Bernina Express from glaciers to palm trees

He has to travel over 196 bridges- and cross 55 tunnels: the Bernina Express does an amazing job. The Swiss narrow-gauge railway, which fights its way across the Alps between Chur and Tirano, is on one of the steepest railway lines in the world .

The train was over the Bernina Pass Intended for tourists from the start. When 2,500 construction workers got down to the hard work in 1902, the engineers spent a long time working on a route with as few tunnels as possible, because travelers were supposed to marvel at the beauty of Graubünden and Lombardy.

Experience one of the most spectacular alpine crossings: the Albula and Bernina line of the Rhaetian Railway. It connects the north (Chur- Tirano) and the south of Europe in serpentine lines and without a cogwheel. A special treat is the panoramic ride on the Bernina Express  past glaciers, down to the palm trees.

55 tunnels, 196 bridges and gradients of up to 70 per mille can be mastered with ease. The roof of the RhB, the Ospizio Bernina, sits enthroned at 2,253 meters above sea level. The route from Thusis to Tirano is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The final stop in the south is the city of Tirano in Valtellina/Italy.

Further south: in the Bernina Express Bus

In summer there is a very attractive bus connection to Lugano in Tirano, along Lake Como and Lake Lugano. A reservation is mandatory for this. & Nbsp; Fare per person CHF 27.50 (as of 2011)

Sights: UNESCO World Heritage route with Landwasser Viaduct and the spiral tunnels between Bergün and Preda, Ospizio Bernina, Alp Grüm, Piz Palü and Morteratsch Glacier, Lago Bianco, Poschiavo, old town of Tirano, circular viaduct near Brusio, vineyards in Valtellina, Lake Como, Lake Lugano, city of Lugano

Travel times : The runs between Chur and Tirano Bernina Express once a day in each direction. The journey takes 4 to 4.5 hours. Depending on the season, trains from St. Moritz and Davos to Tirano also run.

Prices : A ticket Chur-Tirano and back costs 71.25 euros, the one-way ticket Travel in each direction 35.63 euros.

Information : Rh & auml; tische Bahn, telephone number for Germany: 0041/81/288 43 40, daily from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. ,
Internet: & nbsp; www.rhb.ch