Can a cheap, public service be as good as a tourist train? I tested both

For most of my adult life, I’ve wanted to catch the train over the mountains from Switzerland to Italy. However, when I finally step up onto the shiny red carriage at dawn, I’m apprehensive. With so much exposure, can such an experience live up to expectations? Turns out the Bernina Railway over the Alps from Switzerland to Italy exceeds them.

One of the 196 bridges on the alpine route.Credit:

Accessible year-round, the famous train route was given UNESCO World Heritage status in 2008. While most people are familiar with the panoramic carriages of the Bernina Express tourist train, many don’t realise there is a regional public service covering the same route too, and it’s a significantly cheaper and more flexible option.

But which service is better? I did the 122-kilometre, four-hour route twice in one day to find out.

The regional train: Chur to Tirano

Departing from Chur, in Switzerland at dawn, the regional train stretches past the Rhine River and begins to climb into the mountains, gradually gaining altitude over its first 26 kilometres. On this quiet weekday winter morning, the train is empty save for a few skiers headed for St Moritz. The train is comfortable and filled with novelties – a ski rack by the carriage doors, a self-service coffee machine in one compartment, and a few carriages up, a family coach for children that includes a playground with slippery dip.

Taking the regional service involves changing trains twice.Credit: Getty Images

As we climb higher into the mountains, the journey begins to tick every box a snow-starved Australian might muster: storybook villages with thin wisps of smoke curling from chimneys, evergreen pines with branches drenched in snow, and incomprehensibly tall mountains vibrating in the golden hue of dawn light.

While the Bernina Express is direct, taking the regional service involves changing trains twice. This may sound intimidating (and with heavy luggage, tedious), but in Switzerland, it couldn’t be easier. Our first connection at Samedan simply involves walking across the platform; the second, at Pontresina, is a short walk. Climbing aboard at Pontresina, I’m surprised to find I have a carriage all to myself.

An automated voice announces we are on the UNESCO World-Heritage-listed Bernina line, with 196 bridges and 55 tunnels. Pulling out of Pontresina, we pass cross-country skiers making their way along a groomed path on one side and a horse decked with sleigh bells pulling a carriage on a trail on the other.

I discover that the windows drop down, and I dart between the open windows on both sides, chasing the view. I stick my head out the window like an overexcited golden retriever, and I’m walloped in the face with frozen air. With the windows down, sound roars through the carriage: the trill of railway crossings and the rush of gurgling meltwater, the rattling bridges and the whoosh of a tunnel as it swallows the train whole.

We cross the Bernina Pass, and the train stops briefly at Alp Grum before we begin a series of switchbacks and hairpin turns to descend to the valley floor. The train has a seven-degree incline, one of the steepest in Europe, and my wheeled suitcase spins around like a drunk at a roller rink. It only gives up its jig when the train curves past a glacial lake, becoming wedged under a set of seats. Minutes later, the train whistles, an acknowledgment we have reached Italy, and I disembark with less than a dozen others onto the platform at Tirano.

The Bernina Express: Tirano to Chur

A stop at at Alp Grum station along the way.Credit: Switzerland Tourism

Two hours and one Italian feast later, it’s time to ride the Bernina Express. Both the regional train and the sightseeing service are run by Rhaetian Railway RhB, and I notice the driver’s engine compartment on our Bernina Express service is the same as the one I had on the regional train, with room for a small section of regional passengers to travel in.

Every seat on the tourist-focused service is booked, and the platform is crammed with people, bags and dogs. With little direction from staff, it’s a bit of a free-for-all as passengers struggle to find a place to stash their luggage, still fussing even when the train departs the station.

I’m travelling in first class, which contains one row of double seats facing each other on one side and two single seats on the other. The oversized panoramic glass windows of the Bernina Express carriages are spectacular. Curved gently at the top so you can take in the mountains above, they frame the view perfectly. However, unlike the regional train, they don’t open – except for two small postage stamp-style windows that drop down at the front of the carriage.

As we begin the climb back up to Alp Grum, I’m delighted to spy a copper-coloured spaniel out for a walk, waiting with its tail wagging at a railway crossing. On the regional train down, I’d seen the same dog pouncing and yapping at the train from his yard, desperate to go for a run.

The panoramic carriages of the Bernina Express.Credit: Switzerland Tourism

While the regional train made sporadic announcements, on the Bernina Express commentary is provided over the speaker in three languages. It’s useful in some respects: on the first leg of my journey, I’d been so distracted by the sight of two kite-boarders on the surface of the frozen Lago Blanco I’d missed the watershed marker where the glacial lake tumbles to the Adriatic on one side and the Black Sea on the other. However, while adding some colour to the journey, sometimes the noise distracts from the view outside.

While there is no meal service on the Bernina Express, there is a small cafe menu showcasing regional delicacies such as Chur walnut cake, Engadin hazelnut fingers, and, of course, Swiss cheese. Though I’m right with the prosciutto and parmesan I picked up in Italy, just before Pontresina, attendants appear with wicker baskets full of complimentary cold organic herbal teas and a novelty train tin filled with Lindt chocolates to complement my snacks.

The Rhaetian Railway’s summer windowless yellow open scenic carriages.Credit: Christof Sonderegger

When it starts getting dark at a wintry 4.30pm, the crew darken the carriage lights. Tiny lamps illuminate the route, and villages glow in the distance. The journey takes a sleepy, dreamlike quality as the chatter settles and people sit staring, absorbed by the beauty. We pull into Chur right on schedule.

There’s an adage that comparison is the thief of joy. However, after experiencing both the tourist train and regional train across the Bernina Railway, I’d recommend both with one caveat: break the journey along the way and spend a few days in the mountains.

The details

Train
The regional train from Chur to Tirano costs from CHF29 ($50) one-way. See sbb.ch/en
For the Bernina Express, passengers need to book two separate fares – the first a seat reservation, the second their ticket to ride. During the low season, a second-class seat reservation from Chur to Tirano is CHF32 ($55), while the ticket is CHF66 ($113). See tickets.rhb.ch/en

The ever-popular Swiss Travel Pass includes travel on the regional train from Chur to Tirano. It can also be used on the Bernina Express; however, passengers must also book and pay for a seat reservation. A three-day pass starts from CHF244 ($420). See sbb.ch/en

Fly
Singapore Airlines flies from Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Cairns and Brisbane with connections to Zurich. See singaporeair.com

The writer travelled with the assistance of Swiss Tourism. See myswitzerland.com