Switzerland’s mountain railways are truly at the forefront of technology. As early as 1895, construction began in the Jungfrau region of the Alps, blasting through mountains and carving tunnels with a maximum incline of up to 25 degrees. It took 16 years to bore through 7.1 kilometers of solid rock. The efforts of those pioneers now allow modern travelers to ascend with almost no effort to Europe’s highest railway station, situated at an altitude of 3,454 meters.
Kleine Scheidegg is the gateway to the Jungfrau. Shortly after departing from here, the train enters a tunnel that winds through the Eiger and Mönch mountains. Along the way, it stops at two stations—Eigergletscher and Eismeer—for about five minutes each. If you’re lucky, you can catch a glimpse through the observation windows of the perilous rock faces that have claimed the lives of countless mountaineers. Even if the weather is poor, simply observing the exposed rocky walls inside the station gives you a sense of the immense challenges involved in constructing this railway.