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The journey on the new train, which passes through the spectacular backdrop of the Eiger’s north face, is up to 47 minutes faster. The cable car can carry up to 2,200 people per hour. 44 gondolas are used for 26 seats with heated seats, WiFi and panoramic windows.
The Eiger Express is at the heart of a 470 million Swiss franc expansion project for Jungfrau Railways. In addition to the new elevator, the old Männlichen elevator was also replaced. In Grindelwald Grund a large multi-story car park and a new shared terminal for the Eiger Express and Männlichenbahn were built.
A new stop was also built at the Bernese Oberland railway terminal. This is how Unterland turns every half hour with the Kleine Scheidegg / Jungfraujoch and Männlichen ski and excursion region. connected.
Jungfrau Railways CEO Urs Kessler repeatedly spoke of a “generation project” that would give an economic boost to the entire valley and beyond.
But the corona pandemic is currently slowing the start of the Eiger Express. However, Kessler is confident. The times of the Crown will end at some point and then tourism will boom, the head of the Jungfrau Railways said in an interview with “20 Minuten”. People have a great need to travel after being restricted for so long.
In the new terminal at the bottom of the Grindelwald valley, one feels more like an airport than a mountain train station. Shops with premium brands and souvenirs line the hall. The furniture is elegant and functional alpine. There is also a VIP room with its own gondola for wealthy clients.
With the new Eiger Express, tourists can transport themselves more quickly to the Jungfraujoch. Unlike before, mostly Asian guests now have the option to explore other sights after visiting the Jungfraujoch.
Ever since plans for the big project became known, fears have been voiced time and again in the valley that Kessler’s strategy focuses too much on mass tourism rather than quality.
With the corona pandemic, skeptics of Jungfrau Railways’ growth strategy shouldn’t have abated.
For the Swiss Foundation for Landscape Protection, for example, the Eiger Express is not a future-oriented structure, but rather a “symbol of a tourism strategy that has fallen out of time,” as the organization writes in a statement from press.
Also in the valley itself, the Eiger Express sparked up-and-down debates. At a memorable community meeting in 2016, 70 percent supported the main project. The Jungfrau Railways are the largest and most economically powerful employer in the region. Almost everyone in the valley earns directly or indirectly from tourism.
The Jungfraujoch has been the most important pillar of the Jungfrau Railways for decades. Around one million visitors travel to the world of glaciers 3,457 meters above sea level each year. A visit to the “yoke” is part of a trip to Switzerland, mainly for Asian tourists.
The area below the Jungfraujoch, around Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen, is a hiking area in summer and a ski area in winter.
So far, the Grindelwald and Wengen rack railways have opened the Jungfraujoch. They will continue to exist and should provide guests with a comfortable travel style. The Eiger Express leads from the bottom of the valley to the Eigergletscher station. There, travelers change to the cogwheel train in the direction of Jungfraujoch.
