station St Moritz is the terminus of both the
Albula line and the Bernina line. As the two lines are powered by different
electrification systems, they meet at the same station, but operate on separate lines from separate platforms. The Bernina line leaves St Moritz station in an easterly direction, and crosses the
Inn River on a long
viaduct. It then passes through the long
Charnadüra-Tunnel II, the longest tunnel on the entire route. The next station,
Celerina Staz, is, at above sea level, the lowest point on the north side of the
Bernina Pass. From there until
Ospizio Bernina, the line will now climb almost continuously. After returning to the banks of the Inn, the line reaches the small station
Punt Muragl Staz. At this point is the valley station of
Muottas-Muragl-Bahn, the
funicular to
Muottas Muragl, opened in 1907. The next station in
Pontresina represents, together with St Moritz station, a curiosity in the network of the RhB: two completely different electrification systems meet here. The 11 kV
AC powered trains, which enter the station on the line from
Samedan, use tracks 1 to 3, while the 1,000 V
DC powered Bernina trains use tracks 3 to 7. Track 3 has a catenary that can be switched from alternating current to direct current, and a special signal to display to train crews the type of current being used. By means of track 3, the trains using the core network (from Samedan) and the Bernina line trains can use the same line, despite their differing electrification systems. On track 3 is also the exchange of locomotives for the famous
Bernina Express, which operates between
Chur or
Davos Platz and
Tirano. The line now turns to the south east. After crossing the
Rosegbach, passing through the
Surovas station (which was previously called "Sans Souci" (
Carefree)), and crossing the
Berninabach, it reaches
Morteratsch station, about below the
Morteratsch Glacier. Past the other end of the station is the world-famous
Montebello Curve, where the line meets the road over the pass. The line and the road will now accompany each other as far as Ospizio Bernina. At the recently modernised
Bernina Suot passing loop, the tree line has already been reached. The next stations are
Diavolezza and
Bernina Lagalb; both are departure points of
cableways. The next section is probably the most interesting on the north side of the pass. Here, the route is very winding, and moves from one side of the valley to the other. First, the Berninabach is crossed, using the long
Lower Berninabach Bridge, and then the line crosses the
Arlasbach, a tributary of the Berninabach. On the
Upper Berninabach Bridge, the line moves back to the eastern side of the valley. Southwest of here, the
Piz Bernina and the
Piz Palü rise majestically. Next follows the long
Arlas Gallery, which provides protection against snow drifts. On the southwestern side are the small lakes known as
Lej Pitschen and
Lej Nair. Directly behind them towers the high and long
Lago Bianco dam, which also marks the
watershed between the
Danube and the
Po. The railway now runs along the eastern bank of the lake, and, near
Ospizio Bernina, reaches its highest point, at above sea level. The Bernina line is thereby (mountainside railways excluded) the highest railway line in the Alps, operating as a public railway with year-round traffic. As the section from here to
Poschiavo is particularly badly affected by drifting snow, countless engineering structures have been erected from the southern dam wall onwards: the long
Scala Gallery, the long
Scala Tunnel, the
Sassal Mason Gallery, even longer at , and the long
Drago Tunnel. After the
Grüm Gallery, the attractive
Alp Grüm station is reached. It not only is located at the tree line, but also marks the last station before the Italian linguistic border. From here onwards, the line clambers, with a gradient of up to 7%, and via multiple s-bends, downwards into the
Poschiavo valley. That this occurs without the assistance of a
rack railway system makes the Bernina line one of the steepest adhesion railways in the world. Immediately behind the Alp Grüm station, the line winds in a tight 180° bend, and passes below Alp Grüm through the
Upper Palü Gallery. In a further 180° bend, it heads through the
Palü Tunnel and subsequently through the
Lower Palü Gallery. A further four half circle loops follow, until the line reaches the
Cavaglia station. Since about 2000, there has also been a new automatic passing loop, Stablini, between Alp Grüm and Cavaglia. It bisects a portion of the line that was previously prone to traffic delays. In zigzag fashion, the line continues from Cavaglia further down into the valley via
Cadera to the former station of
Privilasco. From there, the line leaves the tight bends behind, and, still at its maximum gradient, reaches the Poschiavo Valley. In
Poschiavo it meets up once again with the Bernina Pass road. At the request of the Poschiavo community, the station at Poschiavo was built just outside the village boundaries. It has a railway depot and workshop, in which a few historic railcars of the Bernina line are also stored. The remaining section of line of approximately to Tirano are laid partially still as a mountain railway, but also partially in the manner of a tramway system. After the stopping point
Li Curt, erected only in 1977, the line ends up
running on a street in the village of
Le Prese. Between Le Prese and
Miralago the line passes along the banks of the
Poschiavo Lake, thus remaining at the lake's altitude of above sea level. Below
Brusio, the railway has, as its last highlight, the
Brusio spiral viaduct, which serves only to adjust the altitude of the line. The spiral viaduct is followed by the stopping point for the village of
Campascio, which still belongs to Brusio. Beyond the border station of
Campocologno, which is unusually large due to its customs facilities, the line reaches Italy, and, after crossing the main square of Madonna di Tirano, it reaches its terminal station
Tirano. Here, the Bernina line meets the
standard gauge station and line of the Italian state rail infrastructure company
Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI), which links Tirano through
Valtellina to
Milan. == Rolling stock and traffic ==