European Railroad Discussion > To the Top of Europe

In my previous post I showed a glimpse of my trip last September 28th on the Wengernalpbahn (WAB) to reach Kleine Scheidegg in Switzerland’s Bernese Alps.  It was a repeat trip for me, having gone there in 2019 for a few hours of trackside photography.  But this time I had another aim – to travel to the highest station in Europe.

That station is Jungfraujoch, at 3454 metres above sea  level.  It’s embedded in the rock of the Jungfrau’s saddle,  115 metres beneath the Top of Europe tourist attraction, which sits at 3569 metres.

Getting there involves a 41-minute ride on the metre-gauge Jungfraubahn (JB), a corporate cousin of the 800mm-gauge WAB. The final  7.1 km of the 9.3-km line is entirely in tunnel, carved through the rock of the Eiger (Ogre) and the neighbouring Mönch (Monk) to reach the saddle between the latter and the Jungfrau.  At 3970 m, the Eiger is the lowest of the three, with the Jungfrau (Virgin) being the highest, at 4158 m.

Reaching the top takes a climb of 1393 metres from Kleine Scheidegg, with a maximum gradient of 25%. The entire line is rack operated, using the Strub system. The electrical supply is unusual: 1125 V 50 Hz three-phase AC. The railway has its own hydro-electric power supply, which is augmented by regenerative braking by downhill trains.

The railway and the tourist attraction are both owned by the same private holding company, which also owns the Wengernalpbahn, the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren metre-gauge railway and gondola operation in the same region, along with hotels, restaurants, travel agencies, and other gondolas.

What I find most amazing is that the line’s construction was started in 1896, reaching Jungfraujoch in 1912, purely to serve mountaineers and tourists. It had opened in stages in the meantime, taking travellers to stations just within the Eiger’s walls, where they could peer out from apertures carved from the rock. One of these survives and forms part of today’s trip.

Let’s get started.

 (1-2) Looking up some 1400 metres  from Kleine Scheidegg at the Sphinx, the building that houses an observatory and meteorology research station, along with observation galleries for the public. The railway station sits 115 metres below in the rock.

Note the twin catenary wires of this three-phase electrification. The trains use two parallel pantographs to collect the current.

(3) This is what awaits passengers when  they reach the top. An unlucky few might not enjoy it – sickness bags are provided at seats throughout the train.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 06:10 by railsmith.

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(4-5) A four-car train formed with two Class BDhe 4/8 units departs Kleine Scheidegg.  Note the dual pantographs in photo 4.  JB has eight of these units, four delivered in 1992 and the others 10 years later.
 
(6) The relatively short open-air start of the trip allows for a look back at Kleine Scheidegg and the facilities of the two railways. At bottom is the JB’s running shed where the passenger fleet lays over for the night. Above it, in the older building, work and supply vehicles are stored. To the left of that is a storage shed to protect WAB trains from the elements – WAB’s shops are at each end of its 19-km line. And to the right of the upper JB shed is a completely covered wye for turning WAB equipment, with the tail of the wye under the hillside. 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 09/01/26 03:17 by railsmith.

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(7) The JB train seen in photos 4-5 climbs the slope above Kleine Scheidegg, with its destination looming above.

(8) Snow at lower elevations isn’t guaranteed at this time of year. I shot this scene on September 24, 2019 – six years and four days earlier. The 2019 weather is more usual for September.

(9) A train nears the point where the lines curves out of view at right. I took this photo from my WAB train just before reaching Kleine Scheidegg.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 04:23 by railsmith.

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(10) Around the curve from the scene in photo 9 is Lake Fallboden. That chapel-like structure is not a station – it’s a memorial  to those who lost their lives challenging the Eiger, and not in the comfort of a heated train.

(11) Eigergletscher (Eiger Glacier) station is the only intermediate station on the line. That’s the Mönch above (elevation 4107 metres), with the bare rock of the Eiger’s foot at left.

Platform 2 here serves trains ascending the grade from Kleine Scheidegg; passengers may get off here but not board.  Platform 1 serves downhill trains; passengers may only board. Platform 3 (not seen) serves a shuttle between here and the summit, carrying passengers using a gondola (opened in 2020) from the valley floor. They save time by avoiding a ride on the WAB from Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg. I’ll show some of that in my next post.

(12) Eigergletscher serves as a meeting point for trains to and from Kleine Scheidegg on this single-track line (there are two other passing tracks in the tunnel). Just beyond the station, my train will enter the 7.1-km tunnel and then climb 1134 metres to the top.
 



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/26 03:22 by railsmith.

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(13)  A slow tunnel ride on the steep sections soon gets boring, so videos are shown to keep passengers engaged.  In preparation for a brief viewing stop at Eismeer, this scene shows the carving of an open gallery during the line’s construction.  As well as attracting passengers, these apertures also served to give mountain rescue parties a head start when trying to aid mountaineers in distress on the Eiger.

(14) Eismeer is the only surviving viewpoint stop, with five minutes allowed for passengers on the uphill trains. Following behind my train (at left) is a shuttle between Eigergletscher and the summit, formed with a three-section articulated NFTZ unit delivered in 2016.

(15) This is the view from behind glass at Eismeer, elevation 3158 metres. We’re looking out from the east face of the Eiger at the Mättenberg (3104 metres), which rises above the village of Grindelwald (on its far side). Below is the Lower Grindelwald glacier.
 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 04:30 by railsmith.

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(16) This sign greets passengers at the top of the line, before they start climbing even higher by elevators to reach daylight. The sign notes the elevation. 

The line’s creator had an even greater ambition – to continue the tunnel until directly below the summit of the Jungfrau itself, which would be reached by elevator. That plan fell through.

(17) My train two minutes after arrival. I’ve waited for the platform to empty to get a clear shot, and the train is already loading from the other side for its downhill journey, with just a six-minute turnaround.

(18) At the entrance, returning passengers are divided by whether they are travelling to Kleine Scheidegg (track 1) or on the Eigergletscher shuttle (track 3).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 04:33 by railsmith.

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(19) With more than one million passengers a year, operations have to be slick, so travellers are grouped into separate line-ups before boarding. Those in tour groups (reservations are mandatory for 10 or more), individuals with reservations and those without reservations will  board separate cars, although in the peak months reservations are compulsory for all. For my trip in shoulder season, reservations were strongly recommended with the good weather anticipated, but on the day there was room for passengers without reservations.

I made sure to be at the start of the line-up at Kleine Scheidegg to get a window seat on the right-hand side going uphill, and vice-versa for the return.

(20) At track 1, looking toward the tunnel while awaiting the next train. Service is half-hourly.

As would be expected, this is an expensive trip, and even Swiss Travel Pass or Eurail Pass holders get only a 25% discount. Those passes will get you as far as Grindelwald or Wengen at no extra change.  A ride on the WAB from either of those points to Kleine Scheidegg and then on the JB  up to Jungfraujoch would cost extra.  With the 25% discount, my round-trip from Wengen cost an extra 158 Swiss francs.

And I didn’t spent a cent once I reached the top, but many were splurging on food and souvenirs, and there were various boutiques selling expensive products. I brought my own food and water, and on the return trip received a complimentary morsel of Lindt chocolate.

(21) I’ve colour-code this official map from the SBB website to illustrate how the railways of the Jungfrau region inter-connect.

The blue lines indicate the meter-gauge Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) that runs from Interlaken Ost to Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. It’s part of the national rail system and normal fares apply, with Swiss Travel Pass and Eurail Pass holders riding at no extra charge.

At its two end points, the BOB connects with the 800-mm gauge Wengernalpbahn (WAB), shown in green. On the WAB between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen, normal fares apply because they are both inhabited communities. But from either Wengen or Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg, the WAB is considered a tourist railway and it levies extra fares, as noted in my remarks for photo 20.

The metre-gauge Jungfraubahn (JB) is shown in boldface black. The purple line depicts the Eiger Express (EE) gondola ride opened in 2020 by the JB’s owner. Its base at Grindelwald Terminal includes a new railway station built by the BOB. An 18-minute ride on the EE from there to Eigergletscher on the JB shortens the time to reach the Top of Europe by 47 minutes, a valuable time-saving for organized tour operators.

In my next post, I’ll show photos of the EE and some views from the Top of Europe, including examples of high-altitude trainspotting.
 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 08/29/26 09:03 by railsmith.

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Fascinating!  Friends of mine are moving to Switzerland later this year and I will urge them to ride.

Thanks for posting,

-John

Great report...   Thanks!

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Excellent report and photos.