Jungfrau Railway

Jungfrau Railway - A less than 10 km (6 miles) long railway line leading to the highest train station in Europe at the so-called Jungfraujoch, a ridge between a trio of mountains – the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau – in Switzerland ’s Alps. It’s perhaps the world’s most extravagant tourist railway, painfully expensive to ride, but immensely popular all the same. So this is mostly a general tourism attraction, but it has some dark aspects too under its shiny veneer … > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: Even in the context of Switzerland ’s lavish network of mountain railways, this is one like no other. It’s a real record-breaker. Most of the line proceeds inside a tunnel through some of the Alps’ most famous mountains and ends at an elevation of nearly 3500m (11,400 feet), the highest train station in all of Europe (and ninth highest in the world). And all that for virtually no practical purpose – it’s just there because it could be built and is almost exclusively a tourist attraction. OK, it also brings in research staff to the meteorological station and observatory above the rail terminus and transports supplies for the various restaurants and shops at the peak, but first and foremost it’s a touristic luxury devoid of any practical necessity. Jungfrau (literally ‘virgin’ in German) is one of a trio of picturesque mountains south of Interlaken on the border of the cantons of Bern and Valais. The other two mountains are called Eiger and Mönch (literally ‘monk’). They had long drawn visitors, and in 1811, the first successful ascent to the peak of the Jungfrau was undertaken. The Eiger was first climbed in 1858, but the infamous Eiger Nordwand (north face – cf.