New Gurtenbahn Makes Gurten Even More Attractive

Obstacle-free access, new spacious vehicles and a uniform information and payment system for the Gurten will be introduced with the renewal of the cable car and valley station in the first half of 2024. The plans for the new cable car and valley station will be made public in the next few weeks.

With the renewal of the cable car and the valley station, obstacle-free access to the Gurten cable car will be realized. In the future, a lift in the valley station will take passengers with restricted mobility from the entrance of the valley station directly to the entrance hall. The lowest compartment of the new panorama car is accessible at ground level and offers enough space for wheelchairs, prams or elderly people with mobile walking aids. Bikers and sledders will also benefit from the improved operational processes in the future.

Uniform ticket and payment system

Thanks to the new railway, operational processes can also be made more efficient. The train will run unattended during normal operation, and fully automatic operation without the presence of staff is even planned for the evening hours. In the future, passengers will buy their tickets from machines on site or digitally via electronic channels. In the future, a uniform ticket and payment system will be used for the Gurtenbahn, the multi-storey car park, the toboggan run, the ski lift and the tobogganing operation. An integration of offers from partners on the Gurten into the new payment system is also being examined. The aim is for customers to be able to book and pay for all offers on the Gurten digitally via one system in the future. In the future, payment will be cashless.

Conversion in the first half of 2024

In mid-November 2022, the Gurtenbahn submitted the application for planning approval for the renewal of the railway and the valley station to the Federal Office of Transport. The corresponding plans will be publicly available at the Köniz municipal administration for 30 days over the next few weeks. 

Interested parties also have the opportunity to find out more about the project at a public information event this evening. The construction works are planned from January to May 2024. During this time, the Gurtenbahn will be out of service and replacement buses will transport guests up the Gurten. The Gurten – Park im Grünen will remain open throughout the construction work. In May 2024, just in time for the 125th anniversary, the Gurtenbahn will resume operations with the renewed railway.

The Gurtenbahn was last extensively renovated in 1999. According to the first rough estimates, the costs for the renewal amount to around 10 million Swiss francs and will be financed entirely by the Gurtenbahn.