Jungfrau Railway

Jungfrau Railway
Train on the open-air section of the line, overlooked by the Eiger and Mönch
Overview
Native name	Jungfraubahn JB
Status	operating daily
Owner	Jungfraubahn AG
Locale	Bern and Valais, Switzerland
Termini	Kleine Scheidegg Jungfraujoch railway station
Stations	5
Website	JB
Service
Type	Mountain rack railway
Services	1
Operator(s)	JB
Depot(s)	Kleine Scheidegg railway station
Daily ridership	max. 1 Million p.a.
History
Opened	1912; 112 years ago (1912)
Technical
Line length	9.34 km (5.80 mi)
Character	Touristic, mainly underground rack railway
Rack system	Strub
Track gauge	1,000 mm (3 ft 3+3⁄8 in) metre gauge
Minimum radius	100 m (328.08 ft)
Electrification	3-phase, 1,125 V AC, 50 Hz, overhead wire
Highest elevation	3,454 m (11,332 ft)
Maximum incline	25%
Route diagram Legend elev. in M Wengernalpbahn to Wengen & Lauterbrunnen 2,061 Kleine Scheidegg Wengernalpbahn to Grindelwald workshops 2,320 Eigergletscher 2,864 Eigerwand 3,159 Eismeer 3,454 Jungfraujoch This diagram: view talk edit v t e Jungfrau Railways Legend To Spiez, Thun and Bern (BLS AG) Interlaken Ost 567m Brünig line Ferry to Brienz 548m Wilderswil 1542m Breitlauenen Zweilütschinen 653m 1987m Schynige Platte Sandweid 727m Lütschental Lauterbrunnen 796m Burglauenen Wengwald Schwendi Grütschalp 1487m 1275/1034m Wengen / Grindelwald Winteregg 1578m 1479/943m Allmend / Grindelwald Grund Mürren 1639m 1874/1332m Wengernalp / Brandegg Kleine Scheidegg 2061m 1616m Alpiglen Eigergletscher 2320m Eigerwand 2864m Eismeer 3158m Jungfraujoch 3454m

The Jungfrau Railway (German: Jungfraubahn, pronounced [ˈjʊŋfʁaʊ̯ˌbaːn] ^ⓘ, JB) is a mountain rack railway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland to the Jungfraujoch, across the Valais border. It is the highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, running 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the station of Kleine Scheidegg (2,061 m (6,762 ft)) to the Jungfraujoch (3,454 m (11,332 ft)), well above the perennial snow line. As a consequence, the railway runs essentially within the Jungfrau Tunnel, built into the neighbouring Eiger and Mönch, to protect the line from snow and extreme weather.

The Jungfrau Railway got its name from the highest of the three high peaks above it: the Jungfrau (English: Virgin; 4,158 metres (13,642 ft)), which was the initial goal of the project. A lift connecting the summit of the Jungfrau with an underground railway was planned.^[1] In 1912, the project ultimately ended at the Jungfraujoch, the saddle between the Mönch and Jungfrau. It was one of the highest railways in the world at the time of its inauguration.

At Kleine Scheidegg the Jungfrau Railway connects with the Wengernalpbahn (WAB), which has two routes down the mountain, running respectively to the villages of Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald. From both villages, branches of the Berner Oberland-Bahn (BOB) connect to the Swiss Federal Railways at Interlaken.^[2]

The line is owned by the Jungfraubahn AG, a subsidiary of the Jungfraubahn Holding AG, a holding company that owns several mountain railways, cable railways, hotels, restaurants and travel agencies in the same region. Through that holding company it is part of the Allianz - Jungfrau Top of Europe marketing alliance, which also includes the separately owned Berner Oberland-Bahn and Schynige Platte-Bahn.^[3]