Switzerland's STUNNING Lesser Known Scenic Railway - BLS Lötschberger Bahn
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ส.ค. 2024
- I can't believe more people don't talk about this incredible rail journey in Switzerland! Today I'm going to be taking the BLS Lötschberger route through the Swiss Alps, hope you enjoy the ride as much as I did. :)
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Journey Details:
Origin: Bern
Destination: Brig
Company: BLS AG
Train: SBB 535 'Lötschberger'
Accommodation: First Class Seat (1st)
Distance: 114 kilometres / 71 miles
Price: 93 CHF (€95.60 / £80.70 / $98.80)
Time: 1h41m
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BLS is not a private operator. It is not federally owned like the famous SBB that is true. But it is owned to 56% by the canton of Bern and 22% by the Swiss federation, so it is state owned. However, BLS has indeed some great services.
That's true !!!
BLS is a self-governing company, that's true
BLS is a public-private company. You could buy its shares, symbol GBB17WCN2.
On a visit to Switzerland back in the 1980's I used this route and went from Spiez to Brig it was around lunchtime so I went to the restaurant car. Sat myself down ordered a Beer and looked at the menu. I ordered and drank my beer as the train majestically traversed the mountain scenery the weather was slightly overcast but mainly sunny. Not long before we entered the Lotschberg tunnel lunch was served. As we went through the tunnel it was a nice ambience in the restaurant car with the small table lights to illuminate. As we emerged from the tunnel it was snowing and naturally totally different from the other side! Certainly one of those holiday memories you never forget, truly wonderful.
Surely Switzerland’s best-named railway station is Zug?
I'd argue it's Willisau - only to german speaker though.
Au also regularly gets chuckles when the loudspeakers announce it.
How about „Bitsch“ on the MGB Railway? :D
The best one is FART, from Locarno in Ticino
No it's wankdorf 😅
It's Bitsch or B*tch on the MGb
if you are in Switzerland and you are a train buff, i highly recommend visiting the Verkehrshaus (Museum of Transportation) in Luzern!
The mini-train is a must ride!
True, the Luzerner Verkehrshaus is pretty amazing
To be honest, I was kind of disappointed by the Verkehrshaus - especially for 30 CHF. But I have been to the German Museum in Munich and the Technologiemuseum in Sinsheim, so I have a pretty high bar.
@@sethanix3969 Yep. The technological museum on the Island in the Isar in Munich sure takes some beating. Spent several full days in there over a few visits to Europe.
As a Train Enthusiast, I dont really recommend it but everybody has their own opinion. Its starting to lose its meaning as a Transport Museum. And the "Train Simulator" is just a recorded train ride that plays faster and slower.
Switzerland is always known for its beautiful, picturesque landscape.
And for cool station names
8:09 You spotted a legend there. The RE 4/4 "Brünelli" is on its way out now, but it was the BLS' do-it-all for decades and has a massive fanbase. They even get borrowed to the SBB for some trains.
These units are actually nicknamed "Mountain Tram" by train enthusiasts in Switzerland.
As comfortable and spacey as they are in general, they tend to be rattle boxes along the fast, straight sections between Bern and Spiez.
There are hiking routes alongside the north and south part of the Lötschberg line. Whilst I can really recommend the Hohtenn to Lalden section in the south, the north one between Kandersteg and Frutigen is quite boring.
Fun fact aside: The SBB headquarters are actually located at Bern W***dorf ;)
The south ramp is certainly worthwhile....especially the Bietschtal bridge - luckily, when I crossed, no train came by.
@@paulpetersen3764 It's actually quite cool standing on that bridge, whilst heavy cargo trains are passing by.
Sadly, they mostly now use the base tunnel and there isn't much more traffic than the hourly regional trains.
I do this trip about once a month, then on to Montreux and back to Bern.
I travelled Milan-Zurich very recently, when the base tunnel was closed. The journey, including my 1 hour break in Lugano, was the most incredible railway trip I've ever been on.
I've said it before, I'll say it again - Switzerland and its rail system is probably my favourite travel destination. I plan to go again next spring to visit relatives in Schaffhausen, and will certainly give this route a try. I want to head to Zermatt to take a look at the Matterhorn, perhaps I could get from there to Brigg and reverse your run up to Berne and back to Zurich and Scaffhausen that way......we'll see. Thanks for the inspiration!
Having been in Zermatt, I didn't like it. It's like they built a "swiss village" in Disneyland.
If you want to get an awesome view of the Matterhorn I'd advise you to go to Bettmeralp and take the cablecar up to Bettmerhorn. On one side you'll have an awesome alpine panorama including the Matterhorn, on the other side you can see the largest glacier in Switzerland. Most impressive views I've had in Switzerland so far and I'm from here.
@@lb2791 Thanks for the tip, LB - I'll certainly bear it in mind when I get round to planning the trip.
@@BobTravellin Depends how much time you have and how active you feel. The hike up above the town, then past the hydro dam and on till you are viewing the mountain from across the Matterglacier is 1 of my better memories of Switzerland.
@@theoztreecrasher2647 Sounds like a plan! when I get there time will not be an issue, and the hike sounds great. Thank YOU for the inspiration as well!
Is it worth doing it in the winter?@@lb2791
its so wholesome and cute to see people enjoing thigns like that.
part of that route is literally my route to work.
"Switzerland's best named station"....love it! Always cracks me up when I pass through it! 😂😂
Do you know that the soccer club playing at Wankdorf Station are called 'BSC Young Boys' ... just saying ..
@@alexandergutfeldt1144 Yep - that added to the amusement! Please tell me the club was founded by priests.... 🙂
7:00 I'll travel to Frutigen tomorrow to continue to Adelboden, a beautiful place in the berner alps for skiing and hiking
I first travelled on this line in 1979. I had been in Basel and was on the way to Zermatt. So the main route was this one. I checked with the conductor and he told me you have to go to BRIG. I only had a short changeover to connect in Brig and wasn't sure where the train to Zermatt left. I jump off the train left my suitcase on the platform and ran to the station where I could look up where to catch the next train for some reason I thought this was a good idea. By this time the conductor had caught up to me and pointed to me that the Banhofplatz was over there, something I had never seen before trains leaving from a road. So I raced back to get my suitcase and low and behold it was gone! In a distraught state I didn't know what to think my luggage gone and all the rest. After a few minutes I sat down and took stock of the situation. Then the train on the next platform departed and there on the next platform across was my suitcase in my haste I went back to the wrong platform. Of course by this time the train to Zermatt had left .
Two tiny corrections, it's Lötschberg Bahn and Visp isn't near the Matterhorn. It takes an other 40km of railway tracks to reach the Matterhorn.
The Lötschberg line is nice, but I would prefer to ride on the Intercity stock, like before the base tunnel, instead of the improved commuter train that is the Lötschberger
Yep the old trains were great, but I'm just glad that the loop up past the castle, through the high tunnel and then down to Brig with those great Southern views and the Rhône river under you are all still available to the open-mouthed tourist. 😉
If your travelling in Switzerland get yourself a Swiss Pass.
This will cover you for most rail journeys (some of the mountains lines are not included. The map with the pass will explain this.)
This pass also covers city/town buses etc. Lake boats and PostBus routes.
To expand on this, the Swiss Pass is just the card onto which the passes are loaded. There's the Generalabonnement, which is probably not interesting for visitors as a 1 month pass exists but the minimum duration is 6 months. The Halbtax (half fare card) is interesting, as it's ~$180 and gives an automatic rebate of 50% on most routes (if you go onto the Jungfraujoch it already pays for itself). For adults travelling with children between 6-16 the Junior-Karte or Kinder-Mitfahrkarte is 30 per child and the child travels for free with the adult (difference is Junior is for parents, Kinder-Mitfahrkarte is for non-parent adults, only difference is Kinder-Mitfahrkarte is for a maximum of 4 children, the parent version does not have that restriction).
If you mostly travel by train and do not plan on using busses and boats, the Interrail pass is also super interesting.
P.S.: for ease of use, download the SBB app onto your mobile phone, add your SwissPass and use the EasyRide function. You tap on it to switch it on when you board public transport and when you arrive at your destination you turn it off. It will always use the chapest fare for your route, and if you travel multiple times in a day it will change your fare from single ride to a day pass when that becomes cheaper.
There are two Swisspasses. One is the red Card used to save travelpasses for people living in Switzerlan. Second one is a special offer for people not living in Switzerland. Its like a GA for some days. It is part of the Swiss Travel System (a few diffent passes for tourists).
Very nice. Another stunning trip in the area would be going from Domodossola to Locarno on the Centovalli trains.
Yes, I had the pleasure of riding both the train in the video and the one you mention, both amazing.
You were one seat off of being the man in seat 61... :D
What I like about the BLS in particular and any big Alpine crossings in general is the weather you can sometimes experience.
I once started in Spiez in nothing short of a snow storm at -5, had light rain in Brig at +5 and arrived in Domodossla in sunshine with +12. All within 2 hours...
Edit: Hohntehn took me aback... I actually had to look it up, but I remembered correctly, that small fleck of dust in the middle of a step slope is spelled Hohtenn ;)
I travelled twice on this line: in 1969 and 1992, and indeed I remember it as being spectacular. At that time the base tunnel did not exist, and all international trains still took this route. I was travelling in 1969 on a chartered train from Gent (Belgium) to Brig, and in 1992 on a train from Brussel to Milano.
And now I realise that I have always pronounced "Spiez" wrong.
Instead of getting out in Brig you can also get out at Goppenstein, then take the Bus up the Lötschental valley. It goes right to the end, where there is an awesome campground and a hiking trail that takes you right to a glacier.
Is it wheelchair accessible? 🤔
@@theoztreecrasher2647 Unfortunately the train station in Goppenstein is not wheelchair accessible.
@@lb2791 Sorry mate. I guess that joke went straight over your head. 😉
The Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn is (imo) the most beautiful train ride. Especially if you extend it from Disentis/Mustair to St. Moriz or Samedan (Albula Line)
If you want to take a direct train from brig to st. moritz you take the glacier express otherwise you would have to change at least 2 or 3 times
@@arnuldo1340 correct. But I think that the price of the Glacier Express is not worth the higher prise… and having to change train isn’t too bad :)
I'm Swiss. A typical intercity ticket (say Olten to Zürich) costs about 20 CHF. I once caught a flight to London for 15 CHF each way (Ryanair). Those are two extremes overlapping each other, and they both speak volumes about the quality of service, in opposite ways, although I still had nothing to complain about my flight.
Love the way you try to say the names of cities/stations etc. the way we say them here!
Granted, it's not always spot-on, but you're pretty damn close!:D
There is also a hiking trail (wanderweg) between Hochtenn and Lalden, which goes mostly parallel to this railway line. I recommend to go at least some part of this trail! You can see the valley and the tracks, with spectacular bridges and viaducts.
A part of this path is established on the platform of the railroad build for the works with a 750mm gauge track , which had been built for the supply of the building sites in materials. This temporary railroad existed from 1907 to 1912 and exceeded 100km at its greatest extension in 1911 and was in itself a feat, with its numerous tunnels, its passages on cliff sides and its timber viaducts in the best far west style!
@@solongagosoclear9191 Good to know, thanks a lot!
I'vetravelled this unique route several times and like it each time.
I have never used the base tunnel to Visp and I still don't want to. Interrail is fantastic when you are in Switzerland.
But if you want to explore that beauty better, check what Berner Oberland Pass gives you 👍
I'm literally sitting in this train while watching this. I'm traveling from Thun to Bern. I'm driving almost every day with this train.
Beautiful indeed. Thankyou for this journey.
It looks a beautiful line, Switzerland certainly has some incredible scenery.
Yes, please do make that other video of the mountain train. This post here was excellent! Cheers.
I travelled this line back in 2001 before the new line was built so was able to catch the EC trains on the route, though in 2020 I took the new route due to limited time and it being dark. In 2020 I did take the classic line through when travelling on the Gottard line avoiding the new super long tunnel in order to see the views there. As per this line it was local trains only and very quiet. I found the Swiss Pass great value for 1st class travel.
Sounds like an amazing experience!
The most picturesque and beautiful regions in the world
From next timetable change in december on, bls will operate this route with brand-new Stadler Flirt 4 units with even more confortable 1st class and a bistro zone with vending machines for hot and cold drinks as well as some snacks.
oh no :( i live in america and really miss the loechtbergers
@@lamegaming9835 The „Lötschberger“ trains will still running on the Bern-Wolhusen-Luzern line for some years and probably on the Solothurn-Burgdorf-Konolfingen-Thun line.
I especially like the train ride between the Lötchbergtunnel towards Brig along the mountain side, stunning view!
Some 40 years ago, when train travel in Switzerland was still affordable, we had a 2-week holiday in Kandersteg. We bought a Bernese Oberland Railways pass, for unlimited travel on 5 days within 2 weeks, on the railway network south of Thun and the lakes around Interlaken, and 30-50% reduction on other modes of transport like funiculars and busses. The pass cost 70 CHF, at an exchange rate of half what it is today. We went everywhere: Zweisimmen, Brienz, Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen, and with reduction, on the Jungfraujoch cog railway. We also went to Luzern. The trip up to the Brünig-pass was included in the railwaypass, and the rest to Luzern was half-fare.
I bet you wish now that you'd saved your money then and waited until you were 70-odd and could really enjoy it! 😜🙄
I am from Switzerland and i find the funniest stationname Bitsch near Brig
I’m glad I’m not the only one who laughs at this kind of stuff.
@@MelGibsonFan I always wondered why the old "Carry on..." movies were so popular.
Enjoyable video, thanks. Have travelled the old route a few times and definitely one of the standard gauge wonders of Switzerland. As to the ticket price, very few Swiss residents pay the full price of rail travel, and for about the same as a London-Brighton annual season ticket (around CHF5,000 a year or £4,500), one can buy a GVA, a travel pass that allows unlimited travel on most railways, buses and lake steamers, or a half-fare pass. For visitors there are a range of travel passes one can buy. For £330 per person in second/standard class, we had 8 days unlimited travel and we certainly made use of it in Sept during our week in Bellinzona.
I got to ride this route in the drivers cab once, it was stunning! Love them Swiss trains
This reminds me I still want to hike the trail along the Lötschberg line. Yes I have taken it numerous times and enjoyed it each time, but from the train you don't see, for example, the many bridges in all their beauty.
Glad to see you enjoyed the ride on the "Mountain Tram"!
When I was little, my Dad often used the benefits of getting something called "General Abonoment" (A ticket that lasts for a year and you can use all main lines for "free" after paying the hefty sum to acquire it.) and get one for children at a reduced cost.
We often travelled on this particular line for hikes during summer or to visit friends and relatives in Brig. Fond memories. (:
its not that expensive, isnt it like 2500 per person? compare that with car ownership (parking, gas, depreciation, insurrection, could crash, climate change) and its a bargain
@@lamegaming9835 Yep. Switzerland may be eye-wateringly expensive but you at least have a dense variety of options. If your wagon breaks down in the Aussie Outback you might have a bit of a wait till the next Post Bus/Train/camel comes along! 🙄😁
Love to see a video on the matterhorn railway.
Your sense of humour is fabulous
Very nice review, thoroughly researched. Thank you!
(BLS should link your film on their website - best advertising).
The "Lötschberger" compositions are a kind of egg-laying wool-milk sow. With the opening of the Lötschberg base tunnel, the tourist village of Kandersteg (and also Goppenstein as hub for the scenic Lötschental) was cut off from IC traffic. Shortly before, BLS had put new "Nina" ("NIederflur-"NAhverkehr") compositions into service for its S-Bahn traffic and had more comfortable Regio-Express compositions (the Lötschbergers) built on the same technical basis, which can be coupled with the Ninas (occasionally "only" Ninas with narrower seating run in the Simmental), in order to pull some of the Bern-Lötschberg-Wallis traffic onto their longer route. Both (Ninas and Löschberger) are a special production by Bombardier only for BLS and - in contrast to the new SBB-IC double-decker - fulfil the expectations placed in them quite well. (However, coupling in winter sometimes poses major problems and leads to annoying cancellations in commuter traffic.) For further routes, BLS wanted to have another tranche built - but in the meantime, they no longer met the latest regulations, so BLS joined an SBB order of Stadler-Mikas, which are more modern, run smoother, can accelerate more powerfully, have a coffee corner - but have less wide windows.
What else can be noted: With its offer to pull most of the RE trains on to Domodossola, BLS has beaten SBB out of the field on this section, which apparently made a worse offer. For BLS, the stakes are just slim: After a few minutes stop in Domo, the composition already has to return and couples in Brig to the part that remained there for the return journey to Bern.
What's more: BLS is very active in marketing tourist offers along this route.
I first used the BLS many many years ago when somehow I persuaded my mother to fork out for a school trip based near Spiez.
lt was almost love at first sight and I've been back many times since. It only just loses the scenic crown to the RhB into Poschiavo.
It's just a shame that Switzerland is so eye wateringly expensive, on that point I mentioned the cost to an SBB employee whose polite reac tion was to say "yes, we know!!!"
Your this video is given very different experience to me. So your this video is very excellent guidance for Switzerland railway. Carryon your this good job ❤️👍
Nice video !
I really love this line, I usually take the tunnel but when I have some time I really enjoy riding the Lötschberger
Each season the scenery changes and it’s always beautiful…
Yes, living in Wallis is a bit practical for taking this train often ;-)
This journey, with the descent into Brig is one of my top two in Switzerland. The other is the line from Lausanne to Puidoux- Chexbres overlooking Lac Leman and the Lavaux vineyards. On the other hand, Bern station is greatly in need of an upgrade, gloomy and overcrowded, especially at rush hours.
Montreux to Gstaad is a beautiful trip too.
@@ilovesuisse1 One thing about Switzerland, there are not too many rail journeys outside the major cities that could qualify as boring! Always left it to last on my European holidays. Then blow all the cash you have left on the insanely beautiful scenery (and prices!) 😟😉
Superb. You should also try the trip from Chur to Arosa.
Try the Glacier Express from Zermatt to St.Moritz (expensive) or the gotthard panorama express
hello from switzerland, bls county😀 very good background information, thats good reasons for follow this channel😀
Not lesser known to me. It is a superb mountain line. Those stations on the mountain section are request stops:if you wish to alight at any of them you press the door release button ahead of your stop. Up there with the most scenic lines in Switzerland, and standard gauge to boot.
I have travelled this line many times during holidays in Switzerland and agree that the scenery is spectacular. You didn't mention the equally amazing switchback spirals that carry the line from Frutigen up to Kandersteg. It was sad to see so many of the trans-european services that used to use this line being diverted to the base tunnel. Who wants to spend all that time in darkness for the sake of a forty minute saving when there is so much to see! Thank you.
It's also sad for all rail enthusiasts who enjoy watching trains on the spectacular bridges of this route, because now we get way less trains, just the hourly regio, and some freight trains.
Maybe switzerland should introduce a new train category - the "IC panorama". It takes you from city to city like the regular IC, but takes the mountainous, scenic routes. Maybe the wagons could have extra large windows to enhance the experience
I often go skiing in the resorts around Brig and Visp so I get to enjoy the views all day long and I'll happily sit in darkness for 30min if it saves me 1h20 in total travel time. Despite the fact that it's dark anyway in the winter in the morning and evening.
@@quuxjn2452 Horses for courses! 😉
Great trip. Finally there is BLS Train trip report.
WOW! Bern Station looks eerily similar to Berlin HBF, one of my favorite European railway stations!
HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM WoNdEr WhY????
Give me Berlin HBf any day. The main train hall (platform area) is a masterpiece of 1950s/60s brutalist architecture - little or no natural daylight and solid concrete roof. Such a pity as Bern is an incredibly beautiful city with some wonderful architecture. There was absolutely no need to cover over the roof when they built it (except they wanted offices above it).
Bern is Berlin Hbf but in really ugly
Really love those videos bringing some Swissness and some of the little specialities here to the world 😄
just one thing I noticed, Bern aint the capital, Switzerland got not capital city. Its just the place where the parliament is located.
We took a holiday in the Bernese Oberland
at Brienz and did lots of railway journeys
We did a trip via Spiez
but went to Zweisimmen and then
took the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway
to Montreux.
Then took a train to Fribourg
visiting the cathedral there
then coming back to base
via Bern Hbf.
We haven't done the Lötschberg line
but have been to Brig but that
was when we did the Glacier Express
from Chur to Brig.
Been on that line a few times in the 00s as well as through the base tunnel!
Awesome Job, man!
I agree with you we need more of this BLS lime
Great views of the mountains in the second half of the year.
Yes, MGB videos would be great!
Me? I have been on that rusty old car train from Kandersteg. It was great and fun too. You stay in the car so it is like driving through a long tunnel, but not having to actually drive!. I have used the BLS trains as well. They always seem nice but as you say, a little expensive!
I have travelled this route many times since 1981, most recently this summer. The Lötschberger trains have now been replaced with newer trains, equally as comfortable. I have also hiked the Südrampe footpath that runs along its length to Brig.
I thought the town of Visp sounded rather familiar and then I remembered - it's the home town of former FIFA President/shyster, Sepp Blatter. 🙄💰
Very good presentation in all your videos so far especially in your sharp & clear pronunciations on places and stations which were not in English format .......Well done buddy....... Really enjoy your videos to my greatest pleasure.........Greetings from South East Asia.....
I once went on a school trip and had to take that train to reach the start of the trip. I did also think that this was quite a nice rout!
Sadly BLS removed the Lötschberger trains on the Lötschberg Route, now there are the new Stadler Flirt 4 driving on the route which BLS Calls Mika.
The Lötschberger Trains driving on other Lines in Bern like S44 or other routes from Thun to Solothurn.
Even though I liked the Lötschberger as well, I find the new Mikas at least as good.
It was great !
this train service is above the SBB average, and recently, another private enterprise has entered the stage, SOB which runs good trains on the old Gotthard route. Hope you will sample them, too
Great video, mate!
The views are even better when you travel in the opposite direction between Brig and Goppenstein and thus travel on the left track. Stunning views al the time, when climbing up its like you are in an airplane.
The first time that I used this route, I was on a train from Venice to Zurich. I didn't understand the announcement made in Milano Centrale, so was a bit perturbed to find us going along by the side of Lake Maggiore. It seems there was a blockage on the Gotthard route, so we had too use the Simplon and Loetchberg tunnels. We skirted Bern going through Burgdorf. The next time, I went the other way, alighting at Brig to take the route on the upper Rhone valley
Bern-Wankdorf is a quite famous, you didnt know up to now? They used to play football there. 1954 the german team led by Fritz Walter beat the Hungarians in the world championship finals, and what a match this was!
They still have the stadium! And it's still used as well
The price for travelling 1st class throughout the entire country, for a whole day, on SBB trains or trains of other rail companies, on boats, buses, trams or post buses, except some of the mountain, scenic railways, using a "Saver Day Pass" can be as low as CHF 88 if booked 60 days before you want to travel. The price if you hold a "Half Fare Travelcard" goes down to CHF 49.
The Swiss take a dim view of passengers caught travelling without a valid ticket. One of these can save a lot of unintentional mistakes.
All the information is available at the SBB online portal for trains and public transport.
Yep, if caught without the correct ticket you will be shot. Immediately! Or sooner! 😉
I once watched the confrontation between an Italianate Miss and a conductress about an oversize lap-dog that wouldn't fit through the Swiss Railways dog gauge! The hand waving and PC Plod looks were hilarious! As was the fact that the lady who was saying the dog was too big could have taken on 2 Sumo Wrestlers! 😜🤣🤣
Another excellent video. I've taken this route a couple of times, and it's as great as you say! 😁
Excellent
Amazing video! Was a great trip and a terrific landscape. Best wishes
First class Interrail?!
... Glacier Express will be an absolute bargain 👍😊
Still doesn't beat Bernina though 🤔🙂
Afraid I used the tunnel to Visp...
I love this line! And this train with his big windows and comfort in 1. Class!
I hope to ride here next week again! (Usually coming from Germany via Basel, I change the train in Spiez from ICE or IC to the "Lötschberger")
That's looks stunning and a beautiful route
I would love to see a video on the narrow gauge railway line!
Actually, there's an even better named station, it's in the small town of Bitsch, quite close to Brig.
Ahahaha, yup I made a special visit there to take a photo with the sign.
Funny side of Wankdorf, there are the SBB Headquarters but its served by BLS!
The river Rhone is called Rotten in the German speaking part of Kanton Wallis.
i am repairing those trains and do the maintenance ^^
Wankdorf xD I also have to laugh every time i read that ^^ I travel with the BLS daily, they are the best railway company. And it's name comes from the line you took: Bern Lötschberg Simplon. BLS 😊
have you ever made a report on the "Red Arrow" in Mallorca? Great trip!
I took this train several times when I lived in Sierre, either instead of the Intercity when I had time, or to go to the BLS anniversary expo in Frutigen (that was 10 years ago). The RABe 535 Lötschberger is an improved version of the Nina that Bombardier had also built for the BLS, and I remember feeling it has the same crappy ride quality than its french cousin the AGC.
I also used the Autozug, it's a fun experience but it means you have to drive on the spectacular part of the journey instead of enjoying the view.
Have you ever been on the trains of the RhB, they also have a lot of incredible routes like the Albula and the Bernina railway (and a lot more)?
Haha I live in Ireland, I'm from Serbia and I have family in Switzerland (near Bern and in Spiez) - your last 3 videos 😄
Subbed.
The breathtaking scenery is worth the sky high price.
Everything is expensive in Switzerland. (Insted iPhones).
As a savings tip: you can buy a “Tageskarte” for CHF 79 for 2nd class.
These are also available for 1st class
This means you can use all trains, buses, trams and ships for 1 day.
Also Domodossola/Italy and, especially beautiful: cento valli to Locarno.
The day ticket is also available for a whole year and is called GA.
I have one of these for CHF 4000.
It's better and cheaper than a car.
I often take this route from Spiez (I live there) to Domodossola/Italy.
Many products are cheaper in Italy.
Ah, yesss, the compulsory Wankdorf joke😂🤣🙃. But anyway, great video!!!
(not so) fun fact: you mentioned the thousands of tonns of ammo that have been dumped into lake Thun. However, when you rode through the station of Mitholz (where the big reversing loop starts), you passed by a place of a tragedy. In 1947 some 3000 tons of ammo in an underground depot exploded, literally just a few dozen meters away from the rail line. If you have a look at Mitholz station, you can still see the branching rail track that led into the cavern. And even today one can still notice the parts of the mountain that collapsed im the process. Until today still one of the largest man made, non-nuclear explosions😳
Scary fact: recent investigations revealed that there must be some 3500 more tons of unexploded, old WWII ammo of unknown condition still stuck in that mountain...
So careful where you're driving your pitons when doing a bit of climbing in Switzerland!! 😜😬
I've not done this route, but I highly recommend the Bruenig line from Luzern to Interlaken. Also, I've not done it personally, but I used to have a VHS tape about the Golden Pass line from Zweisimmen to Montreux and it looks absolutely stunning. Definitely one on my bucket list.
Both the Bruenig line and the Golden Pass lines are amazing (done both multiple times)! But my favourite line is the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn!
@@haguhans_jr.9293 All are brilliant - but then it's pretty hard to pick a dud anywhere in the Swiss mountains!
THIS VIDEO SO COOL, I ❤ THE CHANNEL
Would love to see the Matterhorn railway
Great vid but its just a pity that you didn't stay on the train through to Domodossola, you've got the more rugged scenery of the Italian side of the mountains. And then at Domodossola you've got the FS-Italian State Railways, another treat.!!!
Did the full loop Spiez, Montreux, Brig, Domodossola, Spiez one day. Swiss precision all the way. Except for return departure time from Domodossola. Looked out the window and 1 of the young Border Guards going up to the Italian-Swiss frontier station is leaning out his window with a passionate stranglehold on his girl on the platform. Italian crew flag-waver standing by patiently. Eventually young Luigi comes up for air and puts her down, whistle blows, flag waves and we're off. Wouldn't have dreamed of interrupting amore just to keep the trains running on time! Italians have their priorities right! 😂😂
Quite a lot of power for such a lightweight train (assuming an aluminium body, otherwise what's the point of making it low-floor?), I imagine that the track maintenance costs arising from these things running on them are relatively low.
6:28 Long carriages, unlike the single-deck UK equivalents we all know and love (classes 745 and 755). I'm sure you could fit those on the overhead AC electrified routes in the UK, just need to shorten the pantograph (don't know how much of an issue electromagnetic interference from the AC overhead lines would be if they're so close to the roof though).
Step free access is mandatory for new trains here in Switzerland, that's why the low floor is a must.
I think that's the sbb or the bls should open a Panorama Express on this line
Love the railways in Switzerland. Fantastic video. Keep up the good work 😊
I'm curious to know what video-editing software you use to make these. Any information is greatly appreciated. THANKS!