Morteratsch railway station explained

Style:Rhaetian Railway
Morteratsch
Borough:Pontresina
Country:Switzerland
Elevation:1896m (6,220feet)
Owned:Rhaetian Railway
Line:Bernina line
Distance:12.2km (07.6miles) from
Train Operators:Rhaetian Railway
Zone:31 (Engadin Mobil)[1]
Passengers:460 per weekday[2]
Pass Year:2018
Mapframe:yes

Morteratsch railway station is a railway station in the municipality of Pontresina, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden. It is located on the Bernina line of the Rhaetian Railway. The Morteratsch Glacier lies some 3km (02miles) to the south of the station and can be reached by a marked hiking trail.[3]

The station has a single through track and a single platform with a station building. There is a siding in the station, and a passing loop just outside the station in the northbound direction. In the southbound direction the line passes over the Ova da Morteratsch on a railway bridge immediately after the station platform, and then over the Ova da Bernina on a viaduct some 200m (700feet) later.[3]

The Hotel-Restaurant Morteratsch, which adjoins the station to the north, predates the railway. When it was built it was very close to the tongue of the glacier, which has since receded due to global warming, and benefited from significant tourist traffic. As a result, the line from Pontresina was opened in 1908, and the station was the terminus of the line until the section over the Bernina pass was opened in 1910. Even then it was originally intended as the winter terminus of the line, with the line over the pass operating only during the summer months, a situation that continued until it was decided to open the line throughout starting with the winter of 1913/4.[4]

Services

the following services stop at Morteratsch:[5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Linien- und Zonenplan . de . Engadin Bus . 25 November 2023 . 16 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Passagierfrequenz . September 2019 . 8 August 2020 . Swiss Federal Railways.
  3. Maps of Switzerland . Swiss Confederation . map.geo.admin.ch . 23 August 2020.
  4. Web site: Candidature UNESCO World Heritage - Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Cultural Landscape . 71 . Rhaetian Railway . 27 August 2020.
  5. Web site: St. Moritz - Pontresina - Tirano . de . Bundesamt für Verkehr . 13 October 2023 . 16 December 2023.