Mountain railways and scenic trainsTo the summit by rail
The best views in the Alps are not reached on foot but by cogwheel, cable and lift. This is where you find out what the ride up really costs, which route is best – and when you are better off staying in the valley.
Every fare with its source and the date we checked it · Photo: Coastfield, CC BY-SA 4.0
Like the local at the valley station.
He does not tell you that everything is wonderful. He tells you which bus to take.
One price, one route
At the top of every page is the short answer: what it costs, how you get there, when the first train leaves. We have read the fare tables and all their footnotes so that you do not have to.
We also say no
Summit in cloud, a pass for a single day, a guided tour for people who have a car: we say when something is not worth it. The operator's own fare always comes before any offer.
Source and date
Every figure comes from the operator or the tourist board and carries the date it was last checked. Mountain railway fares change every year – out-of-date tables help nobody.
Where to first?
1,834mEagle's Nest
A house on the ridge, reachable only by scheduled bus and a brass lift inside the mountain. From €34.70 – with a price calculator for families and the question of whether it's worth it tomorrow.
Plan the ride
2,253mBernina Express
From Chur over the Bernina Pass at 2,253 m and down to the palm trees of Tirano – in around four hours, without a rack rail. From CHF 66 plus reservation, with a fare comparison and the honest alternative on the regional train.
Plan the ride
3,454mJungfraujoch
Europe's highest railway station, the last 26 minutes in a tunnel through the Eiger and Mönch. CHF 271.20 from Interlaken Ost, CHF 140.60 with a Swiss Half Fare Card – with a fare comparison and the question of whether it is worth it tomorrow.
Plan the ride
867mFlåm Railway
20 kilometres, 20 tunnels, from the Aurlandsfjord into the high mountains at Myrdal. A return costs NOK 675 to 900 – with the 2026 timetable, how to get there from Bergen and Oslo, and an honest answer on whether it is worth it.
Plan the ride
3,089mGornergrat
The rack railway from Zermatt to the Matterhorn view at 3,089 metres. Return CHF 132 in summer, half price with a Swiss Half Fare Card (Halbtax) or Swiss Travel Pass – with a fare comparison, the stations and the question of when to stay down in the village.
Plan the ride