Press Releases

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.

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”.