Schilthorn Will Not Be Accessible For Five Months

On Sunday, October 13, 2024, the cable car between Birg and Schilthorn ran for the last time. It will then have to make way for the new cable car. For this reason, the Schilthorn will not be accessible for five months; the final stop will be at Birg. However, after the opening of the new cable cars between Stechelberg and Birg from mid-December, the transport capacity at the access to the ski area will be more than doubled.

The progress in the SCHILTHORNBAHN 20XX project is remarkable: the Stechelberg, Mürren and Birg mountain stations are in place, and the interior work is in full swing. Various traction and support cables for the five new cable cars have been installed and the two new cabins of the aerial tramway, the steepest cable car in the world between Stechelberg and Mürren, are already hanging in place. The first few test runs over the gigantic support on the Mürrenfluh, almost 600 meters above the valley station, have already been carried out. Things are also progressing in leaps and bounds on the Schilthorn: the single-track cable car between Birg and Schilthorn will run until Sunday, October 13, 2024, after which it will be dismantled in an intensive construction phase lasting around two weeks. This means that the Schilthorn will not be accessible until March 2025. And that's not all: the 360° Piz Gloria restaurant has been closed since Monday and will now be converted into a construction workers' hotel within a week. Where guests were leisurely dining at the tables, construction workers and a kitchen team from Schilthornbahn AG will be sleeping in bunks from Monday to Friday over the next few months.

Tight schedule on the Schilthorn in winter

The schedule is tight: concrete work is currently taking place for the new base building, the so-called octagon, which will be built onto the existing summit building. After the support, the red steel structure that successfully supported the building during the excavation phase, has been dismantled, construction of the new finger docks for the two Funifor cable cars will start at the end of October. At the same time, after the demolition of the old cable car, the complex cable pulling will take place over a period of almost three months. In addition, the cable car control system will be installed and the new cabins will be delivered in January. The interior work on the four new floors will also take some time. The reopening of the Schilthorn summit and the opening of the first cable car track is planned for March 15, 2025.

Final stop on Birg – but more than double the feeder capacity to the ski area

During the winter months, Birg is the last stop. However, with the exception of the Schilthorn descent to the entrance to Engetal, all slopes in the Mürren-Schilthorn ski area are open. And thanks to the new feeder lifts from Stechelberg and Mürren, the transport capacity to access the area will more than double and waiting times will be minimized. From mid-December, the range of restaurants on Birg will be expanded. In addition to the existing Bistro Birg, the pop-up restaurant "Dok1" will be created as a temporary replacement for the 360° Piz Gloria restaurant. Since only one track of the new cable car between Mürren and Birg is in operation at this time, the finger dock of the second mountain station will be quickly converted into a restaurant. At the same time, the existing sun terrace of the Bistro Birg will be enclosed to ensure additional places in the warmth. In total, around 330 people can thus eat quickly and easily at the same time.

Important key data at a glance

• Closure of the Birg-Schilthorn route: October 14, 2024 – March 14, 2025
• Opening of the steepest cable car in the world (Stechelberg-Mürren): December 14, 2024
• Opening of Switzerland's first Funifor cable car (Mürren-Birg): December 14, 2024
• Reopening of Birg-Schilthorn and 360° restaurant Piz Gloria: March 15, 2025
• Opening of the second track Mürren-Birg: November 2025
• Opening of the second Birg-Schilthorn track and completion of the project: summer 2026

Project website SCHILTHORNBAHN 20XX here