Glacier Express in Switzerland. The Slowest Express Train of the World

There are many reasons to visit Switzerland, this small and landlocked alpine country in the heart of Europe. The beautiful alpine scenery and the amazing mountains are probably the very first reason for most visitors of Switzerland. The best way to explore those attractions is by train. Indeed Switzerland is famous for its many trains connecting the cities, towns and even remote regions and valleys into a dense and integrating network which makes travel very easy for the curious visitor. The Swiss people are quite proud of their trains and make use of them extensively. Due to the mountainous landscapes of Switzerland most of the trains go trough scenic regions and have every features so loved by train fans. Hundreds of tunnels, bridges, viaducts and loops give testimony of the state of the art of Swiss railway engineering of the past 150 years.

The most famous of all the many mountain train trips in Switzerland is the Glacier Express which connects St. Moritz in the Upper Engadin with Zermatt in the Valais. Both towns are great attractions in itself and do have an outstanding role for tourism in Switzerland. By riding the Glacier Express the visitor has the chance to enjoy the Alpine landscape of Switzerland and to get a first hand experience of the two most famous resorts of Switzerland.

The train ride lasts about seven and a half hours and is only about 200 km long. Thus the “official” advertisement of this railway as being the slowest express train of the world has definitely some meaning. There are almost 300 bridges and viaducts and about 90 tunnels along the track of the Glacier Express. All these engineering masterpieces make for perfect photo and film opportunities.

The Glacier Express is easily done within a day. However, for those who want to experience Swiss culture and landscape it is highly recommended to plan for some longer halts throughout the journey with overnight stops in various villages or towns. There is simply too much to see and visit along the railroad. Usually the trip is done starting in St. Moritz and going West but the opposite direction is enjoyable as well and it is usually easier to get reservations during peak times. The train is scheduled tree times a day. There is no best time to go, each annual season offers some unique experiences. Personally, I prefer the autumn. The first snow up in the higher mountains and Indian summer in the valleys with its many colors makes an autumn ride of the Glacier Express an amazing and unforgettable experience.

The train starts in the bustling town of St. Moritz (1800m). St. Moritz is characterized by its many large luxury hotels from the belle epoque period surrounded by the precious scenery of the lakes and mountains of the Upper Engadine. Especially in autumn the woods excel with the various colors from green to yellow. And above the valley the high mountains of the Bernina group (Piz Bernina with 4049m) are covered by snow and glaciers. From St. Moritz the train goes first to the North and crosses the Albula pass using a long tunnel.

At Reichenau the Glacier Express enters the Rhine valley, one of the large and deep Alpine valleys so characteristic for the Alps. The train follows the Rhine valley crossing some steep gorges with amazing viaducts. The Landwasser viaduct is probably the most famous railway viaduct of Switzerland. Slowly the train approaches the Oberalp Pass (2044m) between Disentis and Andermatt. Soon an amazing view showcases the Urseren Valley around Andermatt (1447m).

The Urseren valley is of great significance for the history of Switzerland. First, it is the Northern point of the St. Gotthard pass, an important transit route from North to the South. Second, the Urseren was chosen as “Redoute” stronghold in the Second World War. If Switzerland would have been invaded by Nazi Germany, the Swiss military would have made its final stand here in the many bunkers of this alpine region. A Swiss Alamo so to speak.

Then the Glacier Express crosses a major European water divide. To the North of the Furka Pass (2431m) the rivers flow to the North Sea while to the South the rivers flow to the Mediterranean Sea. The train crosses the Furkapass via a long tunnel from Realp in the North to Oberwald in the South. However, during the summer it is possible to use the Furka railway, a cog railway which goes directly over the high mountain pass and offers stunning views to the famous Rhone glacier as well as to the young Rhone valley.

The first part of the Rhone valley is called the “Goms”. The many small villages of the Goms are characterized by old, wooden buildings which are a testimony of craftsmanship. I have traveled through quite many Swiss valleys and their villages and the Goms impressed me most with its ensembles complete of traditional styled farming houses. A stop in the Goms valley give the great opportunity to visit the Aletsch glacier. With a length of about 22 kilometres and an ice thickness of up to 800 m this is the largest glacier of the entire Alps. Various cable cars from Fiesch, Betten or Mörel provide access to the best viewpoints over the Aletsch glacier.

Then the Glacier Express enters the lower part of the Rhone valley near Brig (661m). Here, the Rhone valley is wide and flat with a very mild climate. Indeed the Rhone valley is one of the best wine regions of Switzerland and its red wines are very famous. After a couple of kilometers the Glacier Express changes its direction and enters the Visper Valley on its final leg towards Zermatt. The lower part of the Visper valley is almost unreal with its many vineyards towered by huge mountains. Tiny villages are dotted in the steep slopes of these mountains. Within the last 40 kilometers the train climbs from 600m around Visp to 1600m in Zermatt.

Nobody who comes to Zermatt for the first time can escape from the stunning view to the Matterhorn, the quintessential Swiss mountain. Zermatt is a world famous mountaineers village since the middle of the nineteenth century and the tragic history of the conquest (1865 by Sir Edward Whymper) of the Matterhorn has received worldwide attention. Zermatt is completely car-free (cars have to be parked in Täsch, a village some six kilometers to the South). Small electric vehicles carry the luggage or can be used as taxis. But its not only the Matterhorn. The Monte Rosa, the highest mountain of Switzerland (4634m) is almost 200m higher than the Matterhorn (4478m). The mighty glaciers around the Monte Rosa are best visited from the Gornergrat which can be accessed easily by the Gornergrat cog railway, an attraction in itself. Today, the highest cable car of Europe provides access to the Klein Matterhorn (3884m), a small rocky peak surrounded completely by huge glaciers. During winter the ski areas around Zermatt (Sunnegga-Rothorn, Gornergrat-Hohtälli, Furggen-Klein Matterhorn) attracts avid skiers. The lift system is connected to the ski area of Cervinia in Italy making the Zermatt ski resort to one of the leading European ski destinations. The glaciers around the Klein Matterhorn allow even for summer skiing. Irrespective of personal interests Zermatt will not fail to impress any visitors.  There is no dispute that Zermatt is the culmination of the Glacier Express.