About this journey

Lucerne station itself carries layers of history: the site first opened in 1856 as the terminus of the Schweizerische Centralbahn main line from Olten and Basel, and the metre-gauge Brünig railway was integrated into the station in 1896. The current concourse, opened on 5 February 1991, was designed by Santiago Calatrava. Metre-gauge trains depart from their own terminal platforms, and since late 2012 the line runs through a new tunnel between Lucerne station and Kriens Mattenhof — an alignment that replaced a surface approach and eliminated several congested level crossings while adding double track.

The journey follows the Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, owned and operated by the Zentralbahn railway company, aboard a zb ABeh 160 — the Stadler FINK unit. Stans is a natural midpoint on this route, with the S4 service connecting Lucerne and Wolfenschiessen on a regular pattern. Wolfenschiessen itself sits at the end of the line: a quiet terminus where the railway connection is complemented by a post bus service to Oberrickenbach with eight departures per day. The ride moves from the busy, architecturally distinctive station at Lucerne into the more measured pace of the Nidwalden valley, ending at a small stop that nonetheless serves as a genuine interchange point for the surrounding communities.