Swiss trains are already thought-about the gold commonplace by practice fans and vacationers alike for his or her spectacularly scenic routes, clockwork punctuality and unbelievable engineering. This is why trains just like the Glacier Express can navigate slender tracks and climb into the sky-tickling reaches of the Alps.
It might come as a little bit of a shock to find that the Swiss had not been capable of obtain a serious milestone in rail innovation till this previous weekend. On Dec. 11, the brand new GoldenPass Express journeyed from Montreux to Interlaken by way of Gstaad with out requiring a change of trains for the primary time in historical past.
It’s not simply the route that is noteworthy. The practice itself, operated by the Montreux-Berner Oberland Railway (MOB), is a mixture of eye-catching design and revolutionary know-how that permits it to “bounce” in each top and width, whereas additionally altering electrical voltage. This approach, it may join among the hottest vacationer locations in Switzerland into one seamless journey — a journey 150 years within the making.
Related: The finest bank cards for practice journey
Engineers have been making an attempt to hyperlink these scenic Swiss locations since 1873. But for practically a century and a half, connecting the 2 essential practice routes between glowing Lake Geneva and towering Swiss Alps locations had proved too troublesome as a result of there have been two various kinds of tracks — metric gauge and commonplace gauge — to navigate. These two observe varieties aren’t simply totally different widths; they’re additionally totally different heights and use totally different voltages. So to journey from one gorgeous Swiss location to a different, passengers needed to disembark and alter trains.
Related: 11 of probably the most scenic practice rides on Earth
Sign up for our every day publication
Now, nevertheless, a variable gauge bogie first developed in 2007 jumps into motion, so to talk, at Zweisimmen Station; that is the place the usual gauge and metric gauge components of the journey meet. The practice passes over the gauge-adapting ramp and flaps are raised to permit the coach to place itself. It’s a slick piece of engineering that appears prefer it belongs as a lot in a sci-fi film because it does in fashionable journey. Take a have a look at the video.
In addition to providing nonstop journey and gorgeous pure magnificence, the brand new $96 million practice affords a trendy journey with immersive views by way of panoramic home windows. It additionally has plush compartments with snug, swiveling seats and even a gourmand menu of treats, together with charcuterie and caviar, to pattern alongside the way in which. On this practice, passengers can really benefit from the Swiss surroundings in model.