uman ingenuity allows the Bernina Express, running from Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland, to Tirano, a quaint town in northern Italy, to endure and enjoy nature’s wrath. Along 25 stops, passengers experience the snow-capped Alps, an ascent up the rugged and mountainous Bernina Pass, and the Landwasser Viaduct, a high, six-arched bridge. Engineering feats permit the Red Train to host the highest rail crossing in all of Europe: the Ospizio Bernina, a Swiss train station located at a whopping 2,253 meters above sea level.
The Bernina Express’s blend of nature and nurture represents a product that was years in the making. In 1886, Willem-Jan Holsboer, today recognized as the founder of the Rhaetian Railways, joined a four-member commission to examine the possibility of constructing a railway between Landquart, a municipality in Graubünden, to the Alpine town of Davos-Platz. The route would cover diverse and severe terrain and connect two valley communities.
After spearheading the creation of a narrow-gauge railway company, Bahngesellschaft Landquart-Davos, Holsboer realized the first part of this idea: a railway from Landquart to Klosters-Serneus, covering a distance of about twenty miles. The full route was completed on July 21, 1890, coinciding with the introduction of steam trains to the railway. Holsboer then renamed the company to the “Rhaetian Railways” in 1895. Between 1895 and 1914, nine more lines opened on the Rhaetian Railways. The Albula Railroad was constructed first in 1904 by Rhaetian Railways. Bernina-Bahngesellschaft, an independent company, completed construction on the Bernina Railroad in 1910, and Rhaetian Railways purchased and modernized the line in 1943.
During its inception, the Bernina Express endured several natural obstacles to operation. Most notably, the winter snows could be so heavy that some initially thought that the Bernina Railroad should only run in the summertime. However, in 1913 the fortification of avalanche barriers allowed the Bernina Express to run in the cold.
Still, the weather continued to pose problems.
After acquiring the line from Bernina-Bahngesellschaft, Rhaetian Railways remodeled the Bernina Express’s path to avoid potential avalanches. In addition to prioritizing freight weight over speed, the designers developed different electrification systems for the sister railways to allow passengers to enjoy a variety of altitudes. To provide further support in the mountainous Bernina Pass, Rhaetian Railways also removed the original overhead line used to transfer energy to the electrical train and reinforced the rails.
Although the Bernina Express was designed for tourism, architects adapted the train’s route to its surroundings rather than modifying the environment itself. The Red Train now embarks upon one of the naturally steepest rail lines in the world. For its innovation and preservation of nature, the Bernina Railway was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 (along with its sister railway, the Albula Railway).
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Human Ingenuity Powers the Bernina Express
Photo by Alessandro Prat via Unsplash.
August 16, 2020
H
uman ingenuity allows the Bernina Express, running from Chur, the oldest city in Switzerland, to Tirano, a quaint town in northern Italy, to endure and enjoy nature’s wrath. Along 25 stops, passengers experience the snow-capped Alps, an ascent up the rugged and mountainous Bernina Pass, and the Landwasser Viaduct, a high, six-arched bridge. Engineering feats permit the Red Train to host the highest rail crossing in all of Europe: the Ospizio Bernina, a Swiss train station located at a whopping 2,253 meters above sea level.
The Bernina Express’s blend of nature and nurture represents a product that was years in the making. In 1886, Willem-Jan Holsboer, today recognized as the founder of the Rhaetian Railways, joined a four-member commission to examine the possibility of constructing a railway between Landquart, a municipality in Graubünden, to the Alpine town of Davos-Platz. The route would cover diverse and severe terrain and connect two valley communities.
After spearheading the creation of a narrow-gauge railway company, Bahngesellschaft Landquart-Davos, Holsboer realized the first part of this idea: a railway from Landquart to Klosters-Serneus, covering a distance of about twenty miles. The full route was completed on July 21, 1890, coinciding with the introduction of steam trains to the railway. Holsboer then renamed the company to the “Rhaetian Railways” in 1895. Between 1895 and 1914, nine more lines opened on the Rhaetian Railways. The Albula Railroad was constructed first in 1904 by Rhaetian Railways. Bernina-Bahngesellschaft, an independent company, completed construction on the Bernina Railroad in 1910, and Rhaetian Railways purchased and modernized the line in 1943.
During its inception, the Bernina Express endured several natural obstacles to operation. Most notably, the winter snows could be so heavy that some initially thought that the Bernina Railroad should only run in the summertime. However, in 1913 the fortification of avalanche barriers allowed the Bernina Express to run in the cold.
Still, the weather continued to pose problems.
After acquiring the line from Bernina-Bahngesellschaft, Rhaetian Railways remodeled the Bernina Express’s path to avoid potential avalanches. In addition to prioritizing freight weight over speed, the designers developed different electrification systems for the sister railways to allow passengers to enjoy a variety of altitudes. To provide further support in the mountainous Bernina Pass, Rhaetian Railways also removed the original overhead line used to transfer energy to the electrical train and reinforced the rails.
Although the Bernina Express was designed for tourism, architects adapted the train’s route to its surroundings rather than modifying the environment itself. The Red Train now embarks upon one of the naturally steepest rail lines in the world. For its innovation and preservation of nature, the Bernina Railway was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 (along with its sister railway, the Albula Railway).
