Since 1913 the Swiss Lötschbergbahn railway has routed trains through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery in the world, dominated by lakes and the Bernese Alps. Both the railway company and its main route from Bern to Italy are often referred to locally as the BLS (the original Bern-Lötschberg-Simplon railway).
In Train Simulator 2 the high-detail route consists of two branches: one runs between the cities of Thun in west-central Switzerland and Brig to the south along the Rhône river, the other—from Spiez to Interlaken—runs perpendicular to the main line through some of Switzerland’s most popular alpine lake scenery.
The very small red square shows the area depicted in the detail map below.
1. Thun
2. Interlaken
3. Brig
4. The approximate location of the tunnels
Alpine Scenery—and Long Tunnels
The Thun-Brig line routes trains through either of two land tunnels: the shorter one was the world’s longest when it was built in 1913; the longer one is the current record-holder, opened in 2007. Special rolling stock transports commercial trucks and passenger cars on this line, reducing congestion and pollution on Swiss highways and allowing drivers to travel where roads alone can’t take them. This 52-mile (84 km) route runs south and east from Thun to Spiez, following the shore of Lake Thun. From Spiez the line turns south and starts its climb into the Bernese Alps. The route passes through either the original 9-mile (14.6 km) Lötschberg railway tunnel or the new 21.5-mile (34.6 km) Lötschberg Base Tunnel.
On the original 1913 route, trains climb another 2,000 feet (600 m) from Spiez to enter the Lötschberg railway tunnel near Kandersteg at an elevation of 4,078 ft (1,243 m). Shortly after emerging from the tunnel, the line turns east through the mountains and descends into Brig, near the Swiss-Italian border.
Kandersteg, near the entrance to the Lötschberg Tunnel
The new Lötschberg Base Tunnel passes through the base of the Alps, 400 meters below the old tunnel. It provides a faster, flatter route through the mountains, saving rail passengers about an hour’s travel time. Southbound trains enter the new tunnel after climbing just 200 meters from Spiez to Frutigen, and emerge at Raron, about 10 miles (16 km) west of Brig.
The Spiez to Interlaken branch is shorter and simpler, but no less scenic. The 11-mile (18.2-km) route runs eastward from Spiez along the Lake Thun shoreline to the popular tourist town of Interlaken, located between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz, dominated by a spectacular view of the 13,642-ft (4,158 m) Jungfrau.
Unique Rolling Stock―and Powerful Locomotives
Of course, the tunnels aren’t scenic, but they are engineering marvels that make rail travel more efficient and ease the burden on Switzerland’s highways. BLS offers two intermodal services on the Thun-Brig line, using special rolling stock to carry both passenger cars and long-haul trucks through the Alps. The “AutoFerry” service lets travelers drive their automobiles from open ramp flatcars onto roofed flatcars for the trip. They remain in their vehicles while the train traverses the tunnel.
Automobiles boarding AutoFerry Flatcars
The “Rollende Landstrasse” (“Rolling Highway”) service provides intermodal traffic across Switzerland, which has banned transalpine commercial truck traffic. Drivers in Germany and Italy load their trucks onto the cars via a short ramp, and spend the journey aboard a sleeper car near the front of the train. The intermodal flatcars themselves are a simple design, riding on small-diameter wheels to keep the train low enough to make loading easy and provide ample clearance in the tunnels.
Trucks on the Rolling Highway
The BLS uses powerful electric locomotives on this busy route. Dual-cab, dual-service Re 425 Class locomotives have hauled all kinds of trains through the Alps since 1964, and remain in service. Built in the 1990s, the fast and stylish Re 465 sports an aerodynamic body designed by the Italian firm Pininfarina (the same company that has created coachwork for some of Europe's most famous sports cars) and is capable of speeds over 140 mph (230 km/h). Since 2000 the versatile Re 485 has provided smooth, quiet operation, pulling heavy trains over mountainous routes, and is also in service throughout Europe and Scandinavia.
Re 465 Class Electric Locomotives
No matter which branch you take, you'll travel through some stunning scenery, with views of the mountains, lakes, and valleys of Switzerland's Valais region. But you’ll have to tear your eyes away from the scenery and focus on the cab and the rails and signals ahead of you, because you’re sharing these picturesque routes with scores of other trains that traverse them every day.
Click here to see renders of a Train Simulator 2 BLS locomotive and rolling stock.