The Samedan–Pontresina railway is a Swiss metre-gauge railway, which is operated by the Rhaetian Railway (Rhätischen Bahn; RhB). The line runs through the Upper Engadine and connects Samedan with Pontresina and provides a link between the Albula Railway and the Bernina Railway. The line is also often considered to be part of the Engadine line from Bever to Scuol-Tarasp with which it is closely linked operationally. The Samedan-Pontresina railway line is part of the RhB mainline network, so the kilometrage (chainage) has its zero point in Landquart.
History The railway line was opened by the Berninabahn-Gesellschaft (Bernina Railway Company) together with the Pontresina–Morteratsch section on 1 July 1908. It was the only connection until 1 July 1909 between the RhB trunk network and the Bernina Railway, which was already electrified but with direct current. The Samedan–Pontresina line was electrified with 11 kV Hz AC in 1913.
Operations Pontresina station is a two-system station. The trains from Samedan uses tracks 1 and 2 and the trains on the Bernina Railway use tracks 4 to 7. Track 3 has a switchable overhead line and is used for example by the Bernina Express from to Tirano and the so-called Heidiexpress. This allows the entry and exit of trains under the required power system as well as changing system used in the station.
References Footnotes
Sources
(Festschrift for the 100-year anniversary of the line)