Bernina Express

The Bernina Express in the Montebellocurve near Morteratsch. (Photo: Rhaetische Bahn; swiss-image.ch/Peter Donatsch)

The Bernina Express on the well-known circle viaduct near Brusio. (Photo: Rhaetische Bahn; swiss-image.ch/Peter Donatsch)

The spectacular Bernina line was completed in 1910 and is run by Rhaetian Railways. Beginning in Chur, St. Moritz or Davos, it passes the glaciers of Piz Bernina, making this the highest railway crossing in all of the Alps. It travels over 38 miles, climbing grades of up to 7%––without rack and pinion––to more than 7,391 feet at the Bernina Pass summit, and drops down to just 1,408 feet at Tirano, Italy. One minute, it seems, you’re above the tree line in a frozen wasteland; the next, you’re zooming to a landing, like in an airplane, into a subtropical Italian paradise.

The combination of remarkable scenery and engineering prompted the World Heritage Committee on July 7, 2008 to add this line (and its sister line, Albula) to the UNESCO World Heritage list. This makes the Rhaetian Railway one of four railways worldwide to be considered “universally outstanding” by UNESCO. (The other three are the “toy trains” of India: Darjeeling, Shimla and Nilgiri.)
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The Bernina Express, resplendent in its red livery, snakes through a snowy, Swiss landscape.

The Bernina Express at dusk. Nothing beats a visit to the snug, warmly lit dining car as stars twinkle in the darkening sky.