The Bernina Express crosses the Alps without a rack rail, without a summit tunnel, and — for most of its length — without a road anywhere nearby. It climbs to 2,253 m on ordinary wheels and grip, which is why UNESCO listed it. This guide covers the route section by section, what your Swiss Travel Pass actually pays for, and the one decision that changes the whole day: panoramic car or regional train.
Planning essentials
Bernina Express at a glance
| Route | Chur ↔ Tirano (Italy), via Filisur, Samedan, Pontresina and the Bernina Pass |
| Distance & time | 144 km in about 4 hours — 55 tunnels and 196 bridges |
| Shorter option | Board at St. Moritz for roughly 2½ hours, skipping the Albula section |
| Highest point | Ospizio Bernina, 2,253 m — the highest Alpine crossing without a rack rail |
| Swiss Travel Pass | Covers the journey; the seat reservation is paid on top |
| Reservation | Compulsory in panoramic cars — about CHF 32 low season, CHF 36 May–October |
| Runs | Year-round, with seasonal timetables |
| UNESCO | Listed since July 2008 as the Albula and Bernina lines of the Rhaetian Railway |
The route, section by section
Most guides list the highlights as a jumble. They arrive in a specific order, and knowing that order tells you when to stop scrolling and look out of the window.
First hour
Chur to Filisur — the Albula line
This is the section people skip when they board at St. Moritz, and it holds the single most photographed piece of railway in Switzerland. Between Schmitten and Filisur the train curves onto the Landwasser Viaduct: six stone arches, 65 m above the river, ending in a tunnel mouth cut straight into a vertical cliff face. There is no run-up and no warning — the train is on it for about eight seconds. Have the camera ready before Schmitten, not after.
Second hour
Filisur to Pontresina — climbing the Albula
The line gains height the old-fashioned way, through spiral tunnels and helical loops stacked inside the valley, then dives into the 5.8 km Albula Tunnel and comes out in the Engadin. The landscape changes completely: wide, high, pale, and noticeably colder. This is the quiet stretch of the journey — a good time for the dining trolley.
Third hour
Pontresina to the Bernina Pass — the Bernina line proper
Now the real climb. The train works up past the Morteratsch glacier tongue to Alp Grüm, a station with nothing around it but a terrace looking straight at the Palü Glacier, then reaches Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m. Lago Bianco sits at the top — milky turquoise from glacial silt in summer, a flat white plain in winter. Everything on this section is done on adhesion alone, on gradients as steep as 1 in 14.
Fourth hour
Bernina Pass to Tirano — 1,800 m down into Italy
The descent is the part nobody expects. In under two hours you drop from Alpine tundra into Italian-speaking Poschiavo, past terraced vineyards, and finally onto the Brusio circular viaduct — an open-air spiral in the middle of a field, built to lose height where there was no room for switchbacks. The train then runs along the street in Tirano like a tram. You get out among palm trees and pizzerias, four hours after leaving an Alpine city.
Express or regional train? The one real decision
This is where most travellers overpay or under-plan. The Bernina Express is not a different route — it is a different carriage on the same rails, and the ordinary red regional trains run the identical line all day.
Take the Bernina Express if…
You want the day to be effortless: a guaranteed seat for four hours, panoramic glass curving into the roof, commentary, and no decisions to make.
It is the right call with older parents, with small children, in peak summer when regional trains fill, or when you have a connection to protect at the other end.
Take the regional train if…
You want to photograph, or get off. Windows that open beat panoramic glass every time — no reflections, no curved distortion — and the regional train costs nothing extra with a Swiss Travel Pass.
It also lets you stop for lunch at Alp Grüm above the glacier, or spend two hours in Poschiavo, then carry on. The Express cannot do that.
Our honest recommendation: ride the Express in one direction and the regional train back. You get the comfort once, the flexibility once, and you never pay a reservation twice. If you only do the trip one way, put the reservation on the southbound leg — the Landwasser Viaduct and the descent into Italy are the half worth sitting still for.
What your Swiss Travel Pass actually pays for
The confusion here is worth clearing up, because it is the most common reason people arrive at Chur with the wrong ticket.
- Included: travel on the whole Swiss section, on both the Express and the regional trains, with no supplement.
- Not included: the compulsory seat reservation in panoramic cars — about CHF 32 outside the summer season, around CHF 36 from May to October.
- The Italian stretch: Bernina Express tickets carry you all the way to Tirano. On regional trains, the short hop past the border is a small extra.
- Children under 16 travel free with the Swiss Family Card when a parent holds a valid pass — but each child still needs their own paid reservation on the Express.
If Switzerland is a short stop on a longer trip and this is your one big rail day, run the numbers against a Half Fare Card before you buy anything. For everything the pass does and does not cover, start with the Swiss Travel Pass guide.
Where to break the journey
Doing Chur–Tirano and back in one day is possible and mostly pointless: eight hours of the same track, and you arrive too late to see anything in Italy. Three better stops:
- Alp Grüm — reachable only by train, with a small hotel-restaurant and the Palü Glacier filling the view. The single best lunch stop on the line, and only possible on regional trains.
- Poschiavo — an Italian-speaking Swiss valley town with a Renaissance piazza and none of the crowds. A good overnight if you want the descent split in two.
- Tirano — worth a night rather than the 20-minute platform turnaround most travellers give it. Regional trains from here reach Lake Como in about an hour.
Before you book
- Timing: reserve as soon as your dates are fixed for July, August and the Christmas period. Outside those, two to three weeks ahead is usually enough.
- Direction: southbound (Chur → Tirano) builds up — Albula viaducts, then the pass, then Italy. Northbound works but front-loads the Brusio spiral.
- Luggage: panoramic cars have limited racks and no luggage van. Four suitcases in the aisle for four hours is a genuinely bad day.
- Layers: you will pass through roughly 20°C of temperature range between Chur and Tirano in summer, and the pass stops are exposed.
When the Bernina is not worth the day
The route deserves its reputation. Whether it deserves your day is a different question.
- The return journey doubles everything. This is a long run one way, and going out and back puts most of a day inside a train. Plan a one-way and a different route home, or accept that this is the day rather than part of it.
- The reservation is charged on top of a pass. The pass covers the journey; the seat does not come with it. Budget for both or you will be surprised at the counter.
- The panoramic windows do not open. If you are travelling to photograph the viaducts rather than to look at them, sealed curved glass with reflections is a real limitation, and the regular service on the same track does not have it.
How this fits the rest of your trip
The Bernina pairs naturally with the Glacier Express — the two meet at St. Moritz, which is why so many itineraries ride one out and the other back rather than repeating a route. Both are legs of the Grand Train Tour of Switzerland, so a single pass covers the lot.
Still weighing panoramic comfort against flexibility? We compare them head to head in Bernina Express or regular train to St. Moritz. Continuing south instead of turning back is the stronger trip for most people — Tirano puts you an hour from Lake Como, and the Bernina Express and Lake Como itinerary shows how the loop works.
One practical last thing: if this is a hotel-change day, send the bags by road. A luggage transfer between hotels means you ride the Bernina Pass with a daypack instead of guarding suitcases in the aisle.
Bernina Express FAQ
Is the Bernina Express covered by the Swiss Travel Pass?
Yes for the journey itself — the Swiss Travel Pass covers travel on the line, and Bernina Express tickets include the short final stretch into Tirano. What the pass does not cover is the compulsory seat reservation on the panoramic cars, which you pay separately.
Do I need a reservation on the Bernina Express?
Yes. Reservations are compulsory in the panoramic carriages and cost roughly CHF 32 in the quieter months and around CHF 36 from May to October. The regional trains on the same tracks need no reservation at all.
What is the difference between the Bernina Express and the regional train?
The tracks, the pass and the scenery are identical. The Express adds panoramic windows, a guaranteed seat and audio commentary, and it does not stop where you want to get off. The regional train has ordinary windows that open, costs nothing extra with a pass, and lets you break the journey anywhere.
How long does the Bernina Express take?
About four hours for the full 144 km from Chur to Tirano. Boarding at St. Moritz instead cuts it to roughly two and a half hours, but you miss the Albula section and the Landwasser Viaduct.
Which side of the train should I sit on?
The panoramic windows curve into the roof, so both sides see most things. Travelling south, the right-hand side has the edge for the Landwasser Viaduct and the Brusio circular viaduct; the left is better for Lago Bianco at the pass.
Does the Bernina Express run in winter?
Yes, all year. Winter is arguably when the Bernina Pass is at its best — the train runs between snow banks past a frozen Lago Bianco, and the carriages are far less crowded than in July and August.
Ride the Bernina Express
Check departures, compare classes and reserve panoramic seats over the Bernina Pass.