Gornergrat railway in Zermatt

The Gornergrat railway is a mountain rack railway, located in the Swiss canton of Valais. It links the resort village of Zermatt, situated at 1,604 m (5,262 ft) above mean sea level, to the summit of the Gornergrat. The Gornergrat railway station is situated at an altitude of 3,089 m (10,135 ft), which makes the Gornergrat railway the second highest railway in Europe after the Jungfrau, and the highest open-air railway of the continent. The line opened in 1898, and was the first electric rack railway to be built in Switzerland.

The Gornergrat is a starting point for many hikes, as it lies surrounded by 29 peaks rising above 4,000 m (13,123 ft) in the Alps and several glaciers, including the Gorner Glacier (which is billed as the second longest glacier in the Alps). At the end of the line on Gornergrat, the Matterhorn is visible on a clear day. It is also a popular skiing area.

The Gornergrat railway company (Gornergrat Bahn AG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of BVZ Holdings AG, who are also the majority owners of the Matterhorn Gotthard Verkehrs AG, the company that operates the Matterhorn–Gotthard railway (MGB), with which the GGB connects in Zermatt.

History

Work on the railway started in 1896, five years after the Visp-Zermatt-Bahn had linked Zermatt to Visp and the Rhone Valley. The line opened on August 20, 1898, and was electrified from the start. Initially it only operated in summer, but year-round operation was extended to the lower section of the line in 1929, and to the summit in 1941.

The upper terminal was remodelled in 2004.

Operation

Route

There are several passenger stops on the line:

Station Distance Height (AMSL) Notes Zermatt 0.00 1,605 m (5,266 ft) Link to Matterhorn–Gotthard railway and the Zermatt–Sunnegga funicular Findelbach 1.75 km (1.09 mi) 1,770 m (5,810 ft) Riffelalp 4.03 km (2.50 mi) 2,211 m (7,254 ft) Link to the Riffelalp tram, providing connection to Riffelalp Resort Riffelberg 6.47 km (4.02 mi) 2,582 m (8,471 ft) With a three-star hotel Rotenboden 7.91 km (4.92 mi) 2,815 m (9,236 ft) Gornergrat 9.34 km (5.80 mi) 3,089 m (10,135 ft) With a three-star hotel and observatory

The are also freight only stations at Ladegleis Findelbach, which is on a short branch from the passenger station at Findelbach, and at Riffelboden, which is situated between Riffelalp and Riffelberg passenger stations.

Rolling stock

The line uses the following rolling stock:

Image Numbers Notation Year Notes 3001/3003 He 2/2 1898 Locomotives. Unit 3002 survives, and is displayed on a roundabout at Stalden. 3015 Dhe 2/4 Baggage car, rebuilt from sister car to 3019-3022 3017 Xhe 2/4 Works car, rebuilt from sister car to 3019-3022. Carries re-railing equipment and equipment to apply anti-freeze to the overhead wires. 3019-3022 Bhe 2/4 1947-61 Single unit railcars, remaining four cars of a once much larger class (3011-3022). Two other members of this class have been rebuilt (3015/3017), the remainder have been scrapped. 3041-3044 Bhe 4/8 1965-75 Twin unit railcars 3051-3054 Bhe 4/8 1993 Twin unit railcars 3061-3062 Bhe 4/4 1981 Multi-purpose railcars, which can operate in passenger service with matching driving trailers Bt 3071-3072, or in freight/works service. 3081-3084 Bhe 4/6 2006 Low floor two-section articulated railcars, built by Stadler Rail.

The railway typically operates two-railcar trains, and can carry approximately 2,500 people per hour from Zermatt to the mountain summit.