Bernina Express train from Lugano to St Moritz

When we woke this morning we were disappointed to discover that it was raining heavily and there was very low cloud obscuring the views of the lake.

Because of the very steep hill from the town to the station we didn't fancy lugging our cases uphill so we caught a taxi to the train station to meet the easy to spot red Bernina Express bus that was to drive us to Tirano to meet the train.  The bus had allocated seating and to our surprise we had scored the best seats right in the front, so we had a great view from the drivers window.

 

The bus followed a very scenic route along the shores of Lake Como driving in and out of Switzerland and Italy along narrow winding roads and through very picturesque small villages.  However, due to the rain and low cloud we didn't get to see very much.  We arrived in Tirano and boarded our train, the Bernina Express with it’s panoramic windows, ideal for viewing the breathtaking scenery.  The train was not crowded and there were quite a few empty seats.

Switzerland has  not had a good summer, lots of rain and chilly weather and there had been a derailment of the Bernina Express only 4 days before we travelled, so we think a number of people had cancelled their trip.  The train passed the area where the derailment occurred.  It was caused by a landslide after heavy rain had undermined the mountain.  Several people were injured but no-one was badly hurt thankfully.

The train negotiates the 55 tunnels, 196 bridges and inclines of up to 70 per mille with ease. At the highest point, 2,253 metres above sea level, is the Ospizio Bernina pass.

The entire route is packed with breathtaking scenery and part of it is even listed as UNESCO world heritage.

The journey from Tirano to St Moritz takes about 2 ½ hours passing through breathtaking scenery.

This is definitely a journey I would highly recommend.  It would be the best train journey I have ever done.

We stopped overnight in St Moritz.  We were disappointed in the town.  Most of the shops were closed.  There are very few restaurants as there are mostly apartments and chalets that come with staff to prepare meals and clean.  The few shops there are the very high end shops such as Jimmy Choo shoes, Cartier, Louis Vitton etc.  Not the sort of shops I would ever go into.