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Bernina Express
Introduction/History:
The huge Bernina line was completed in 1910 and is run by Rhaetian Railways. Start 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 39 miles, uphill 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.
Accommodations
Bernina Express trains have spacious first- and second-class Panorama cars. All seats require reservations. You won’t be sitting long, however. The train passes over viaducts as high as 295 feet, twists through the Albula Valley, up past rock formations and glaciers, then plunges into Italy on a famous corkscrew viaduct. This is a daytime only train; there are no overnight accommodations on board.
Dining
Bring a picnic or eat lunch in a neat café once you get to Tirano.
Lounge Cars
“Railbar” with drinks and snacks are on the following routes: Chur-Tirano; Bergün-Tirano; St. Moritz-Tirano and vice versa.
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