Press Releases

Saturday 6 June 2020, will be a historic day on the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe: For the first time since the First World War, the Jungfrau Railway has stood still for a long period. After a break of three months, visitors to the Jungfrau Region can easily reach Interlaken’s local mountain Harder Kulm or Grindelwald-First again by funicular or aerial gondola. The Schynige Platte Railway begins summer operations on 1 July 2020.

The entire V-Cableway generation project will be opened on 5 December 2020, earlier than planned. Thanks to the good weather and the enormous commitment of everyone involved on the various construction sites, the heaviest tricable gondola ever built, the Eiger Express, will transport guests from Grindelwald Grund to the Eiger Glacier in 15 minutes from the beginning of December. Jungfrau Railways is thus sending a positive signal in extraordinary times.

From 6 June 2020, guests can once again travel to Jungfraujoch, Harder Kulm or Grindel-wald-First. Anyone spending the summer with Jungfrau Railways in the Jungfrau region can now also take advantage of the new Jungfrau Corona Pass, which permits them to take an unlimited number of trips along the routes. The Schynige Platte Railway will commence summer service on 1 July 2020.

In 2019, Berner Oberland-Bahnen AG earned CHF 20.04 million (+5.1%), the first time its transport revenue exceeded CHF 20 million. The annual profit for 2019 was CHF 3.8 million, CHF 1.7 million higher than in 2018. In December 2019, with the Männlichen Railway and the Terminal stop at Grindelwald Grund, the first part of the V-Cableway generation project went into operation on time.

Jungfraubahn Holding AG held this year's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Monday, 18 May 2020, without the physical attendance of its shareholders. It took place on the premises of the Jungfrau Railways management in Interlaken.

The cable hoist for the Eiger Express started on schedule on 30 April 2020. The cable hoist is one of the most important milestones in the V-Cableway generation project, which Jungfrau Railways is implementing together with the Grindelwald-Männlichen aerial gondola (GGM). Thanks to compliance with all hygiene and distancing rules due to COVID-19, all work on the construction sites is on schedule. The opening will take place in December 2020.

Jungfraubahn Holding AG has revised its dividend request to the General Meeting from 26 March and has now announced that no dividend payment shall be made for the year 2019. This decision comes in light of the global spread of coronavirus, as the prospects of a return to normal operation for the tourism industry have decreased significantly in comparison to prognoses in March and with the latest decision of the Federal Council. In particular, there is still no timetable for an exit from the lockdown for the tourism sector in Switzerland.

The spread of the coronavirus has further implications for Jungfrau Railways operations: The Jungfrau Ski Region winter sports areas and the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe will close on Saturday evening, 14 March 2020. From tomorrow (Sunday) the ski area and the cogwheel railways above Wengen and Grindelwald will close. The closure is expected to last until the end of April 2020. Jungfrau Railways will ensure that the areas are accessible to public transport.

The 23rd and final edition of SnowpenAir has been cancelled. This is due to the Swiss Federal Parliament’s decision today, Friday 13 March 2020, on the situation surrounding the coronavirus.

Jungfraubahn Holding AG has had a good start to 2020. From 1 January 2020 to 29 February 2020, the company recorded growth in winter sports. 1.7% fewer guests visited the Jungfraujoch in the first two months of the year compared with last year. How business develops in the coming months will depend on the spread or containment of the coronavirus.

The Board of Directors of Jungfraubahn Holding AG is to be strengthened. Therefore, the Board has decided to propose economiesuisse President Heinz Karrer as a new, additional member to the Annual General Meeting.

For the fourth time in its history, in 2019 Jungfrau Railways has attracted over a million visitors to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. At the same time, the number of guests has increased in the summer season at all Experience Mountains.

The Top4 skipass from Adelboden-Lenk, Gstaad, the Jungfrau Ski Region and Meiringen-Hasliberg has sold extremely well in its third season: by the end of the pre-sale on 15 December 2019, 42,198 people had purchased a subscription at the pre-sale discount price of CHF 666. This represents an increase on last season (38,000).

From 2020, it will be even easier and more convenient to get to Interlaken and the Jungfrau Region. From June, the new ICE4 train will be used on the direct route to and from Germany. It will also be possible to book a train journey to/from Interlaken including a plane ticket from Swiss International Air Lines. SBB, Jungfrau Railways, the Canton of Bern, Jungfrau Region Tourism and Interlaken Tourism are meeting the expected increase in guests through the V-Cableway and signed a joint letter of intent on Monday, 16 December 2019.

On 13 December 2019, the Grindelwald-Männlichen Gondola Cableway (GGM) as well as the new “Grindelwald Terminal” stop on the Bernese Oberland Railway (BOB) were officially opened. Saturday, 14 December 2019 will be the first time that guests can also use part of the new terminal of the V-Cableway major long-term project.

With an eye on the strategic major long-term project – the V-Cableway – and the development towards an integrated leisure and service company, the Jungfrau Railways are reorganising themselves. Following the opening of the V-Cableway, which is scheduled for 12 December 2020, the heads of the main departments will be represented on the Executive Board as of 1 January 2021.

On Wednesday, 27 November 2019, the 300,000th guest arrived on the Harder Kulm. This means that in 2019, passenger numbers on the Harder Railway will exceed 600,000 for the first time. Werner Amacher, Head of Operations at Harder Railway, handed Isabelle Angehrn from Matten a voucher for a lifetime subscription. Dieter Aegerter, who runs the Restaurant Harder Kulm, offered the guest a chocolate cake as well as a Harder-Cape.

20,000 tickets have gone. In just three months, the 23rd and final edition of SnowpenAir has sold out. On the weekend of 4/5 April 2020, top national and international acts will provide musical fireworks on the Kleine Scheidegg.

Urs Kessler, director of Jungfrau Railways, has been honoured in Zurich as an “active and skilled” communicator. The Swiss Association for Internal and Integrated Communications (SVIK) and the Erwin Blaser Foundation awarded Urs Kessler the “Communicator of the Year 2019” prize for his “commitment to improving cooperation among employees” and for strengthening the “cultural understanding of the workforce towards their guests”.

On the weekend of 23/24 November 2019, the winter sports season begins in the Jungfrau Ski Region. With Grindelwald-Wengen and Mürren, two sub-areas and several facilities will be open.

After the heavy storms on Thursday evening, all 200 people who had spent the night on the Kleine Scheidegg were safely evacuated. Clean-up work is still in progress. The Wengen-Kleine Scheidegg route, including the Jungfrau Railway, will reopen on Saturday. The Lauterbrunnen-Wengen route has reopened. Winter sports will not be in operation at the weekend.

On Thursday evening, the Wengen-Kleine Scheidegg-Grindelwald area experienced an extraordinary storm. Because of the storm and a technical fault at the level of the Eiger Glacier, around 200 people were evacuated to the mountain restaurant on the Kleine Scheidegg. The Jungfrau Railways also suffered various damage to the overhead lines on the Wengernalp Railway (WAB) and the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren mountain railway (BLM) lines due to uprooted trees. The routes from Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald to Kleine Scheidegg and the Lauterbrunnen-Mürren route are suspended until at least noon.

The Jungfrau Ski Region is gaining prominence in China. It has won the Golden Snowflake Public Award for “World's top ski resort most popular with Chinese skiers”. The region also received the Sino-Swiss Business Award for “Most China-Ready Swiss Winter Destination”.

Jungfrau Railways’ Top of Europe Flagship Store offers a unique shopping experience in the heart of Interlaken. Over two floors and an area of over 1,000 square metres, you will find top brands such as Swatch, Lindt & Sprüngli and Victorinox. At the heart of the Flagship Store is the Top of Europe Shop with souvenirs and clothing.