Press Releases

In an ad hoc announcement pursuant to article 53 LR the Jungfraubahn Holding AG informs that visitor numbers for the Jungfrau Railway Group were once again heavily affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Guest numbers for Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe are slightly above the figures for the previous year and reflect the continued widespread absence of international guests. The start of the 2021/2022 winter season was the best in the last ten years. The long-term project V-Bahn has, as expected, had a positive effect on winter sports.

Close to 36,000 Top4 ski passes have been snapped up by winter sports enthusiasts during the advance sales period from 1 November 2021 to 15 December 2021. This has allowed the participating ski resorts of Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg to benefit from higher advance sales than in the preceding, challenging winter season.

Comfort, service quality and innovation – the V-Cableway experience has offered all these benefits to every visitor for a year now. Whether transferring from the Bernese Oberland Railway, spending time and shopping in the Grindelwald Terminal, travelling on the Männlichen gondola cableway or the Eiger Express with breathtaking views of the Eiger North Face, or transferring to the Jungfrau Railway at the Eiger Glacier: the new lifts and modern, purpose-built buildings have been extremely well received by visitors. On Saturday, 4 December 2021, the Jungfrau Railways wishes to celebrate the 1-year anniversary of the V-Cableway with the sounds of music.

The 2022 timetable will again offer locals and visitors using the Jungfrau Railways a more frequent offering of services. Against the backdrop of Covid-19, the situation will no doubt again remain challenging during 2022. All regional passenger services between Interlaken Ost, Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen/Wengen will run at regular half-hourly intervals. What's more, on weekends the Lütschinen valleys will remain accessible from Bern for an extra half an hour than had previously been possible. The services on tourist routes will also become more frequent next year.

The advance sales of the Top4 ski pass for Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg will start on 1 November 2021. The pass will be on sale for 777 francs until 15 December 2021. Regarding Covid-19, the same rules as for public transportation currently apply – the wearing of a face covering is mandatory in indoor spaces open to the public as well as in train cars, cable car cabins and gondolas.

The new Walk-in test center for Covid-19 tests in the Grindelwald Terminal became operational. Jungfrau Railways is making the premises available free of charge. The test center is run by employees of the Dr. Portmann pharmacy. The center functions in the same way as the one in Interlaken, offering PCR and antigen rapid tests.

Though the Jungfrau Railway Group saw some positive developments in the first half of 2021, the period was still overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic and the associated restrictions. In the first half of the year, 137,400 visitors travelled to Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. That is 36.6% more than in the corresponding period in the previous year, which had been affected by the lockdown and an almost three-month closure of all tourist railways. The loss amounts to CHF 9.8 million (2020: loss of CHF 11.5 million). Despite the challenges associated with the coronavirus pandemic, the Jungfrau Railway Group again generated positive EBITDA of CHF 10.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 77%. From the current perspective, the company expects again positive EBITDA for the year 2021 as a whole.

Jungfraubahn Holding AG held this year's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, 17 May 2021, once more without the physical attendance of its shareholders. It took place on the premises of the Jungfrau Railways management in Interlaken.

The slope conditions in the Jungfrau Ski Region around Kleine Scheidegg continue to be excellent. With the snowfall today, Monday, there was another layer of fresh snow. Jungfrau Railways has therefore decided that the winter sports facilities around Kleine Scheidegg will remain partly open until 25 April 2021.

For the first time in its history, the Jungfrau Railway Group suffered losses in 2020. Losses in the amount of CHF 9.7 million follow on from record profits in 2019 of CHF 53.3 million. On a positive note, despite everything in a year marred by Covid-19, positive EBITDA of CHF 22.3 million was achieved in 2020. The Board of Directors is proposing that, due to the cur-rent situation, no dividends should be distributed. The consequences of the coronavirus cri-sis are still more pronounced and enduring than previously anticipated and continue to be difficult to evaluate. It is to be expected that the 2021 result will again be heavily influenced by the coronavirus crisis.

In the winter sports area of Grindelwald-First, a summit meeting of two Olympic champions took place. The two Olympic snowboarding champions Iouri Podladtchikov and Gian Simmen teamed up for an extraordinary project: The 100-metre-long and five-and-a-half-metre-high halfpipe was illuminated with impressive projections after dark while the two snowboarders performed their spectacular tricks.

The Top4 ski pass for Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg will also be available for purchase in the 2021/2022 winter season for CHF 777 (adults/advance booking). Those involved agreed this week to continue the offer at the same price as the current season.

The new Eiger Express tricable gondola has been in operation since 5 December 2020. Now the first planned cable shortening is on the programme. The Eiger Express will thus be suspended during the week of 26 to 30 April 2021 and from 3 to 7 May 2021. As the construction work for track 3 on the Jungfraujoch goes into the final phase at the same time, Jungfrau Railways will also stop operations during this time during the week. On weekends, the Eiger Express and Jungfrau Railway will operate according to schedule.

The Snowpark in the Grindelwald-First winter sports area, with jumps, rails and half-pipe, will remain open until 5 April 2021. Thanks to daily preparations, conditions are very good and demand is correspondingly high. The Grindel chairlift and various slopes will remain in operation as will the First Railway. The Grindel valley slope also remains open as long as snow conditions allow. The winter sports facilities around Kleine Scheidegg will be in operation at least until 18 April 2021.

There is still plenty of snow in the Grindelwald-Wengen ski area. Winter sports fans can reach the Eiger Glacier at 2,320 metres above sea level in 15 minutes on the new Eiger Express tricable gondola. With the new end-of-season ticket, the second half of the winter season can be ushered in. With the ski pass for the Grindelwald-Wengen ski region, adults can enjoy unlimited skiing and snowboarding on the slopes around Kleine Scheidegg and Männlichen for CHF 349 and children for CHF 149 until 18 April 2021.

A ski pass in the Grindelwald-Wengen ski region is doubly worthwhile over the next few weeks. With the Top of Europe ski pass for one or two days, you can enjoy the freshly prepared slopes by ski or snowboard in the morning, and in the afternoon you can take the brand new Eiger Express tricable gondola and the over 100-year-old Jungfrau Railway from the Eiger Glacier to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. Up to three accompanied children travel free of charge.

In 2020, which was marked by the coronavirus crisis, the Jungfrau Railway Group recorded a drop in guest numbers at the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe, all Experience Mountains and in the winter sports segment. In addition to the early end of the winter season, the 83-day closure of the tourist rail- and cableways also has to be taken into account. Although Jungfrau-bahn Holding AG was able to welcome many Swiss guests during the summer months, this was not enough to compensate for the absence of international tourists. Despite excellent snow conditions, the start of the current winter season was adversely affected by the second wave of the pandemic.

So far, the Top4 ski pass for the current winter season has been purchased by 27,818 winter sports enthusiasts. Due to the challenging situation with Covid-19, the participating ski areas of Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg have decided to let advance sales continue for the time being. When purchasing the pass, a Covid-19 money-back guarantee comes into play should all Top4 ski areas be closed.

Two speakers and two eagles were at the heart of the small but perfectly formed official opening of the V-Cableway major long-term project on Friday, 4 December 2020. With the opening of the Eiger Express tricable gondola and the terminal itself, featuring shops, ski depots, a public transport station and a car park, Jungfrau Railways, Switzerland’s largest mountain railway company, are setting an example in challenging times – for the Jungfrau region, the Canton of Bern and Switzerland.

Jungfrau Railways is launching an offer for guests who have given up skiing and snowboarding but still want to enjoy winter in the mountains. Instead of sun, beach and sea, with the Jungfrau Corona Winter Pass you can enjoy the snow and sun in the mountains as well as a visit to the Jungfraujoch every now and then without restrictions.

Short-term planning and flexibility have paid off for Jungfrau Railways in the 2020 summer season. Against the backdrop of Covid-19 and further months of partial short-time work, this instrument will also be used for the autumn and winter season. For the 2021 timetable, the restricted service will be increased during holiday periods as well as on weekends. Further increases are possible if there is sufficient demand.

The dead live longer: after the 23rd and final edition of SnowpenAir on Kleine Scheidegg could not take place because of Covid-19, a silver lining has appeared on the horizon. From March 2021, SnowpenAir will take place with a new look at the terminal in Grindelwald Grund.

As things stand, there is nothing standing in the way of a largely unrestricted winter sports operation in the coming season. Advance sales of the Top 4 skipass for Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg will therefore start as planned on 1 October 2020 and continue until 15 December 2020. During this period, you can buy the pass for 777 Swiss francs. With regard to Covid-19, the ski areas in the Top 4 region are implementing a protection concept developed in consultation with the Canton of Bern in the same way as in the summer. There is also a Covid-19 money back guarantee when you buy the pass.

The Jungfrau Railway Group experienced a difficult first half of 2020. Covid-19 and the asso-ciated economic consequences were reflected in the business results. In the first half of the year, 100,600 visitors travelled to the Jungfraujoch. That is 78.6% less than during the same period in the previous year. The official order to end the winter season early and the closure of the tourist railways for almost three months led to the first half-year loss in the history of Jungfraubahn Holding AG. The loss amounted to CHF 11.5 million (2019: profit of CHF 23.9 million). Despite the severe effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the Jungfrau Railway Group was able to generate a positive EBITDA of CHF 5.9 million. As things stand, the company assumes that, despite a loss, it can expect a positive EBITDA for 2020 as a whole.

The red carpet has been rolled out for one of the gondola cabins of the new Eiger Express at Zurich's main railway station. On Tuesday, 25 August 2020, the two CEOs of Jungfrau Railways and Garaventa presented one of the 26-seater cabins to the public for the first time. It was not by chance that this date was chosen. The V-Cableway major long-term project will open in exactly 100 days' time. The project includes the Eiger Express tricable gondola, the new terminal in Grindelwald Grund as well as the Grindelwald-Männlichen Cableway and the new stop of Bernese Oberland Railway BOB, which already opened last December.