GLACIER EXPRESS : THE SLOWEST EXPRESS TRAIN IN THE WORLD !

The Glacier Express (GEX) is an express train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps. The train’s name honours the Rhone Glacier – which is near Gletsch on the Furka Pass

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What is the Glacier Express ? Where does it travel ?

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• The Glacier Express (GEX) is an express train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps
• The train’s name honours the Rhone Glacier – which is near Gletsch on the Furka Pass
• The train is not an “express” in the sense of being a high-speed train, but rather, in the sense that it provides a one-seat ride for an eight-hours-long journey, and omits stops made by local trains
• The Glacier Express is known as ¨The slowest express train in the world¨
• As St. Moritz and Zermatt are home to two well-known mountains, the Glacier Express is also said to travel from Matterhorn to Piz Bernina

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Describe the route of the Glacier Express ?

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• The journey from Zermatt starts at the dead end of a Alpine valley, the Mattertal, just below the world-renowned Matterhorn at an elevation of 1606 m (5269 ft) before it descends to the huge valley of the Valais in Brig
• It traverses the 291-kilometre-long (181 mi) journey through the center of the Swiss Alps
• Over 291 bridges
• Through 91 tunnels – longest being the 15.4 km-long (9.6 mi) Furka Tunnel at an elevation of 1500 m (4900 ft) to circumvent the Furka Pass
• The entire line is metre gauge (narrow gauge railway) and 23.9 km-large (14.9 mi) portion of it use a rack-and-pinion system both for ascending steep grades and to control descent
• Makes an intermediate stop at Andermatt on a secluded high Alpine valley – just to traverse its highest point on the Oberalp Pass at 2033 m (6670 ft) in order to descend to its lowest point at Chur at 585 m (1919 ft)
• From Chur, the capital of the canton of Graubünden – the GEX backtracks to higher altitudes again in order to reach the resort St. Moritz in a further valley to the south
• Previously, before traversing the Albula Range by a tunnel at 1800 metres (5900 ft), in Filisur travelers can change to a connecting train to reach Davos to the east
• For much of its journey, it also passes along and through the World Heritage Site known as the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes

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Describe the history of The Glacier Express

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• The first Glacier Express started on 30 June 1930 07:30 in Zermatt
•  Initially, it was operated by three railway companies : the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn (VZ), the Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO), and the RhB
• Since 2003, the train has been operated by RhB and the MGB, which arose from a merger between the BVZ and the FO
• Since 2017 the Glacier Express AG, owned by the two former operators, runs the train of the same name
• Since 2017 the train is operated by the Glacier Express AG, a cooperation jointly owned by the former operators Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn (MGB) and Rhaetian Railway (RhB)

Early years

• The completion of the final portion of the FO in 1926 opened up the Cantons of Valais and Graubünden to further tourist development
• In particular, a pathway was laid for the introduction of Kurswagen (through coaches) between Brig and Chur, and between Brig and St. Moritz
• In early June 1930, the then Visp–Zermatt Bahn was extended to Brig by the opening of a metre gauge line along the Rhone Valley between Visp and Brig
• For the first time, it was feasible to operate through coaches all the way from Zermatt to St. Moritz and return
• On 25 June 1930 – the first train of such coaches set out from Zermatt to St. Moritz, under the name Glacier Express
• Until 1982, the Glacier Express operated only in the summer months, because the Furka Pass and the Oberalp Pass were both snowed over in winter
• Initially, the train was made up of first to third class salon and passenger coaches – supplied by all three of the participating railway companies
• Between Chur and Disentis/Mustér – passengers could enjoy a hot lunch in a Mitropa dining car
• From 1933, the Glacier Express through coaches were attached to normal passenger trains between Brig and Zermatt
• In the earliest years of the Glacier Express, electric locomotives were used to haul the Glacier Express on the BVZ and the RhB but steam locomotives were used on the FO
• That changed in 1941-1942 – when overhead catenary was installed on the FO, enabling completely electric operation for the full length of the route
• However, no through trains were operated between 1943 and 1946, due to World War II
• Upon the resumption of daily through trains in 1948 – the dining car service was extended from Disentis/Mustér to the top of the Oberalp Pass
• Between the 1950s and the 1970s – both the BVZ and the RhB introduced new locomotive classes that when attached to the Glacier Express enabled reductions in schedule times
• Meanwhile, the dining car service was extended further, to Andermatt

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Describe the Year round operations of The Glacier Express

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• In 1981 a Glacier Express era came to an end, with the final closure for the winter of the FO line over the Furka Pass and through the Furka Summit Tunnel between Oberwald and Gletsch
• In June 1982 – that FO line was replaced by the newly opened Furka Base Tunnel
• As a consequence, the Glacier Express not only became disconnected from its namesake Rhone Glacier, but also could now, for the first time, be operated on a year-round basis
• At that time, the BVZ, FO and RhB took the opportunity to relaunch the Glacier Express as a tourist attraction
• Promotional material focused on the train’s status as “the slowest express train in the world”, covering 291 km or 181 mi, 91 tunnels, and over 291 bridges
• A special promotional wine glass on a sloping base emphasised the steepness of some parts of the route
• Passenger numbers rose from 20000 in 1982 to over 53000 in 1983, and to just over 80000 in 1984

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Describe the recent developments in the operations of The Glacier Express

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• In 1985 the Glacier Express timetable was completely revised
• Between 1986 and 1993, the BVZ and the FO invested nearly 40 million Swiss francs in constructing 18 new first class panorama cars for the train
• By 2005 more than 250000 passengers were travelling on the Glacier Express each year
• In 2006 a few scenes of the documentary film The Alps were shot inside the train, and further new panorama cars were added to the Glacier Express passenger car fleet
• On 7 July 2008, the Albula Railway and the Bernina Railway were jointly recorded in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, under the name Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes
• Currently, the Glacier Express is especially popular with tourists from Germany, Japan, and, increasingly, India

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Describe the Route Sections of The Glacier Express

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Albula line

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• Shortly after leaving St. Moritz station (1775 m or 5823 ft) in Graubünden – the train passes Samedan and Bever on the high Engadin plateau
• There it continues in the Val Bever before entering the Albula Tunnel at 1815 m (5955 ft) under the Albula Pass
• After the tunnel, the train passes through Preda, the first station in the Albula Valley and continues toward Bergün/Bravuogn
• Between these two villages the train has to go through many spirals because of the high difference of altitude within a short distance (400 m or 1300 ft for 5 km or 3.1 mi)
• After another spiral, the train reaches Filisur at the end of the valley at (1032 m or 3386 ft)
• From there, the train passes on the Landwasser Viaduct, the most emblematic landmark of the railway line and continues toward Thusis (720 m or 2360 ft) where it reaches the Posterior Rhine and follows it to the city of Chur (585 m or 1919 ft)

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Oberalp section

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• From Chur the train follows back the course of the Rhine through the gorge of Ruinaulta and climbs slowly the valley toward Ilanz (698 m or 2290 ft), Disentis/Mustér (1142 m or 3747 ft) and Sedrun (1404 m or 4606 ft)
• From Sedrun the line becomes steeper to finally reach its summit, the Oberalp Pass at 2033 m (6670 ft)
• From there the train enters the Canton of Uri in Central Switzerland and continues down to Andermatt (1447 m or 4747 ft)

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Furka Section

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• From Andermatt the train goes forward in the valley called Urseren passing the villages of Hospental (1452 m or 4764 ft) and Realp (1538 m or 5046 ft)
• From there the train enters the Furka Base Tunnel, leaving the old railway line which climbs the Furka Pass (operated today by the Furka Cogwheel Steam Railway) to emerge in Oberwald (1368 m or 4488 ft) in the Goms Valley in the Canton of Valais
• The train then continues toward Brig following the course of the Rhone and passes along the villages of Ulrichen (1346 m or 4,416 ft), Münster-Geschinen (1359 m or 4459 ft) and Fiesch (1049 m or 3442 ft), before going through another spiral

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Mattertal Line

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• From Brig (678 m or 2224 ft) the train continues to Visp (651 m or 2,136 ft), then enters the valley of Mattertal and goes up, passing the villages of Stalden (799 m or 2621 ft), St. Niklaus (1127 m or 3,698 ft) and Randa (1408 m or 4619 ft), where a spectacular debris avalanche completely disconnected the railway and road in 1991
• Täsch (1450 m or 4760 ft) is an important station as it is the end of the open road and therefore a terminal for motorists
• After a steeper section the train finally arrives in Zermatt at 1616 m (5302 ft) – after nearly 8 hours of travel

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Natural spectacles and other highlights along the route

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• St. Moritz, the most elegant holiday resort in Switzerland
• The alpine village of Zermatt with breathtaking views of the Matterhorn
• The Albula Line with the Solis and Landwasser viaducts and spiral tunnels
• The Rhine Gorge, the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland”
• Oberalp Pass

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The Glacier Express : Salient features & Highlights

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Overview
Service type	Tourist train
Status	Operating daily except for maintenance period in late autumn
Locale	Graubünden, Uri and Valais, Switzerland
Predecessor	2003-2017: RhB and MGB 1962-2002: RhB, FO, and BVZ 1925-1962: RhB, FO, and VZ
First service	25 June 1930 07:30
Current operator(s)	Glacier Express AG, Andermatt
Ridership	187,000 (2016)
Route
Start	Brig, Zermatt
Stops	Fiesch, Andermatt, Disentis/Mustér,Chur, Thusis, Tiefencastel, Filisur, Bergün/Bravuogn, Samedan, Celerina
End	St. Moritz / Davos (change in Filisur), Chur
Distance travelled	291 kilometres (181 mi)
Average journey time	7:55h (St. Moritz-Davos) 4:20h (Chur-Brig)
Service frequency	winter season (both ways): Once a day Zermatt – St. Moritz / Davos summer season: one Brig – St. Moritz two Zermatt – St. Moritz / Davos (both ways) one Chur – Zermatt
On-board services
Class(es)	Executive, 1st and 2nd
Disabled access	Yes
Catering facilities	Restaurant car
Observation facilities	Panorama cars
Technical
Rolling stock	Panorama cars Restaurant car
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Electrification	11 kV AC 16​2⁄3 Hz
Track owner(s)	RhB, MGB