Jungfrau Railways Heads Into The Future With The New Eiger Express Tricable Gondola

Jungfrau Railways, Switzerland’s largest mountain railway company, set an example in challenging times. Two speakers, and two eagles, attended the small, but perfectly formed, official opening of the V-Cableway long-term project – with the launch of the Eiger Express tricable gondola and terminal, featuring shops, ski depots, a public transport station, and a car park. 

This new gondola means visitors can enjoy a quicker, more comfortable and high-quality journey to the winter sports area around Eigergletscher and Kleine Scheidegg, as well as to the Jungfraujoch – Top of Europe. The Eiger Express means guests will save 47 minutes on their journey, thanks to the direct public transport link with the Berner Oberland-Bahn (BOB) stop at the terminal in Grindelwald Grund. 

The modern terminal offers shopping options across several floors, an assortment of eateries, a sports shop and ski depots for rental. Anyone still wishing to travel by car will find a space in the multi-storey car park, which has more than 1,000 spaces that can be reserved in advance. The two cableways (the Eiger Express and the Männlichen gondola) can transport 4,000 guests per hour.

Jungfrau Railways director, Urs Kessler, says: “With dedication and unbelievable commitment, with a great deal of thought for sustainability and a love of detail, a great cableway has been created along the mountain”. The masterly performance by all took 908 days of construction and cost CHF 470,000,000. 

The launch film showed Victor the eagle providing a bird’s-eye view of the V-Cableway route, before Sherkan the eagle flew through the terminal with scissors for cutting the ribbon

The Eiger Express and terminal was constructed with landscape and sustainability in mind. The new lift transports guests from Grindelwald to the Eigergletscher station in 15 minutes, with the cableway requiring only seven supports. This is achieved thanks to tricable (3S) technology, which allows large spans to be traversed with just a few supports, helped by two track ropes. This system also ensures wind stability, and no paths have to be cut through forests. 

Chairman of the Board at Jungfraubahn Holding AG, Thomas Bieger, says: “The coronavirus crisis will be followed by an era of new growth in international tourism”.  And the V-Cableway will ensure the success of tourism in the Jungfrau region as a whole in the medium and long-term, making it a year-round destination for Swiss tourism.