List of highest railways in Europe

This is a list of highest passenger railways in operation in Europe. It includes only non-cable railwaysFor a list of funiculars, see List of funicular railways whose culminating point is over 1,200 metres above sea level. Most of them are located in the Alps, where two railways, the Jungfrau and Gornergrat railways, exceed 3,000 metres and nine other exceed 2,000 metres, including four railway crossings. The Pyrenees, which come second in height, include several railways above 1,500 metres.

In the Alps, the tree line and the permanent snow line lie respectively at about 2,000 and 3,000 metres.These lines are lower in Scandinavia and higher in southern Europe Because of the harsh weather conditions that prevail at those higher altitudes, maintaining working railways there is an expensive and difficult task. Snow, avalanches, rockslides and wind, added to the absence of protection by the forests, pose a challenge in every season. Lower elevation railways (even well below the tree line) are also exposed to more severe weather conditions in winter. Many of the high-elevation railway lines rely on heavy protection infrastructure with some of them built partially underground, notably the Jungfrau and Zugspitze railways.

This list includes both railways carrying primarily tourists and railways connecting actual localities. The former are typically the highest and the steepest, while the latter are generally longer lines with larger gauges. Railways that are both adhesion and standard gauge or wider, therefore part of the main European/Iberian rail network, are boldfaced in the list. Countries where the line is below 1,200 metres are indicated in small letters. For a list focusing on the highest railway stations, see list of highest railway stations in Europe.

List RailwayCountryRangeHighest pointHighest elevationMaximum inclineGaugeRack railwayTypeNotes Jungfrau Switzerland Alps Jungfraujoch 25% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Underground above 2,350 m, one of the highest railways in the world at the opening Gornergrat Switzerland Alps Gornergrat 20% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Highest open-air railway in Europe Zugspitze Germany Alps Schneefernerhaus 25% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Underground above 1,640 m, biggest height difference () Mont Blanc France Alps Refuge-du-Nid-d'Aigle 24% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Terminus extended from to in 2026 Bernina Switzerland/Italy Alps Ospizio Bernina 7% 1,000 mm No Rail crossing Highest rail crossing in Europe, open-air railway with the biggest height difference (), highest point in Italy: 522 m Brienz Rothorn Switzerland Alps Brienzer Rothorn 25% Yes Dead-end rail Not electrified Riffelalp Switzerland Alps Riffelalp Resort 5% No Dead-end rail Not electrified Furka Steam Railway Switzerland Alps Furka railway station 11.8% 1,000 mm Yes Rail crossing Not electrified, seasonal operations Pilatus Railway Switzerland Alps Pilatus 48% Yes Dead-end rail Steepest railway in the worldEngineering Magazine, Volume 14, p. 81 Lauterbrunnen–Kleine Scheidegg–Grindelwald Switzerland Alps Kleine Scheidegg 25% Yes Rail crossing Rail crossing usually involves change of train at Kleine Scheidegg, the highest railway hub in Europe Andermatt–Chur Switzerland Alps Oberalp Pass 11% 1,000 mm Yes Rail crossing Montreux–Glion–Rochers-de-Naye Switzerland Alps Rochers de Naye 22% Yes Dead-end rail Schynige Platte Switzerland Alps Schynige Platte 25% Yes Dead-end rail Vall de Núria Spain Pyrenees Núria 15% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Highest railway in Europe outside the Alps Artouste France Pyrenees Station d'Artouste No Dead-end rail Accessible only by cable car Montenvers France Alps Hotel du Montenvers 22% Yes Dead-end rail Les Montuires–Emosson Switzerland Alps Les Montuires 1.46% No Dead-end rail Part of the Parc d'attractions du ChâtelardSee :fr:Parc d'attractions du Châtelard Albula Switzerland Alps Albula Tunnel 3.5% 1,000 mm No Rail crossing Cercedilla–Cotos Spain Central System Cotos railway station 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Highest railway operated by RENFE Bex–Villars–Bretaye Switzerland Alps Bretaye 20% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Schneeberg Austria Alps Schneeberg 19.6% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Pontresina–Scuol-Tarasp Switzerland Alps Pontresina 2.5% 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Lowest point at the terminus station (Scuol-Tarasp) Rigi Switzerland Alps Rigi Kulm 25% 1,435 mm Yes Rail crossing at Rigi Staffel, dead-end rail to the summit Oldest mountain rack railway in Europe, rail crossing involves change of train at Rigi Staffel Chur–Arosa Switzerland Alps Arosa 6% 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Schafberg Austria Alps Schafberg 25.5% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Wendelstein Germany Alps Wendelstein 23.7% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Kukushka Georgia Lesser Caucasus Bakuriani 900 mm No Dead-end rail Narrow-gauge railway line linking the town of Borjomi (820 m) to the ski resort of Bakuriani (1,700 m) Grütschalp–Mürren Switzerland Alps Mürren 5% 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Accessible only by cable car Landquart–Klosters–Davos Switzerland Alps Davos Wolfgang 4.5% 1,000 mm No Rail crossing Visp–Zermatt Switzerland Alps Zermatt 12.5% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Monte Generoso Switzerland Alps Generoso Vetta 22% Yes Dead-end rail Cerdagne France Pyrenees Bolquère-Eyne 6% 1,000 mm No Rail crossing Portet-Saint-Simon–Puigcerdà France/Spain Pyrenees Porté-Puymorens 4% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Highest adhesion and standard gauge railway in Europe Brig–Andermatt Switzerland Alps Realp 1,000 mm Yes Rail crossing Ripoll–Puigcerdà (es) Spain Pyrenees Toses tunnel 1,668 mm No Rail crossing Highest adhesion and Iberian gauge Railway in Spain Aigle–Leysin Switzerland Alps Leysin Grand Hôtel 23% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Göschenen–Andermatt Switzerland Alps Andermatt 17.9% 1,000 mm Yes Rail crossing Panoramique des Dômes France Massif Central Puy de Dôme 20% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Mont-Blanc Express France/Switzerland Alps Vallorcine 9 % 1,000 mm No Rail crossing Operated by the Martigny–Châtelard and Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railways Brenner Austria/Italy Alps Brenner 2.5% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Vevey–Les Pléiades Switzerland Alps Les Pléiades 20% 1,000 mm Yes Dead-end rail Madrid–Hendaye (es) Spain/France Central System Herradón-La Cañada railway stationSee :es:Estación de Herradón-La Cañada 1,668 mm No Rail crossing Tatra Slovakia Tatra Mountains Štrbské Pleso 15% 1,000 mm Yes Rail crossing Fréjus Italy/France Alps Fréjus Tunnel 3% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Arlberg Austria Alps Arlberg Tunnel 3.1% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Villalba–Segovia (es) Spain Central System Gudillos tunnel 1,668 mm No Rail crossing Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line Switzerland Alps Saanenmöser Pass 7% 1,000 mm No Rail crossing León–Gijón (es) Spain Cantabrian Mountains La Perruca tunnel 1,668 mm No Rail crossing Sulmona–IserniaSee :it:Ferrovia Sulmona-Isernia Italy Apennines Rivisondoli–Pescocostanzo 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Septemvri–Dobrinishte Bulgaria Between Rhodope and Rila Mountains Avramovo 3.2% 760 mm No Rail crossing Highest railway in the Balkan Peninsula Ritten Italy Alps Rappersbichl 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Accessible by cable car Lötschberg Switzerland Alps Lötschberg Tunnel 2.7% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Highest adhesion and standard gauge railway in Switzerland Bergen Norway Scandinavian Mountains Finse Tunnel 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Highest railway in Scandinavia Nyon–St-Cergue–La Cure Switzerland Jura Mountains Col de la Givrine 6% 1,000 mm No Dead-end rail Highest railway in the Jura Mountains Tauern Austria Alps Tauern Tunnel 3% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Sagunto–Zaragoza (es) Spain Iberian System Puerto Escandón railway station 1,668 mm No Rail crossing Madrid–Barcelona high-speed rail line Spain Iberian System Somewhere between Layna and Arbujuelo during the brief pass of the line through Castile and León 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Highest high-speed rail line in Spain.

Highest adhesion and standard gauge railway in Spain.

According to Google Earth, around N 41.1085°, W 2.3673°, the line is at 1,230 m AMSL. Name of the location at the highest point (if it has any) needs to be confirmed by reliable sources. The kilometer point on which it is located could be an alternative. Monastier–La Bastide-Saint-Laurent-les-Bains (fr) France Massif Central Allenc 2.7 % 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Erzberg (de) Austria Alps Präbichl 7.1% 1,435 mm No Rail crossing Veynes–Briançon (fr) France Alps Briançon 2.5% 1,435 mm No Dead-end rail Madrid–Asturias high-speed rail line Spain Central System Guadarrama Tunnel 1,435 mm No Rail crossing High-speed rail line

See also List of highest paved roads in Europe Rail transport in Europe List of mountain railways in Switzerland List of highest railways Extreme points of Europe

References Swisstopo topographic maps IGN topographic maps