New rolling stock is being delivered this week to the Jungfrau Railway for the Grütschalp-Mürren adhesion railway section of the railway.

The line between Grütschalp and Mürren has been completely renovated, ready for the new multiple-unit trains to run in mixed operation with the existing trains later this summer.

With the introduction of the new trains, the journey time to the car-free village of Mürren will be shortened and the passenger capacity increased.

All trains, stations and stops are now fully accessible in accordance with the requirements of the Federal Disability Discrimination Act.

The first unit was delivered last November, and commissioning was carried out during the winter. Results of the commissioning tests were incorporated in the construction of the other two units.

Delivery of the rolling stock had been delayed because some of Stadler‘s suppliers had supply bottlenecks due to the war in Ukraine and the pandemic. Also, because of limited track capacity, testing and stabling facilities were restricted.

Testing the new units was extremely challenging and took much longer than normal. It took place at night, 1600 metres above sea level, in very wintry conditions, and with lots of snow.

As well as the new rolling stock, accessibility improvements have included barrier-free toilet facilities at Grütschalp and the lift at Mürren station renovated.

The workshop at Grütschalp has been updated, the Winteregg crossing has been renovated, and lifts and a passenger subway have been installed at Winteregg station and the station renovated.

A new roof terrace bistro opened last summer at Grütschalp station that provides views of the Eiger, Moench and Jungfrau mountains.

To completely renew the line between Grütschalp and Mürren, work has been carried out in stages over the past few years and has required several thousand tonnes of ballast, 8,000 new oak sleepers, and installation of around 9,600 metres of track.

Stadler has had other successes in Switzerland recently, notably from SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) for five high-speed Giruno trains to support its expansion of international services to Italy, and for the supply of hydrogen-powered narrow-gauge trains to Italy.

The more than four-year construction phase was intensive and long. I am happy that we were able to carry out the work according to plan and that commissioning is now imminent,”

Stefan Wittwer, Head of Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren AG (BLM)

We are delighted that we can offer locals and guests even more comfort and quality on this important and unique panoramic connection to the car-free village of Mürren.

The new rolling stock marks the completion of the CHF 63 million, four-year construction project for the total renovation of the adhesion railway. The new multiple units with level access as well as the renovated and extended Grütschalp and Winteregg stations and Mürren station now fulfil the requirements of the Federal Disability Discrimination Act.

Urs Kessler, Director of Jungfrau Railways

As a Swiss manufacturer, it is a particular pleasure for us at Stadler to make a contribution to the Swiss rail infrastructure with the new multiple units for the Grütschalp-Mürren adhesion railway.

The new multiple units not only offer maximum comfort with spacious panoramic windows and comfortable seats, but also a modern passenger information system.All of this also testifies to the long-standing partner-hip between Jungfrau Railways and Stadler for quality and innovation.

Dennis Laubbacher, CEO of Stadler Bussnang AG