Record numbers take Jungfraujoch mountain railway

The Junfraujoch rail line came into operation in 1912, and recorded 42,880 visitors in its first full year of operation. © KEYSTONE / PETER KLAUNZER

Asian tourists paved the way for a record number of visitors travelling to Europe’s highest railway station – the Jungfraujoch in Switzerland. Jungfrau Railways saw 1,067,000 passengers last year, the third time the million landmark has been breached in the past four years.

However, the railway operators warned that a lack of snow in the current winter season has created challenges. Two of its other destinations in the popular resort of Grindelwald had to use artificial snow-making systems to get the ski season underway last month.

Passengers using the railway purely to get to ski areas on the Jungfrau fell 3.9% last year.

However, this did little to dampen enthusiasm for sightseeing rail trips to the “Top of Europe” station, which saw an annual increase of 2.4% visitors from 2017. The operator recorded a particularly strong increase in summer season visits.

Other sightseeing rail routes also saw a marked increase in visitors. The company said it would intensify its marketing campaigns in Asia in a bid to further increase numbers.

Last year the Swiss authorities granted permission for a controversial infrastructure project to carry tourists faster up to the Jungfraujoch. This includes plans to build a cable car to the Eiger glacier station.