Swiss Railway Journeys - Bernina Express

This is the official channel of the TV show Swiss Railway Journeys, run in association with MITV, the production company that created the show. The following episode represents original content made and copyrighted by MITV, and its content is in no way repurposed. The Bernina Express service, which operates all the year round between St. Moritz in Switzerland and Tirano in Italy, is one of the most spectacular railway journeys in the whole of Europe, and a popular ride for visitors of all nationalities. Today it is possible to board the train in Chur or Landquart to prolong the enjoyment, although our ride covers the route from St. Moritz to Alp Grüm in winter and then the descent to Italy in summer. The route was opened between 1908-1910 by the privately owned Bernina Bahn, which was incorporated into the Rhaetian Railway in 1943, and is now part of the extensive network of metre gauge lines which run throughout Canton Graubünden in south-eastern Switzerland. Despite the steep terrain found in the region, the RhB operates entirely with adhesion working, the 1 in 14 gradients on the Bernina being the most taxing in the area. The 60.69 km long line has always been worked by electric traction, one of the pioneer railways in Switzerland to use this method of propulsion. The original voltage of 750 DC was increased to 1,000 volts DC in the 1930s. However, this is a different system from the remainder of the RhB network and while through services are available between St Moritz and Tirano, Bernina Express trains passing over the Albula line have to pause at Pontresina where a change of locomotive takes place. (recorded in 1996)