Limits put on visitors to “Top of Europe”
Only 5,000 people will be allowed to travel by train each day to the Jungfraujoch, the mountain station that is one of Switzerland's most popular tourist attractions.
The Jungfrau Railways said the passenger limit, effective immediately, was aimed at “improving quality”.
There have been no limits in the past. On sunny days, many passengers have been unable to find a seat for the 50-minute journey that takes them from around 2,000 metres above sea level to the Jungfraujoch at 3,454m.
On a single day last weekend, 6,500 people travelled to Europe’s highest railway station to experience the world of snow and ice beneath the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau peaks.
The record was set in 2000 when more than 8,000 made the journey and around 4,000 others had to be turned away.
The unexpected crush of people that year – some even tried climbing in through train windows – was due to a special half-price ticket that Raiffeisen bank awarded all of its 850,000 customers.
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