About this journey

Chur station, opened on 30 June 1858 as the terminus of the Rheineck–Chur railway, marks the beginning of one of Switzerland's most celebrated alpine rail journeys. The Rhaetian Railway's presence here dates to 1896, when it opened its metre-gauge line between Landquart and Thusis after being required by the Swiss Federal Council to share the existing station rather than construct its own.

The route south follows the Albula line, a section inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008 together with the broader corridor from Thusis to Tirano. Between Bergün and Preda, the line climbs roughly 400 metres in approximately 5 kilometres of horizontal distance — achieved entirely through spiral tunnels, with no rack-and-pinion assistance. Passing the Landwasser Viaduct between Tiefencastel and Filisur is one of the defining moments of the ascent. The Albula line first reached Celerina in 1903 and was extended to St. Moritz in 1904, completing this corridor through the Alps.

St. Moritz station sits at 1,775 metres above sea level, making it the highest urban railway station in Switzerland. The journey is operated by a Ge 4/4 III locomotive, one of the few locomotive-hauled passenger services remaining on the RhB network. The entire route runs on metre-gauge track electrified at 11 kV 16.7 Hz AC, with St. Moritz also serving as a power-supply switch point where the Albula and Bernina lines meet.