On Location - Bernina Express, Italy & Switzerland

Here are a series of photos I took in June 2023.  The Bernina Express is a 145 km train journey from St. Moritz, Switzerland, to Tirano.  Recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site, the journey takes in some fantastic scenery as it weaves its way through the Alps. 

Wikipedia:

The Bernina Express travels, in just over four hours, a railway route of 145 km in total with a total height difference of 1,824 m and gradients of up to 70 per thousand. The entire route is carried out with natural grip without the use of any rack system . The maximum altitude reached is 2,253 m  above sea level at the Bernina pass , the minimum is 429 m  above sea level in Tirano.

The railway line crosses the Canton of Grisons : it passes through Chur, the Engadine , runs alongside the course of the Albula river , crosses the Bernina pass and runs through Valposchiavo and Val di Pila up to Brusio and Tirano. Starting from 28 May 2000 , the panoramic view of the route was enhanced with the entry into service of 10 panoramic carriages.

The route of the Bernina Express is also of particular interest from an engineering and architectural point of view, including a total of 55 tunnels and covered galleries , 196 viaducts and bridges , steep sections that cover large differences in level. Among the notable works: the Landwasser viaduct , the Bergün -Preda spiral tunnels , the Albula tunnel and the spiral viaduct covering the 30 meter difference in height between Brusio and Campocologno .

The construction of the Tirano-Chur line was completed in 1910 with the start of service in 1913 , even though the Tirano-Sankt Moritz section had already been inaugurated on 1 July 1908 . The train travels 2.5 km in Italian territory to the Campocologno station, while the remaining route is in Swiss territory.