The Rhaetian Railway Company as Grand Hotel

10 December 2024

Which railway company has a slide for children in the carriages and games on and in the tables? Which railway company is (almost) always on time, in all seasons and all weather conditions? Which company has built hundreds of kilometres of rail network over hundreds of viaducts, valleys, mountain passes, rivers, and through mountains and tunnels?

Which railway company drives a 1,906-metre-long train, composed of 25 times four carriages, over a 25-kilometre stretch from Preda to Alvaneu, from the Albula tunnel to the Landwasser viaduct, in the canton of Graubünden?

The history of the Rhaetian Railway Company (die Rhätische Bahn) began in 1867 with a Dutch merchant. Willem Jan Holsboer (1834-1898) emigrated to Davos that year due to his wife’s illness, Margaret Elisabeth Newell Jones (1847-1867). Holsboer was familiar with railway construction in the Netherlands and had business connections in London, where he had worked at a bank.

Willem-Jan Holsboer (1834-1898), Heimatmuseum Davos. Photo: Wikipedia

Photo in the train of the Rhätische Bahn. Source: www.rhb.ch/fahrzeugnamen

Holsboer took the initiative to establish the first health resorts in Davos between 1871 and 1874, in collaboration with the German doctor Alexander Spengler (1812-1901). Davos, however, was not accessible by rail. Therefore, in 1889, he founded the AG Schmalspurbahn Landquart-Davos. The first trains began running in 1890. A new joint-stock company, the Rhätian Bahn, was founded in 1897, with its headquarters in Chur, located in the Villa Planta.

The railway network expanded to almost every corner of the canton. Today, the Rhaetian Railway has a rail network of 345 kilometres. The best-known (tourist) connections are the Bernina Express and the Glacier Express.

The Bernina Express runs a 122-kilometre route from Thusis on the Hinterrhein to Tirano in Italy. The line runs through the Albula Valley, via St. Moritz to Pontresina, along the Morteratsch Glacier and the Piz Bernina (4049 m) to Alp Grüm and the Bernina Pass (2,253 m) and through Val Poschiavo to Tirano in Italy.

Poster of the Bernina Express

The Glacier Express runs to Zermatt from Chur over the Rhine Gorge (the Rheinschlucht or Ruinaulta).

Not only is its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site what makes the Rhätische Bahn special in all seasons, but it also offers a unique experience. The quality, service and comfort are exceptional as well.

Like the SBB, the Rhätische Bahn operates with precision, offering the comfort of a Grand Hotel, much like the company’s headquarters in Chur.