters [6,220 feet]), where the Morteratsch Glacier and Piz Bernina (4,093 meters [13,428 feet]), the highest peak in the Eastern Alps, come into view. Before reaching the pass, it stops at Bernina Diavolezza (2,093 meters [6,867 feet]) for a cable-car connection to Diavolezza (2,921 meters [9,583 feet]). The summit is reached at Ospizio Bernina station, 2,253 meters (7,392 feet) above Lago Bianco. Alp Grüm (2,091 meters [6,860 feet]) is the first stop south of the Alps, perched above Lago Palü and below Piz Palü (over 3,900 meters [12,800 feet]) and its glacier. After a series of hairpin turns, the train reaches Cavaglia (1,693 meters [5,554 feet]) above the Val Poschiavo, then the Italian-speaking Swiss town of Poschiavo (1,014 meters [3,327 feet]). It follows the Poschiavino River, stopping at Le Prese (964 meters [3,163 feet]) and Miralago (965 meters [3,166 feet]), both on the shore of Lake Poschiavo. After Miralago, it descends toward Brusio (780 meters [2,560 feet]), crossing the spiral Brusio Viaduct. Shortly after the Italian border at Campocologno (553 meters [1,814 feet]), the Bernina Express ends at Tirano station (430 meters [1,410 feet]).

**Route**

In summer, the Bernina Express runs as a dedicated train from Chur to Pontresina with very few stops. At Pontresina, the locomotive is swapped due to the Bernina line’s different electrical current, and the train continues with few stops to Tirano. During autumn, winter, and spring, the Bernina Express consists of several cars attached to regional services: from Chur to Samedan, they join a RegioExpress (RE) train running Chur–St. Moritz; from Samedan to Pontresina, they become part of a Regio (R) train from Scuol-Tarasp to Pontresina; and from Pontresina to Tirano, they are part of a Regio train from St. Moritz to Tirano. Each of these Bernina Express trains includes designated carriages for passengers holding only regional tickets. A bus transfer connects Tirano to Lugano (in the Swiss canton of Ticino), linking the Bernina Express with the Gotthard Panorama Express. At St. Moritz, it connects with the Glacier Express, another tourist train.