Lauterbrunnen Transportation

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We became very familiar with this train station as our train from Basel stopped here for our connection to Lauterbrunnen which is 20 minutes away.

We passed through this station several times on our travels, a day trip to Bern, also to catch our train to Zurich and several other visits to Interlaken.

The train station is in the city centre.

Reliable reservation options, safe approach, clearly marked parking spaces and practical luggage carrier offer an optimum, customer-friendly service. The easiest and most comfortable way to reach the WAB and BLM railway stations with dry feet!

For people who want to shorten the train ride up to Jungfraujoch for example.

About 10 CHF for nine hours. On a good weather day it might be good to be early specially in winter!

A feature of Lauterbrunnen is the various modes of alpine transport that commence or pass through the town.

The funicular to Murren commences in Lauterbrunnen and we saw it often as it passed within 10 metres of our hotel room. It looked very modern, however we did not have time to visit Murren. Perhaps another time.

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We were lucky as upon arrival late afternoon into Lauterbrunnen we were informed we should visit Jungfrau early tomorrow morning as the weather forecast predicted clear sky to midday.

Forecast was correct and we were on Lauterbrunnen station at 8am. The station was very busy and when a comuter train arrived from Interlaken several hundred tourists arrived for the Jungfrau train. We missed the Jungfrau train as we preferred not to fight to get passage.

Ten minutes later we were on the next train, window seat for photos, and enjoyed the ride. The last section of the journey is through a tunnel to the top of the mountain.

Our ticket included admission to the Jungfrau Ice Museum etc etc. Cost 118CHF per adult.

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We chose the Lauterbrunnen town for our 4 night stay as it is a beautiful location and the railway station is the hub for trains travelling up to Wengen , Jungfrau and other mountain towns. It also has a regular train service to Interlaken which is only 20 minutes travel time.

It is a busy train station relative to the town size.

This is actually a tip on both the cable car from Lauterbrunnen to Grutschalp and the Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren (BLM) which is a mountain railway which connects the villages of Grutschalp and Mürren.

The route consists of an aerial cableway and a mountain railway, connecting at the Grütschalp station. The cableway runs 1.4 km (0.9 mi) from Lauterbrunnen to Grütschalp, and was opened only in 2006, replacing a funicular. From Grütschalp the line continues 4.2 km (2.6 mi) to Mürren. The single cable car carries up to 100 passengers in a journey time of 4 minutes, a significant improvement over the 11 minute funicular journey time. If you feel like it you can also take an easy hike between Grütschalp and Mürren on an adjacent path.

The BLM station at Lauterbrunnen is directly opposite the station of the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) to Interlaken, and the Wengernalpbahn (WAB) to Kleine Scheidegg and Grindelwald.

Here is the video link so you can experience some of this trip. Lauterbrunnen to Schilthorn.

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From the Stechelberg station, you can take the cable car all the way up to Piz Gloria and the Schilthorn, the setting where James Bond battled Doctor Evil (or was it Telly Savalas...) in the movie "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The lift system makes intermediate stops in Gimmelwald, Mürren, and Birg. Before you go all the way up, be sure to check the closed-circuit TV behind the ticket counter. If it's foggy, don't bother going up. Sadly, on this visit, it was indeed foggy, so we stopped at Mürren.

Through December 2008, travel from Stechelberg to Schilthorn costs CHF 91.80 per adult / CHF 45.90 per child round-trip. Swisspass will cover the trip from Stechelberg to Mürren (though you must use a travel day if it's a flexi-pass). From Mürren, the round trip costs CHF 71.40 / CHF 35.70. 50% discount with Swisspass for this segment. An early morning or late afternoon ticket costs CHF 69 round trip from Stechelberg, CHF 53.60 from Mürren. Swisspass discount is off the full fare, so passholders pay about the same (CHF 35.70 round trip using a railpass day, CHF 45.90 without) no matter when they go.

NOTE: In 2008, the Schilthornbahn is closed for maintenance 21-25 April and 10 Nov - 5 Dec.

For 2008, The lift is open at 05:55, but the first cable car to Schilthorn doesn't depart Stechelberg until 07:25. Last cable car down departs the Schilthorn at 17:03 (18:03 Apr-Oct).

Although I had bought a Eurail pass before traveling to Europe, I was unaware that this pass was not valid to travel to Lauterbrunnen and the Jungfrau. To do this you must purchase an additional pass from the Interlaken west station. This will take you to Lauterbrunnen-Jungfrau-Grindlewald and back to Interlaken at any pace you want. You recieve a 25% discount if you have a Eurail pass but the pass is not cheap.