If you think that it is cold at 3000 meter height in Switzerland, near the Italian border in the south. You are so wrong! A contributor have just mentioned to us today on 6th of July 2017. That it is about 20C at 3000 meters Height on the top of the Gornegrat Bahn railway. This railway line was finished in 1898. It runs from Zermatt to Gornergrat station, which sits next to Kulmhotel Gornergrat. A hotel, which sits exactly at 3100 meters above the sea level according to Google Maps. Our contributor also mentioned about 30C in Zermatt town also. So, the difference is there. But would you expect more at 3000m height. Won’t you!? He mentioned about t-shirt weather at 3000m! Now, that’s pretty wicked! Read on…!
A steep railway journey from Zermatt to Gornergrat station
To the top of the journey, the trip takes only 33 minutes without transfers. The trains also provides full seating with opening windows and it is open almost everyday in a year. In the high-season period between 07.00 and 19.00, there is a train going every 24 minutes also. The first train leaves at 07.00 from Zermatt and the last one back from Gornergrat at 20.07 in summer and at 19.18 in the winter time.
The steepest part of the train route is at 200 ‰ (on average 185 ‰). The speed which set at uphill maximum is at 30 km/h when going up and maximum 20 to 27 km/h downhill. This steep railway will for sure give you a journey that you haven’t been to before for many out there. With this train uphill it is a joy to explore and see these beautiful European mountain landscape with snow on the tops. It’s an unforgettable journey with lot’s of spectacular bridges and tunnels.
Here is the Timetable for Gornergrat Bahn
| Departure time from Zermatt | 07.00 | 08.00 | 08.24 | 08.48 | 09.12 | 09.36 | 10.00 | 10.24 | 10.48 |
| 11.12 | 11.36 | 12.00 | 12.24 | 12.48 | 13.12 | 13.36 | 14.00 | 14.24 | |
| 14.48 | 15.12 | 15.36 | 16.00 | 16.24 | 17.24 | 18.24 | 19.24 (12) | 21.50 (12) | |
| Departure time from Gornergrat | 07.35 | 08.43 | 09.07 | 09.31 | 09.55 | 10.19 | 10.43 | 11.07 | 11.31 |
| 11.55 | 12.19 | 12.43 | 13.07 | 13.31 | 13.55 | 14.19 | 14.43 | 15.07 | |
| 15.31 | 15.55 | 16.19 | 16.38 | 17.18 | 18.18 | 19.18 | 20.07 (12) |
Explanation of symbols: 12 from 17.06.2017 – 24.09.2017
Interrupt info for Gornergrat Bahn in 2017:
From Monday, 6th November 2017 from 6.00 pm to Wednesday, 8th November 2017 in the evening, the Gornergrat Bahn does not operate.
The railway type itself is a Metre-gauge railway. Which means that the railway tracks is only 1000 mm. A standard track is at 1435 mm. This make this line feel a bit more cozy. A few trams that I have taken with Metre-gauge runs a bit more cuter or it is the trains that is smaller that makes me feel that about them!?
Riffelalp tram from Riffelalp station is worth a stop there
In 2001, there was a reopening of the Riffelalp tram to the Riffelalp resorts. It is the highest one in Europe! Also, it is one of the shortest tram routes in Europe. This tiny tram line opened on 13th of July in 1899. The original track was 480 metres (1,570 ft) long and electrified, using a twin overhead line carrying a three-phase ac supply at 550 volts. The tram operated in the summer months only. But during the night of 14th of February 1961, the Riffelalp Grand Hotel that the line was going to got destroyed by a fire. The original tram vehicles survived the fire, but because of the burned down hotel. The tram line got closed for the next 40 years! In 1998 the work began to construct the line again. As part of this reconstruction, the tram line was relayed on its original route. The original cars were therefore rebuilt with replacement bodies and using battery power. The new line was opened on 15 June 2001.
Today this tram line consists of two trams. At the Riffelalp Resort there is a terminal loop and a battery station for charging the batteries. These two trams runs at a maximum speed of 10 km/h and the batteries gets recharged partially when the wagons brakes also. The previous system had to be taken down due to new safety rules regarding this in Switzerland.
A worth visit, if you are in the area for more than one day.
So! When taking Gornergrat Bahn up, the right station to stop at is the second one on the way up and it is called Riffelalp. The price to get here is a bit cheaper than to the final Gornergrat station.
Here is the prices for 2017 for Individuals
| Oneway | Return | |
|---|---|---|
| CHF | CHF | |
| Zermatt – Gornergrat | 47.00 | 94.00 |
| Zermatt – Rotenboden | 42.00 | 84.00 |
| Zermatt – Riffelberg | 32.00 | 64.00 |
| Zermatt – Riffelalp | 22.00 | 44.00 |
| Riffelalp – Rotenboden | 24.00 | 48.00 |
| Riffelberg – Rotenboden | 12.00 | 24.00 |
So. If you have time and have plans on going to Zermatt, which sits 1605 meters above the sea level in Switzerland. Then you can take this amazing Gornergrat Bahn up to 3089 meters above sea level. The prices is in CHF, which is the currency that is used in Switzerland.
Check out www.gornergratbahn.ch/en/summer about Gornergrat Bahn
Map of the Zermatt area in Switzerland
[osm_map_v3 map_center=”46.002,7.75″ zoom=”13″ width=”100%” height=”650″ ]
Source
Photosource: Jan Flønes
Photosource: Pixabay.com
Gornergrat Bahn Website
Zermatt Town Website
