Jungfrau Railways
Erneuerung Firstbahn
Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren AG operates an aerial cableway from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp and an adhesion railway from Grütschalp to Mürren. The cableway and railway are part of the public transport network ordered and financed by the canton of Bern. They connect the car-free residential and holiday village of Mürren, the Winteregg – Top of Family excursion destination and the Mürren-Schilthorn area. A restaurant of the same name is located on Winteregg. The company also runs its own bistro on Grütschalp, with an amazing view of the famous mountains Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau.
The single-lane aerial cableway can carry 100 persons in its cabin. It climbs 686 metres in altitude and the journey takes 4 minutes.
The aerial cableway can transport up to six tonnes of freight. The mountain station contains a modern transfer station, where freight is moved to the narrow-gauge railway. An average of 5,000 tonnes of materials is transported every year. Depending on the construction activity in Mürren, this quantity can be much higher.
The Lauterbrunnen-Grütschalp aerial cableway went into operation in 2006. In order to obtain a new operating licence after 20 years of service, the cableway needs to be renovated. The focus is on ensuring safe and trouble-free operation for the next 20 years. However, the renovation also provides an opportunity to make optimisations. The new lightweight cabin will be able to transport 135 people instead of just 100. This will bring the cable car's capacity in line with that of the Grütschalp-Mürren adhesion railway, which was renovated in recent years. The cabin will also be painted in the same colour as the adhesion railway and, unlike before, will run unaccompanied. In addition to the cabin, the suspension and running gear will also be replaced.
The infrastructure is also being adapted to meet today's requirements. The platform facilities at the valley and mountain stations are being renovated. To improve passenger flow and safety, an additional platform, a new escalator and high doors at the platform are being installed at the valley station in Lauterbrunnen. The ticket office is also being renovated.
The adhesion railway and the aerial cableway already recover electricity during the descent. Thanks to the installation of an energy storage system, the energy generated during the descent will now be stored directly on site instead of being fed back into the energy grid. This means that the energy can be used directly again when the cable car ascends, which makes ecological and economic sense.
The cable car will be out of service during the construction phase from 13 April 2026 to 10 July 2026. The connection via Stechelberg will be available for travel to Mürren.
The single-track adhesion railway is four kilometres long with a maximum gradient of 5 per cent and the trip takes 11 minutes. There is a crossing point at Winteregg station. The narrow-gauge railway was extensively renovated between 2020 and 2024. This included renewing the track and renovating and extending the Grütschalp and Winteregg stations and Mürren railway station. The heart of the project are the new, ground-level railcars, which have increased travelling comfort and shortened journey times. The new multiple-units and all facilities now fulfil the requirements of the Federal Disability Discrimination Act.
