About this journey

Pontresina station sits at a rare engineering junction where two incompatible electrification systems meet: the line toward Samedan runs on 11 kV AC, while the Bernina line operates on 1000 V DC. A switchable overhead line on track 3 allows trains from either system to pass through, and the adjacent seven-track depot handles the snow-clearance equipment that keeps the Bernina line open through winter. Departing in January, the Stadler ALLEGRA heads east into the Engadine valley.

The destination, Scuol-Tarasp, lies at 1,287 m on the western edge of Scuol in the Lower Engadine — a district where Romansh remains the primary language for close to half the population, recorded at 49.4% as of 2000. Rail reached this valley when the Bever–Scuol-Tarasp railway opened in 1913, extending a spa tradition that had already been developing since around 1860 when the town's mineral springs first drew visitors at scale. The station was completely rebuilt in 2009 and today serves as the hub for Postbus routes throughout the Lower Engadine, while freight workings — carrying oil, cement, mail, and waste — connect it daily with Landquart. The journey moves from an intricate dual-voltage junction into a quietly working terminus at the end of a long alpine valley.