10 train stations carved directly into mountains
Switzerland’s Jungfraujoch, Eismeer and Peru’s Galera Station are among the world’s most remarkable stations carved into mountains. Here are some of the world’s most remarkable mountain railway stations, hidden deep inside tunnels carved through the Alps, Andes and Himalayas.
Jungfraujoch Station, Switzerland
Jungfraujoch is the highest railway station in Europe, standing at 3,454 metres above sea level. The station is hidden inside the Bernese Alps and can only be reached by the Jungfrau Railway, which travels through 7 km of tunnels carved into the mountain’s core. Passengers step out to panoramic views and the famous Ice Palace.
Eismeer Station, Switzerland
Part-way to Jungfraujoch, Eismeer Station is also inside the mountain and offers windows carved into the Eiger massif itself. Travellers pause in the tunnel to view ice fields and glaciers through these unique mountain openings.
Porta Alpina (Sedrun), Switzerland
Built deep beneath the Alps in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, Porta Alpina was designed as a platform reached by an 800-metre lift shaft. Although not open for regular service, it demonstrates the scale and ambition of mountain rail with plans to serve remote Alpine villages using subterranean access.
Galera Station, Peru
Galera Station sits inside a tunnel under Mount Meiggs in the Andes at 4,781 metres. Part of the world’s highest passenger railway, it is accessed by trains running through mountain tunnels at extreme altitude.
Barog Station, India
Located along the Kalka-Shimla Railway, Barog features Tunnel 33, the world’s straightest tunnel. The station and tunnel together display Victorian engineering that cuts straight through the mountains of Himachal Pradesh.
Alpine Tunnel, Colorado, USA
Built in the late 1800s, Alpine Tunnel was a 540-metre long narrow gauge tunnel. The station and tunnel were cut through alpine rock, serving isolated mining camps. While not used for regular rail today, it remains a historic engineering feat.
Smalltunnel Station (Rhaetian Railway), Switzerland
The Albula and Bernina lines of the Rhaetian Railway cross the Alps with many stations in carved mountain tunnels, featuring helical tunnels and spiral viaducts within the Swiss and Italian Alps.
Tsukiyono Station, Japan - railway station
Tsukiyono Station is inside the Shin-Shimizu Tunnel in Gunma Prefecture. The platforms and waiting areas are carved deep into the mountainside and are accessible only through long tunnel corridors.
Pir Panjal Railway Tunnel (Banihal), India
Banihal station is found at the mouth of Pir Panjal tunnel, the longest rail tunnel in India at 11.2 km, cutting under the Pir Panjal range and linking the remote Kashmir Valley with the rest of India.
Semmering Base Tunnel, Austria
Semmering’s new base tunnel, part of an upgrade to Europe’s oldest mountain railway, contains underground stations and maintenance platforms. It continues a tradition of mountain rail carving by providing new connections through the Eastern Alps.
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