Press Releases

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.

The Jungfrau Railways excursion destinations have been accessible again for three weeks. Initial experiences have shown that very few passengers are wearing protective masks if the distance of one and a half metres cannot be maintained. That’s why Jungfrau Railways will be proactively handing out masks over the coming weeks.

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.