Swiss Highlights

Graubünden · UNESCO World Heritage

Bernina Railway

Sixty metre-gauge kilometres from St. Moritz to Tirano, over a pass at 2,253 metres and without a rack.

Derivative illustration produced by Swiss Highlights from a freely licensed photograph.

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Translated during an AI-assisted second-pass review — not yet validated by a native-speaking editor.

Sixty metre-gauge kilometres link St. Moritz to Tirano, in Italy, over the Bernina Pass. The train climbs without a break to Ospizio Bernina station, at 2,253 metres, then descends towards the south.

Nothing assists it: the line has no rack rail. Adhesion alone, on gradients reaching 7%, among the steepest in the world worked by an ordinary train.

At Brusio the track loops in the open air across a nine-arch viaduct, 142.80 metres long, which takes up ten metres of height on a radius of 70 metres. It was built in 1907 and 1908.

Opened in sections between 1908 and 1910 and electric from the start, the line was meant to run in summer only. Winter operation began in 1913-1914 and required many avalanche walls.

Why this place is remarkable

Together with the Albula line, the Bernina line has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 7 July 2008 under criteria (ii) and (iv): 52 viaducts and bridges, 13 tunnels and galleries, a high-mountain alignment laid out without forcing the terrain.

History and origin

The line opened in sections from 1 July 1908 and in full on 5 July 1910. Traction was electric from the start, at 750 volts DC, raised to 1,000 volts in 1935. Run at first by an independent company, it passed to the Rhaetian Railway in the mid-1940s — in 1943 or 1945, depending on the source.

What to do and see

  • Travel the sixty kilometers of narrow-gauge track between St. Moritz and Tirano, via the Bernina Pass.
  • Spot the highest point of the journey, the Ospizio Bernina station, at 2,253 meters.
  • Observe at Brusio the open-air spiral viaduct, nine arches over 142.80 meters, built in 1907-1908.
  • Note the absence of a rack rail: the line climbs by adhesion alone, with gradients reaching 7%.

Coming with family: what to know

  • At kilometer 58, the route crosses into Italy; the terminus, Tirano, is on Italian territory, which requires bringing the necessary documents.

As a couple

  • The continuous climb up to the Bernina Pass, at 2,253 meters, without a rack rail.
  • The Brusio spiral viaduct, to observe from the train or from the ground.
  • The route listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008 together with the Albula line, amid viaducts and high-mountain galleries.
  • The arrival in Tirano, Italy, after the descent from the pass.
Before you go

The route crosses the Swiss-Italian border at kilometre 58 and ends at Tirano, in Italy.

Location

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