Today we're going to be looking at one of Switzerland's lesser known scenic railways.
Travelling with the private operator BLS, on one of their quirky Lötschberger units,
we'll ride from the Swiss capital of Bern, to Brig, a historic Alpine town, on this stunning
line.
So get yourself comfortable, and join me as we travel the incredible Lötschberg railway!
Hello, and welcome back to another video.
Today I'm here in Bern, the capital city of Switzerland, and I'm going to be travelling
with BLS over to Brig.
Now I'm going to be travelling on the Regional Express train, which is the classic Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon
railway.
It's going to be a scenic journey - let's go!
Welcome to Bern, the acting capital city of Switzerland, and home to a major international
and domestic railway hub.
This is a massive station, with sixteen platforms, and many shops spread across its multiple
levels.
The shops vary from accessories and phone shops, of course to a plentiful supply of
eateries and supermarkets.
My favourite shop (if you will), has to be the large SBB ticket office.
It features a large selection of branded railway merchandise, and if it wasn't so expensive,
I'd love to get some - oh and just wait until you see how expensive the train journey was
today.
I'll be catching the 09:39 service, which isn't on the departure boards yet.
Though, as you can see, everything is on-time.
Trains in Switzerland are only usually delayed if they're on international routes.
Anyway, let's head up to the platforms.
One of the main operators here is BLS, who operate almost all local services in the area.
There are other operators except BLS, such as the national operator, SBB, as well as
some other private companies.
Bern station was last renovated in the early 2000s, resulting in a fantastic wooden roof.
I really like the design, but what do you think?
The 09:39 today has several different destinations, with the train dividing en-route.
The rear portion serves Zweisimmen, the other two then continuing to Brig, where the front
portion goes solo to Domodossola in Italy.
Here comes my train now.
It's formed of three Lötschberger units, which in my opinion look like a tram, though
as you will see, the interior is a lot nicer than any tram I've been on.
The Lötschberger is a rather unique train, being used solely on BLS services.
One thing I really liked was the decals beneath the windows, which show various sights along
the route.
It's always nice to see an operator so dedicated to its local area.
Anyway, time to get on-board.
I'm travelling in First Class, which is located in one of the centre carriages of each portion.
It's divided into two smaller sections thanks to the centrally-located doors, giving it
an exclusive feel.
Seat reservations are available, but I didn't have one, so I chose to sit in Coach 23, Seat
62.
As you can see, the trains have massive windows, perfect for today's incredible route.
Speaking of...
We'll be travelling on the mainline as far as Spiez, before branching off on to the classic
Lötschbergbahn, running through these incredible mountains before descending into Brig.
Journey time today is scheduled to be 1 hour and 41 minutes, covering 114 kilometres (or
about 71 miles).
We depart on-time of course, at 09:39.
Leaving behind the city centre, as we pass through Switzerland's best named station.
The first part of the journey is spent using the same tracks as the faster InterCity trains,
and is nothing special regarding scenery.
Anyway, let's take a look at the interior before the best scenery begins.
The seating is the same type as found on some designs of TGV, and as you'd excpect, it's
very comfortable.
It also has a nice headrest cushion with a branded antimacassar too.
All seats have a pair of soft adjustable armrests, which cleverly fit into the seat structure.
Beneath the cushion, you can find a rail used to recline the entire seat, for added comfort.
Ten minutes after leaving Bern, we arrive at the first station, this is Münsingen.
As I mentioned earlier, there are massive sightseeing windows, with coathooks found
between them.
Some seats also have tables, and beneath this you can find a single Swiss-style power socket.
Finally, ample storage space is available for travellers with lots of luggage, in the
form of these quirky luggage stacks, with more room available above the seats.
As the Alps come into view, you can tell that the scenery is about to get good.
But first, we make a quick stop at the interchange station of Thun.
From here, the train runs alongside one of Switzerland's spectacular lakes, the Thunersee
or simply Lake Thun.
This is best known for being a dumping ground for unused World War II munitions, with thousands
of tonnes said to be beneath the surface.
Also on this lake's shores is our next station, Spiez.
This is another interchange, also serving as the junction to Zweisimmen and Interlaken.
At this station, my train divides.
After arrival, the rear four carriages are detached, before reversing and heading towards
Zweisimmen.
A few tonnes lighter, we continue in the valley of the River Kander.
This station is Frutigen, marking the beginning of the scenic route that so many travellers
unfortunately miss out on - and here's why.
Whilst we leisurely roll through this stunning scenery, some 400 metres beneath the ground
is the Lötschberg Base Tunnel.
Now this may be a lot quicker, nearly 40 minutes quicker in fact, but I do think it's a shame
that so many travellers miss out on this amazing journey above ground.
Especially considering the final bit of scenery is some of the best I've seen in Switzerland!
Let's take this time to walk through the rest of the train.
This is Second Class, laid out in a 2+2 configuration and fairly busy.
At one end of the train, you can find the wheelchair accessible toilet.
This was in a good condition, and the soap and water were working fine as well.
There's also a hand dryer.
Looking back outside, the train has now climbed up to Kandersteg.
At an elevation of 1175 metres, that's a hefty climb of over 500m since Spiez.
Kandersteg station doesn't just serve as a place for passengers to board though, as the
rugged mountain peaks surrounding us mean that it's not possible to build a through
road.
Instead, these 1960s electric locomotives are used to haul car carriers through the
upcoming tunnel.
As a fairly busy route, these car shuttles run up to three times per hour.
Soon after this, we enter the original Lötschberg tunnel.
This tunnel has a sad history, with multiple serious incidents causing not only delays
to its opening, but also many deaths during its construction in the early 1900s.
In February 1908, an avalanche destroyed the worker's accommodation, and in July of the
same year construction broke into a fissure, flooding the tunnel with water.
Travel through the 14 kilometre (9 mile) long tunnel takes a good ten minutes, but eventually
we emerge on the other side, at the station of Goppenstein.
The station here is quite special, as with an elevation of 1240 metres, it's the highest
point on Switzerland's mainline railway network.
And this is where the best scenery begins, as we begin our descent towards Brig.
As we call at one of our last stops, it's time to talk about the price of this journey.
On this trip, I was using an Interrail pass, so I just simply hopped on at no additional
cost.
However, for a flexible First Class ticket, you can expect to pay an eye-watering 93 Swiss
Francs!
Admittedly, with a discount card and travelling in Second Class, it's possible to get this
down to a third of the price, but the price per mile for a flexible First Class ticket
is still an incredible £1.14.
This spectacular section of route gives an unmissable view from atop the Rhône Valley,
as we descend from Goppenstein to Brig, a decrease in elevation of about 550 metres.
Whilst the base tunnel beneath the mountains is faster, it sure misses out on a lot of
the charm.
The town of Visp comes into view, sitting at the bottom of the Matterhorn mountain.
Sadly this means our journey is nearly over, with just a few minutes left before we reach
Brig.
The BLS Lötschberger unit has been a pleasure to ride, with comfortable seats and great
windows for the scenery, which needless to say is absolutely incredible.
Of course I can't ignore the exceptionally high price, which means you're usually best
off using one of the various travel passes available.
However, if you do get the chance to ride this line, then I fully recommend you give
it a go.
Something to look out for on the approach to Brig is the mainline from Visp.
If you look closely, you can just about see a freight train heading in the same direction
as us.
The descent continues, and we're getting ever closer to our destination today.
Not long before Brig, you can catch a glimpse of the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn's depot.
This is a spectacular narrow gauge rack railway, that scales various mountains on its route.
If you want to see a video on this unforgettable journey, then let me know in the comments!
After we cross the truss bridge over the River Rhône, our journey comes to an end.
We arrive into Brig on-time, at 11:20.
So, what did you think of the BLS Lötschberger units and this fantastic route?
Have you used this lesser-known scenic railway?
As always, let me know in the comments what you think, and for a look at a another less
popular scenic route in the east of the country, click here.