Europe’s breathtaking high-tech luxury train

Following a medieval trade route through the Swiss Alps and valleys, the GoldenPass Express is not only one of the most scenic train journeys in the world, but also a marvel of engineering.

I sink into the plush cream leather chair, a glass of champagne in my hand, and pull on my walking shoes. I’m ready for a three-hour spectacle where nature takes center stage. But the stage isn’t just in front of me – it’s all around me.

I am not in a theater, I am in Switzerland on board the GoldenPass Express: a state-of-the-art panoramic train whose floor-to-ceiling windows offer breathtaking views of the Swiss landscape – from turquoise lakes reflecting towering mountain peaks to rolling meadows dotted with picture-perfect chalets – that rivals the greatest cinematic experiences. Sit in the nine seats Prestige class The ride in a specially designed, heated swivel chair feels private and personal – as if I had the snow-capped Alps, wildflower-strewn pastures and bell-adorned cows all to myself.

Opened in December 2022 and fully relaunched in June 2023 after addressing track wear issues, the GoldenPass Express (GPX) is one of the newest (and most luxurious) high-tech trains. The 115 km journey follows a medieval trade route that InterlakenGlacier to Montreuxand thanks to a technological innovation, GPX allows travellers to one of the most scenic train routes in the world without changing trains, as the passengers did before.

The GPX is one of the five premium panoramic trains as part of the Swiss Travel System. Single tickets cost between 56 and 145 Swiss francs (about 50 to 130 pounds). It is also available in Swiss Travel Pass (from 244 Swiss francs – about £219 – and children under 16 travel free), which offers unlimited access to all public transport (trains, trams, buses and passenger ferries), 50% discount on mountain railways and gondolas and free entry to over 500 museums.

The train’s midnight blue exterior and classic design are reminiscent of the bygone era of the original Orient Express which still connects Paris with Istanbul. Inside, the interior is clean and modern, the specially designed Prestige Class seats are by Ferrari design company Pininfarina and are the only rail seats of their kind in Europe. Need lower back support? There’s a button for that. Tired feet? Put your legs up. Cold? Just press the seat heating. Want a different view? Just turn your seat in the direction you want. But don’t fall asleep!

But what really sets the GPX apart from other luxury trains is something you tilt You see, it can jump seamlessly between tracks of different gauges and voltages.

Built by the Montreux-Oberland-Berner-Bahn (MOB) in cooperation with BLS AG (BLS) In Bern, the train winds its way down from the heights of the Bernese Alps and passes the luxurious city Gstaadpopular with A-list celebrities because of its exclusivity and seclusion, and Château d’Oexfamous for its Hot Air Balloon Festival (25 January-2 February 2025) before winding through vineyards and making a dramatic descent towards Vaud RivieraFinally, it reaches sun-drenched Montreux, where palm trees sway on the glittering shores of Lake Geneva.

When the MOB began building the GoldenPass line in 1905, the goal was to connect French-speaking Montreux with German-speaking Interlaken – two major tourist and economic centers – with a single railway line. But at some point the MOB noticed that the tracks were not always the same width; the gauges varied. It took 120 years to find a system that bridged this gap.

The world’s railways use a patchwork of different gauges – mainly broad, standard and narrow gauge. In the 19th century, industry standards were lacking when railways were developed, so different gauges were used depending on the terrain, transport purpose and political influences. This is one of the main reasons why we often have to change trains when travelling.

As David Lassen, executive editor of Trains magazine, told the BBC, “countries that are slow to adopt a single gauge pay the price in operational challenges.” Switzerland is a typical example.

The idea of ​​a direct connection between Lake Geneva and the lakes Thun And Brienz in Interlaken dates back to the late 19th century. Since 1916, the Lucerne-Interlaken-Zweisimmen-Montreux line, known as the GoldenPass line, allowed travel between these destinations, but required two train changes due to the different gauges of the tracks. In 1928, the idea of ​​installing a third rail was discussed.

“You would have had to build tunnels for that,” said MOB product manager Fanny Moix, explaining that this was “technically impossible” due to the combination of bureaucracy and complexity of building two-lane tracks through a busy, complicated junction.

However, as Celina Finger, Markets Manager of Interlaken Tourism, claims: “Changing trains is a huge hassle for tourists.” This is also one reason why the GoldenPass line is not as popular as its panoramic counterparts, such as the Glacier Express.

Instead of having passengers change trains mid-journey, the GPX can make the three-hour, 15-minute journey straight through thanks to the revolutionary “variable gauge bogie”. Developed in 2022 after 15 years of research and costing 89 million Swiss francs (£80 million), the technology was publicly funded by the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Fribourg and the Swiss Confederation. This innovation enables seamless transitions between narrow and standard gauge, as well as voltage changes within seconds, allowing a train to effectively change tracks mid-journey. It is a groundbreaking new standard for rail travel – not just in Switzerland, but worldwide.

“(The GPX) is a link to our past and our future,” said Frédéric Delachaux, marketing director of MOB, explaining that it will make the centuries-old dream of connecting Switzerland to Europe by rail across the Alps a reality.

When I first made this historic journey, I approached Zweisimmen station, I was hesitant to leave the comfort of my warm seat where I was nibbling on local cheeses (there is no full-service restaurant on board, but there are local snack options). I stretched my legs and peered out the window as we stopped briefly to perform the locomotive change that allows the train to adjust to the change in electrical voltage. A few minutes later, we were heading toward Schönrieda ski resort near Gstaad, and as the train continued on, I barely felt a thing.

While the height of the train changed slightly (by about 200 mm) to accommodate the loss of track and the platform height, a technical miracle was happening right beneath my feet – even if only a discerning railway enthusiast would notice it.

“It’s a big frustration for us in marketing because you don’t feel anything!” complained Delachaux. Perhaps the engineers did too good a job. For this reason, the lane change indicator is shown to passengers on a screen as it takes place.

Although there are trains in France and Japan that can move a few centimeters, “this is the only train in the world that moves 43 centimeters,” said Delachaux.

It is perhaps no surprise that the Swiss were able to achieve this technical feat. Living in a landlocked country that 70% mountainous and filled with some 1,500 lakesThe people here had to cope with the obstacles of the challenging terrain for a long time – and in doing so showed a determination and ingenuity that is typically Swiss.

As Clarence Rook wrote in his 1907 book Switzerland and its people: “There are larger mountains in the world than Switzerland. But nowhere else can you find so many technical achievements in such a small area. The Swiss roads and railways are a monument to the victory of human ability over physical obstacles.”

And so I wondered if there are plans to extend the entire GoldenPass line from its origin in alfalfa to Montreux?

“That’s the new dream,” says Moix, laughing. “It’s also a technical problem, because between Lucerne and Interlaken we have a rack railway. That means we have to add a rack system to the GoldenPass Express, and that takes a lot of time – an eternity.”