This panoramic train takes no more than eight hours to travel through emblematic places in the Swiss Alps, but they are more than enough to realize the grandeur and beauty of this corner of Europe through which the Glacier Express has been passing for almost a year. century.
Despite being called “express”, it is not a high-speed train at all, quite the opposite. Its slowness – which has been a hallmark since its inception – allows us to delight in a postcard landscape, each kilometer more impressive and changing according to the seasons. Dizzying mountains, idyllic bodies of water, thick fir and pine forests, valleys dotted with farmhouses make up the scenery.
In winter, the red, glass-enclosed carriages meander over mountains draped in a thick white cloak. In spring, the green meadows and flowers prevail in a completely bucolic landscape. Other local and regional trains that carry out the same or similar routes also run along the same tracks, although these have stops at many more stations and lack the charm and magic of our train.
The Glacier Express begins its journey in the town of Zermatt, home to one of the oldest and most charismatic ski resorts in Switzerland, in the heart of the Alps. In about eight hours it covers 291 km, going through 91 tunnels and crossing 291 bridges, that is, one per kilometer. After leaving Zermatt, you can enjoy incredible views of Mount Matterhorn, then the train runs north, descending through valleys of spectacular beauty until it reaches Brig. Once there, it turns north-east through a fairly eastern stretch of the Rhône valley, towards the Furka pass, and descends again towards Andermatt before climbing again to the Oberlap pass, the highest point of the route, located at 2,033 meters. altitude. From here it zigzags parallel to the river Vorderrhein, through Disentis/Mustér to Chur.
Here ends the route of the first train that departs every day during the summer from Zermatt at 7:52 a.m., the next two trains, the only ones that operate during the winter and leave an hour later, continue to St. Moritz, traveling a very attractive. The entire line has metric gauge track (narrow gauge railway), and a 23.9-kilometre part of it uses a rack and pinion system both to climb steep grades and to control descents.
The train leaves the Zermatt station with absolute Swiss punctuality at 8:52 in the morning. This commune in the canton of Valais with barely 6,000 inhabitants has become famous for being located next to the Cervino peak and for being the base of the enormous ski resort of Zermatt and Breuil-Cervinia, one of the best in the country. The population is mainly oriented towards tourism with hundreds of hotels, restaurants and shops. However, the circulation of motor vehicles is prohibited and has been replaced by horse-drawn carriages and electric taxis, betting on more sustainable tourism. In winter, a white blanket covers the roofs of the houses creating a unique atmosphere that resembles a fairy tale.
The town is nestled in a lavish valley protected by peaks that are over 4,000 m high and under the gaze of the Matterhorn, the most famous mountain in the Alps for its striking pyramidal shape. The Germans named this 4,478 m mountain “Matterhorn”, which derives from the words Matte, which means “meadow”, and Horn, which means “horn”. Its complicated orography has always been a pole of attraction in the world of mountaineering, especially since, in July 1865, it was crowned for the first time by the British Edward Whymper.
To commemorate the deeds of the heroes of the high mountains, before getting on the Glacier Express, in Zermatt it is possible to take a short trip through the high mountains on the Gornergrat, a unique cog railway, considered the highest in Europe, which travels in barely half an hour 10 km of steep ascents, going from 1,500 to 3,089 m of altitude.
As we move away from the Winkelmatten neighborhood, on the outskirts of Zermatt, and gradually climb up, a landscape dotted with fir trees frames the beautiful silhouette of Mount Matterhorn, ever closer. After several stops you will reach the upper station located at 3,100 m altitude. There is the Kulmhotel, the highest hotel in the Swiss Alps, as well as an impressive observatory and a restaurant with spectacular views of the Matterhorn and other mythical mountains such as the Weisshorn colossus (4,505 m), the Dent Blanche (4,356 m) or the Zinalrothorn (4,221 m).
Back on the Glacier Express, from Zermatt the train begins a gradual descent from 1,604 m altitude to 670 m at Brig. They are the first bars of the journey and from the windows you still can't see the sun as the train zigzags through the bottom of the valley. The tops of the mountains, especially on their north side, remain snow covered for much of the year. A green carpet covers the meadow where the typical Valais wooden farmhouses are scattered, sometimes covering some Baroque churches.
As we advance, the landscape becomes greener, covered by thousands of yellow flowers that welcome spring. The best views are almost always obtained from the seats located on the right, in the direction of travel, although some of us prefer to spend most of the journey photographing to one side and the other so as not to miss a detail. The train stops at Brig, a small town in the Rhône Valley, at 10:15 a.m.
The town's most famous monument is the Stockalperschloss palace, built between 1651 and 1671 by Kaspar von Stockalper, an important local businessman, banker, soldier and politician. It was the largest private building built in Switzerland in its time and its silhouette, with its towers crowned by golden onion domes, reflects the enormous wealth accumulated by this character. Today it is the headquarters of a foundation dedicated to the conservation of the natural and cultural landscape of the Simplon commune.
From Brig the train begins to gradually gain the lost altitude plowing through the Rhône valley. We reach the legendary Furka Pass – the second highest pass in Switzerland – which connects Gletsch, in the canton of Valais, with Andermatt, in the canton of Uri. It is a tunnel built in 1982, 15.4 km long, in which views from the outside fade to black for about 15 minutes. In winter, when the road that crosses the mountain pass is closed by snow, in addition to the Glacier Express and some local trains, an electric train called Autovelad Furka goes through the tunnel constantly carrying private vehicles.
We continue ascending more and more until we reach our ceiling, the Oberalppass, located at 2,033 m. The Japanese tourists, cameras at the ready, move from one side of the carriage to the other, trying not to miss anything from outside, until it is time to eat and everyone relaxes. In the spring and autumn seasons, the Glacier Express uses another incentive: the thematic gastronomic weeks. In them you can enjoy traditional delicatessen and typical menus of the honored canton.
The snow, still lingering well into spring on this part of the route, gives way once again to green meadows and the train heads gently down the impressive Rhine gorge to Chur. It's 2:15 p.m. and the train stops for fifteen minutes at the Chur station. This city is the gateway to the canton of Grisons and the Swiss national park, created in 1909 and declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco.
In order to conserve this ecological treasure, not only is hunting and felling of trees not allowed, but it is also forbidden to cut the grass in its meadows. For moviegoers, the city also has the attraction of being the birthplace of H. R. Giger, the famous creator of special effects in some Hollywood films, such as Alien: The Eighth Passenger (1979), for which he won an Oscar.
From Chur to St. Moritz there are only two hours, but the landscape is so fascinating that time flies by. All the passengers are left speechless when they reach the most spectacular point of the journey and emblem of the train, the Landwasser viaduct, also known as the Filisur bridge. Six impressive stone arches extend in a daring right-hand curve 136 m long and 65 m free fall.
Later the train circulates through the Albula valley. Here, in a section of track between Predra and Bergün of barely 12 km, six viaducts, three spiral tunnels and two helical ones follow one another uninterruptedly, a pharaonic work of railway engineering to overcome more than 400 m of unevenness and not exceed the stipulated maximum gradient by 3.5%. The train now enters the Albula tunnel, almost 6 km long, to continue without stopping at the Spinas station at the southern gate, where the train descends a steep gradient of 3.2% to reach Oberengadine in Val Bever. A few minutes later we entered the terminus of the Albula railway in St. Moritz, our final destination.
St. Moritz or Sankt Moritz is not just another tourist destination. This Swiss commune in the canton of Grisons, with barely 5,000 inhabitants, rose to fame in 1928 with the celebration of the Winter Olympic Games, an event that was repeated again in 1948, which positioned it worldwide as an indisputable benchmark for this sport.
Its early tourist vocation was consolidated with the creation of the Rhaetian Railways between 1898 and 1904. Its medicinal waters, which consecrated it as a summer spa in the past, and in winter, its ski resort, one of the most expensive in the world , quickly brought together the European upper class and jet set. The perfect hotel organization, first-rate sports and thermal facilities, an exceptional landscape and a mild climate have contributed to making St. Moritz one of the most appreciated places for international tourism, hosting prestigious cultural events and sports competitions.
On Vía Serlas, its main artery, the most select boutiques in the world such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Omega, Versace or Cartier come together, and the homonymous lake, at whose foot the town extends, becomes a stupendous ice rink in winter or in a pleasant place to walk and practice water sports in summer. Fun and entertainment are guaranteed all year round.
The perfect climax to this trip on the Glacier Express is to get on the Muottas Muragl vertical funicular, located a few kilometers from the city and offering an unparalleled panoramic spectacle from the Upper Engadine lakes with St. Moritz in the background, to the massive Piz Palü and Piz Bernina, with the characteristic white of its walls.
The funicular ascends from Punt Muragl, located at 700 m, to the 2,454 m summit of Muottas Muragl in just 10 minutes. Once at the top you can enjoy splendid sunsets from a viewpoint, stay the night in a wooden hotel with alpine decoration or if it is winter, enjoy the toboggan run of the "path of the philosophers" or go snowshoeing of snow.
