The Golden Pass is a famous Swiss tourist train that runs from Luzern to Montreaux via Interlaken and Zweisimmen through the Alps and offers great views from its panorama cars. I didn't want to pay for it, but having a GA card, I was able to replicate the better part of the route (between Zweisimmen and Montreaux) for free with regular trains. Pics of about 8 hours of train-riding follow.
First, a tram. Trams are the primary form of public transport in Zurich. This one is one of the new Bombardier Cobras.
Zurich Hauptbanhof (Main station)
First leg of the journey: the 13:02 InterRegio from Zurich to Bern
First class
Second class:
Swiss "lowlands"
Nukey nukey?
The Swiss make up their trains with whatever is at hand. In this case, they have taken a double decker trainset, complete with control car at the front and added two more modernized Eurofima cars to it
Bern Main Station
Sorry, couldn't help myself
In Switzerland, everything costs money!
My train- the RegioExpress to Zweisimmen
Platform access
Press the button and magic happens!
First Class
Second Class
Leaving Bern
I promised you mountains, didn't I?
At Spiez, the train separates. 2/3s proceeds to Brig, while the last third reverses direction and heads out to Zweisimmen
The Alps are quite densely inhabited- there is plenty of little villages. And cows. Cows everywhere!
some Chickens, too
Swiss trailer park!
Zweisimmen. A small touristy village which is the terminus of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreux-Oberland_Bernois railway, and the actual "Golden Pass" train.
Last look at the train that brought me here:
MOB rolling stock is interesting, it varies from modified usual commuter trains (taken over by Bragulans)
to older stuff
to that touristy vintage train that just pulled into the station!
My train is the 16:25 RegioExpress to Montreaux
Wait, what?!
You mean, it's in regular passenger service?!
Yup. Comfiest second class ever!
The segment between Zweisimmen and Montreaux is considered to be the most picturesque of the Golden Pass. It has taken me 3.5 hours to get here from Zurich, let’s see if it was worth it…
EVERYTHING is chalet-style
Well, maybe except that
We pass by the "official" Golden Pass train
Airstrip, built by the Swiss Air Force in WW2, now used for private jets
That means we're approaching....
Yup!
"Gstaad, named "The Place" by Time magazine in the 1960s,[1] is widely known for its famous part-time residents and vacationers.[1] Current longtime residents of Gstaad include: Alinghi yachting syndicate boss Ernesto Bertarelli and actress Julie Andrews,[2] Formula One Holdings owner Bernie Ecclestone,[3] French actress Jeanne Moreau,[4] French singer Johnny Hallyday,[5] and columnist Taki Theodoracopulos.[6] Famous residents have included actor Roger Moore, George Soros, Steve Wynn, actress/humanitarian Elizabeth Taylor, director Roman Polanski, violinist Yehudi Menuhin, Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly, modern artist Balthus, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Swiss philanthropist Philipp Braunwalder and Filip Peters.[4] Famous regular visitors to Gstaad have included Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, haute couture designer Valentino Garavani, writer William F. Buckley, Jr.,[7] and various members of the House of Cavendish. Other occasional visitors in the past include Margaret Thatcher, actors David Niven and Peter Sellers, as well as King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia of Spain, and Abdel Salam Jalloud.[8] In January 1983, King Juan Carlos fell while skiing in Gstaad and cracked his pelvis, immobilising him for a month.[9] Richard Scarry had a studio in Gstaad where he drew many of his books. Many British bands and musicians would play at L'Atelier, a club in Gstaad, in the 1960s and 1970s. Merlin 'q' played there many times there, as well as Hotel Gstaad Palace"
Post Busses- the Swiss Postal Service operates a bus line. Often, they are the only way to reach remote villages without a car. They're basically the stagecoaches of old that survived into the modern era.
Some Post Busses actually have trailers carrying mail attached, but all these have are bike racks.
Moving on, we pass by some guy’s house being burnt down
Ski lift
And we successfully make it into French Switzerland
Did I mention that the railroad is narrow gauge? Because it totally is
More pretty mountains
What the hell is that?
Moving on...
In the French part of Switzerland, the wooden chalets slowly give way to cozy Belle Epoque buildings.
Tunnels! Some over 2 miles long!
What's that I see?
EVERYWHERE
We slowly begin our descent
MORE COWS! But you cannot get fresh milk in this country!
Our first glimpse of Lake Geneva
Four Frenchmen and a Truck
Les Avants- one of the oldest ski resorts and the home of the first ever European Ice Hockey Championship
Lake Geneva
Getting lower and lower
Highway
Arriving at Montreaux
Montreaux
Montreaux is the only train station in Europe with three different rail gauges: regular, narrow, and very small (for the Rochers de Naye train, taking sightseers to a nearby peak)
Like so
Last look at my train
And now, the return journey
First, the 18:19 to Lausanne
Hello, Eurofima
Second Class
Running along the lake now:
And, into Lausanne, where I have a 40 minutes layover, waiting for a direct train to Zurich (I could take two others before that, and change in Bern or Bienne)
Lausanne Station:
The Frenchness is palpable
My train
Train arrives!
Restaurant car on the second floor of the InterCity to Zurich
Menu: typical restaurant prices
Can Amtrak do this?
Looking out on the landscapes as I wait for the food
Food arrives: Pig strips in white whine sauce and champignons.
Not up to restaurant faire, but pretty decent.
Dessert: carrot cake and Weiner coffee
and the bill!
Like I said, typical restuarant prices here.
P.S.
Swiss Army Genius, disembarking in Zurich:
Have a very nice day.
-fgalkin
