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Bernina Express
Bernina Express on the Bernina line, passing Lago Bianco
Overview
Service type
Inter-city
Status
Operating
Locale
Graubünden, Switzerland Sondrio, Italy
Current operator(s)
Rhaetian Railway
Former operator(s)
Bernina-Bahngesellschaft
Route
Termini
Chur / Davos / St Moritz Tirano
Distance travelled
Varies
Average journey time
4 hours
Service frequency
Daily
On-board services
Class(es)
1st and 2nd
Disabled access
Yes
Catering facilities
Minibar
Observation facilities
Panorama cars
Technical
Rolling stock
Panorama cars
Track gauge
1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification
11 kV AC 16⅔ Hz (core network) 1,000 V DC (Bernina line)
Route map
Legend
to Landquart
to Arosa
Chur
to Disentis/Mustér
Thusis
Tiefencastel
to Davos Platz
Filisur
Bergün/Bravuogn
to Scuol-Tarasp
Samedan
St. Moritz
to Scuol-Tarasp
Pontresina
Bernina Diavolezza
Alp Grüm
Poschiavo
Le Prese
Campocologno
Switzerland
Italy
to Milano Centrale
Tirano
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The Bernina Express is a train connecting Chur (or Davos) in Switzerland to Poschiavo in Switzerland and Tirano in Italy by crossing the Swiss Engadin Alps. For most of its journey, the train also runs along the World Heritage Site known as the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes.
The train is operated by the Rhaetian Railway company for the purpose of sightseeing. It takes the form of an enhanced regional service between Tirano and Chur or Davos: panoramic coaches with enlarged windows and multi-lingual (English, Italian and German) audio guide on board. It is not an "express" in the sense of being a high-speed train; passengers must make a seat reservation either directly when they purchase Bernina Express tickets, or pay a small supplement on top of their regional train tickets. The Bernina Express is popular with tourists and connects in Tirano with the Post Bus service via Lake Como in Italy to Lugano in Switzerland.
The Albula line and the Bernina line on the Bernina Express's route were jointly declared a World Heritage Site in 2008. The trip on the Bernina Express through this World Heritage Site is a four-hour railway journey across 196 bridges, through 55 tunnels and across the Bernina Pass at 2,253 metres above sea. The entire line is 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) (metre gauge) and electrified.
The Albula line was constructed between 1898 and 1904; it has been operated by the Rhaetian Railway since its inauguration. The Bernina line was built between 1908 and 1910 and operated independently until the 1940s, when it was acquired by the Rhaetian Railway. The Bernina Express uses gradients of 7% to negotiate the difference in height of about 1800 meters from the summit at Ospizio Bernina to Tirano.
The BerninaExpress is a train connecting Chur (or Davos) in Switzerland to Poschiavo in Switzerland and Tirano in Italy by crossing the Swiss Engadin...
The Bernina railway line (German: Berninalinie; Italian: Linea del Bernina; Romansh: Lingia dal Bernina) is a single-track 1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre...
Piz Bernina (Romansh, Italian: Pizzo Bernina, Italian pronunciation: [ˈpittso berˈniːna]) is the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps, the highest point...
Site known as the "Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes". The first Glacier Express started on 30 June 1930 at 07:30 in Zermatt. Initially...
The Bernina Pass (el. 2,328 m or 7,638 ft.) (Italian: Passo del Bernina) is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden...
such as St. Moritz and Davos. One of the RhB lines, the Bernina Railway, crosses the Bernina Pass at 2,254 metres (7,395 ft) above sea level and runs...
the Bernina Pass BerninaExpress, a train running on the Bernina railway Bernina Diavolezza (Rhaetian Railway station), a station on the Bernina railway...
railway viaduct on the Bernina Railway. It was opened on 1 July 1908. A key structure of the World Heritage Site-listed Bernina Railway, it is located...
of such trains include the BerninaExpress, Glacier Express, and Voralpen Express. Characteristics of a Panorama Express can include first- and second-class...
in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes. The best known trains operating on the Albula line are the Glacier Express and the BerninaExpress. Up until 1890,...
Scandinavia and Switzerland. From 1928 the company ran diner cars on the Bernina and Rhaetian Railway lines as well as on the pullman coaches of the Rheingold...
equipment used on the Bernina line. As of the December 2023 timetable change,[update] the following services stop at Pontresina: BerninaExpress: Several round-trips...
be reached from the Upper Engadin valley in the north via Bernina Pass (Passo del Bernina) and from the Italian comune of Livigno via Livigno Pass. In...
Italy-Switzerland: Bernina railway at 2,253 m (7,392 ft) above sea, metre-gauge trains of RhB Tirano-St. Moritz and the BerninaExpress tourist train Italy-Austria:...
stop at Bernina Diavolezza: BerninaExpress: Several round-trips per day between Chur or St. Moritz and Tirano. RegioExpress / Regio: hourly service between...
of the longest distance trains of Switzerland: the Glacier Express and the BerninaExpress. The Swiss Federal Railways extend only a few kilometres into...
in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and...
services stop at Campocologno: BerninaExpress: Several round-trips per day between Chur or St. Moritz and Tirano. RegioExpress / Regio: hourly service between...
but the height can differ. Rail height (in thousandths of an inch) is expressed as a "code": thus, Code 55 rails are 0.055 inches (1.4 mm) high while...
/ Bernina Landscapes. The whole site is a cross-border joint Swiss-Italian heritage area. Trains operating on the Bernina line include the Bernina Express...
/ Bernina Landscapes. The whole site is a cross-border joint Swiss-Italian heritage area. Trains operating on the Bernina line include the Bernina Express...
Zürich HB Glacier Express: Several round-trips per day over the Landquart–Thusis line between Zermatt and St. Moritz. BerninaExpress: Several round-trips...
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