All language subtitles for Mighty Trains Series 3 3of6 Bernina Express 1080p

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
we're in switzerland

In the middle of winter
where it's a constant battle

Against the elements

To keep the bernina
express rolling down the tracks.

Every trip is
an obstacle course.

It's a mountain train
and mountains are never dull.

(Teddy)
heavy snow fall.

(Teddy)
massive ice build up.

(Teddy)
and falling rocks.

It's a huge
challenge for drivers.

(Teddy)
but the scenery
is out of this world.

We fight nature's fury,
every step of the way.

Now we go
avalanche blasting.

(Teddy)
join me for a ride
high into the swiss alps.

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
majestic soaring landscapes
as far as the eye can see.

This is
switzerland in winter.

(Teddy)
the railway was built through

These mountains
over 100 years ago,

The steep grades combined
with snow and ice made it

A constant battle
to get the job done.

My adventure
begins in chur

The oldest town
in the country.

At the station skiers,
tourists and our

Conductor are all
keen to get going.

Hello.
Patricia?

Good morning Teddy.

How are you?

I'm fine, thanks,
how are you?

I'm excited.

I'm really, really
excited to take this trip.

You're the conductor,
you're responsible

For everyone on board.

Is it a full train today?

Yes,
it's quite full.

We have around
two hundred people.

(Teddy)
passengers are expectng

One of the most picturesque
journeys in the world.

But it's a punishing trek
of mountain versus machine

So maintenace crews inspect
every centimeter of our train.

Test one, two, three.

(Teddy)
they replace a worn out

Contact strip so the pantograph
will be ableo draw power

From the overhead lines.

Here you can see
the reduced thickness.

(Teddy)
work gets done on top,
and in the pit below.

Looking that there are no
cracks anywhere on the wheel,

If the wheel breaks it
will end in a big disaster.

(Teddy)
we'll be climbing up to

The highest railway
crossing in the alps.

It's the last place
you want to derail.

Today everything
looks fine.

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
it's official.

The bernina express
is ready to roll.

(Teddy)
it takes years of
experience and nerves of steel

To conquer the alps.

Enter 40 year driving
veteran, reto.

Hello reto,

Hello Teddy.

It's good
to meet you.

What are the biggest challenges
you face on in your job?

Oh, just look outside,
the weather is action packed.

I am expecting snow storms
on top and things will
be happening.

It's turbulent
and powerful.

The challenges are,
it's a long route

And you have to be
focused the whole time

And not lose
your concentration.

Alright, I'll let
you do your final checks.

Thank you.

Ciao.

Bye.

(Teddy)
the final checks are done.

The train is full of
tourists and we're ready

To start our world famous
trip through the alps.

Like a lot of high-speed
or commmuter trains

The bernina express
uses an e.M.U. Or electric

Mutiple unit instead
of a locmotive.

Between the trailer car
and the two motorcars that

Power the train,
it seats 100 passengers.

Each motor car is
16 point 5 meters long,

Three point 8 meters high

And 2 point six
five meters wide.

(Teddy)
attached are 6
extra passengers cars

Complete with
panoramic windows.

We're scheduled
to depart at 8:32.

And when the swiss
say 8:32, they mean it.

(whistle blows)

And so we begin our 4 hour
journey on two historic

Rail lines with unesco
world heritage status.

(Teddy)
from chur we'll
travel to thusis

The start of the
breathtaking albula line.

That will take us towards the
jet set capital of st. Mortiz.

In pontresina, we'll switch
over to the bernina line.

After ospizio bernina, the
highest point on our journey

We'll descend through charming
villages set in mountain valleys

Before arriving
in tirano Italy.

So we've just left
the station in chur

A few minutes ago and it
already is incredible.

I mean just look
at the scenery.

And this area is called
the domleschg valley

And it's famous because
it's got one of the highest

Concentration of castles
in all of europe.

And also we've got
the rhine river

Which we're
tracking right now.

(Teddy)
two hundred
and thirty thousand passengers,

Ride the bernina express
every year to enjoy

The impressive sights.

Danke schoen.

And they're not alone.

Every day
I have fun at work.

Of course, safety is
always paramount,

But fun is also part of it.

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
starting work at 5 a.M.

This morning was anything
but fun for track master, adam.

Today is cold.

We're used to being outside,
we like to be warm.

But that's the job.

(Teddy)
adam's worked on
this line for 30 years.

He's responsible for
the sixty one kilometer

Stretch from
thusis to st. Moritz.

Part of the job is making
sure trains can squeeze
through tunnels.

Because of the profile,
the tunnels are small,

The trains are wide.

The ice,
do you see up there?

(Teddy)
ground water seeps
into the cracks of

The tunnels and freezes.

That shrinks the
clearance on both sides.

(Teddy)
so all winter,
at least twice a week,

The team claws back the ice,
armed with only pick axes.

(Teddy)
they shovel the chunks

Into the wagon and then
turn their focus overhead.

Falling icicles could hit the
windshield and hurt the driver.

(Teddy)
so the work crew
takes one for the team.

Dam we are sturdy,
we are strong, we can take it.

If the helmet does its
job, nothing will happen.

(Teddy)
ice buildup on
the power lines could

Shut down our trip and every
other train on this single
track line.

The ice doesn't
destroy the power lines,

But the pantograph
that conducts the power

To the train will break
and then it's done.

(Teddy)
the overhead wires are live

Pulsating with eleven thousand
volts of electricity.

The crew has to use special
equipment made of carbon fibre.

These poles protect you
from being electrocuted,

So nothing will happen to
us and we can do the work

Without turning
the electricity off.

Their price tag
is 1,500 swiss francs.

(Teddy)
a small price to
stay safe in a job that

Could cost these
men their lives.

My family does get scared
for me every once in a while.

Last year I was
almost hit by a train.

One of my colleagues
grabbed me by the shoulder

And yanked me
out of the way.

(Teddy)
back on our train,
we're riding the one hundred

And sixteen
year old abula line.

Reto's behind the wheel
and our conductor...

So good morning,
hello again.

(Teddy)
is making sure
passengers are comfortable.

(Teddy)
outside we pass homes

And stations
dotted along the line.

But soon enough the
landscape opens up

And it's all mountains,

All the time.

What are the biggest
parts of your job as

The train keeps going
all the way to tirano?

My biggest is to
make sure that it is safe.

(Teddy)
that's a priority shared by

Everyone at the train
control center in lanquart.

This is
bernina express coming from

Track sixty-eight to
fifty-seven to track ten.

This is the brain of
our train network system.

Here dispatchers and controllers
monitor the rail lines.

They work for rhaetian
bahn or r.H.B.

That's the company that
owns the bernina express

And the largest alpine rail
network in all of switzerland.

One third of our lines are over
one thousand-five hundred meters

So we are in alpine area.

(Teddy)
for trains high elevations

Come with even higher stakes.

When it snows heavy
it can be possible to

Shutdown our traffic
because of avalanche risk.

(Teddy)
in the last 85 years

Swiss avalanches have
killed nearly 2000 people.

That's why the rail
company has sent out

A specialized team
of snow profilers.

They're inspecting
the pack above the tracks

That might be a problem.

We determine the stability
of this slope to make sure

That it is safe
for the train to pass.

We have this probe
with a two kilo weight

And according to the denseness
or the hardness of the layers

It sinks
in more or less.

5 from 50, 106.

So, now we have
really reached a hard layer.

If we have a big mixture
of hard and soft layers

On the way, that created
a very dangerous situation.

The whole slab can
collapse and go down.

(Teddy)
but trusting
the probe isn't enough.

They analyze individual
snow crystals, rounder ones

Bond together better
and make the pack stronger.

At the moment it's good.

(Teddy)
temperature
factors into it as well.

The more difference
we have in temperature

The more we have an
active changing snow layer.

If there's a difference of more
than one degree celsius over

10 centimeters they
might have to take action.

Of course then we
have to stop the train.

(Teddy)
right now there's
only a nine degree difference

In the whole
section from top to bottom.

Today it looks all good.

(Teddy)
so trains
can keep running.

But only if the results
are confirmed by a final test,

The rutschblock.

(Teddy)
developed by the swiss in

The 1970's,
they use a thin cord

To cut away
a block of snow.

Now I exert my weight
without jumping,

Just my weight
which goes on the slab.

1,2,3, didn't release.

Next step is I step up on
top of the cut and jump
on the slab.

1, 2, 3.
That's it.

It takes a jump
that's already a very high

Stability and the crack
happened on that layer

Where we expected
it to crack.

(Teddy)
and no surprises

Means the track
can stay open,

Which we love we don't
love surprises in this job.

(Teddy)
but further down the line,

It's could be
a different story.

♪ ♪ ♪

I'm taking
the awe-inspiring

Bernina express
over the swiss alps.

It was when the railway
came to town over a

Century ago that this
region really started to boom.

But laying the tracks
across these mountains was

One of the most
challenging problems

In the history of
swiss engineering.

(Teddy)
no one knows
that better than jordan.

He's a rail fan with a p.H.D.
In the history of tourism
in the alps.

You didn't have a proper
highway all the way to
st. Moritz.

It took ages to get here,
either from Italy or from chur,

It took over
eight hours by horse.

It was very difficult.

So the railway
changed everything.

(Teddy)
construction on
albula line began in 1898.

For 5 years more than
4 thousand workers dug

Forty two tunnels through sheer
rock and built 144 bridges

And viaducts over
mountain valleys.

Does it continue to
blow you away that this

Train line exists here
in this topography?

It does.

There are so many other
mountain trains you know

Throughout the alps,
throughout europe but most

Of the time they
follow a valley.

The albula is so impressive

Because it goes through
rivers, gorges, canyons.

And that's what makes it
so interesting but also
quite dangerous.

(Teddy)
climbing over
a thousand meters,

Tracks were laid at a shallow
rise of 3 point 5 percent,

The most efficent for
steam trains at the time.

When you think of
how little safety,

How little technology
they had available,

They still made it possible.

It's an
absolute wonder.

(Teddy)
as is the viaduct
we're about to cross over.

I can see right up ahead
we're coming up on
the solis viaduct.

This is a really
impressive structure, right?

It is the highest bridge,
the highest viaduct

On this
entire railway.

(Teddy)
built in 1901
using local limestone,

The viaduct is eighty
five meters high.

It spans the
abula river below.

Something a dragon slaying
martyr apparently didn't need.

And legend has it that st.
George as he was being chased,

Actually jumped with
his horse across the gorge.

It's a legend but I mean
we can see that with a

Train it's possible
now at least.

(Teddy)
in the design
engineers used eleven arches.

Those arches added support
and the open spaces in

Them drastically reduced
the amount of solid
limestone required.

It's stood
the test of time.

I got a bit of
vertigo looking down.

I'm not ashamed
to admit it.

Well, same here.

(Teddy)
on the albula line,

One amazing feat of
engineering follows another.

For instance on
the landwasser viaduct

You didn't have scaffolding.

It was just all built from
the bottom all the way up.

Scaffolding would have
been washed away by the river.

So in 1901, steel towers
were erected and then

The stone piers were
built around them.

The landwasser took
twice as long to build

As any other
viaduct on the line.

This is really cool.

We're about to cross over
the landwasser viaduct.

Here it is.

I mean just look at that.

It's one of the most
impressive and famous

Railway landmarks
on earth.

(Teddy)
the landwasser
got a facelift in 2009.

Repointing the mortar took
9 months, but 60 trains
a day kept running.

As we continue on
the line the snow is heavy.

This is the machine which
is used to clear the
snow and tracks.

It makes us proud,
it has power.

(Teddy)
the massive snow
blower uses 8 cylinders

And six hundred horsepower
to clear the tracks ahead of us.

We remove about 3,800
cubic meters of snow per hour.

(Teddy)
in other words

They can remove enough
snow to fill nearly

Two olympic size swimming
pools in an hour.

Okay, perfect.

(Teddy)
the tracks may be clear

But the crew's work
is never done.

Our train is heading
towards the rugnux tunnel.

It was built in 1903
close to an underground spring.

There's a lot of
water entering the tunnel.

(Teddy)
water used to
seep into the tunnel.

When hit with the cold
air inside, it would freeze

And turn to ice.

The bulk of the ice wound up
shifting and lifting the tracks

Increasing the chance
of derailment.

So in 1929, doors
were installed at

Both ends of the tunnel.

These doors keep the
temperature inside above

Freezing preventing
ice build up.

The doors are
controlled by signals.

That means,
when the train approaches,

The signal turns green and then
the tunnel doors open
automatically.

(Teddy)
as long as there's
nothing in their way.

So adam and his team
keep the path clear.

There is constantly
snow blowing in this direction

And that's why we need
to remove the snow manually,

So the doors have
space to open and close.

(Teddy)
once the doors are inspected

And the snow is cleared,

The signal turns green
and we're in the rugnux,

The first of three corkscrew
or spiral tunnels on this line.

So it's really all about getting
the elevation in a short
distance.

Exactly.

It's amazing.

It's really such
a feat of engineering.

Think about it, we have to
gain elevation but there's

Not much space around
so we have to go around

And actually make an entire
loop to go up the elevation.

(Teddy)
we've completed one full

360 degree spiral coming
out of the first tunnel.

We have a high climb ahead
of us, almost as tall as

The empire state building.

But we don't have
enough distance to do it in.

(Teddy)
the solution?

Back to back
three sixties.

In one mountain peak,
workers bored through rock

To lay track for
the 667 meter tuoa tunnel.

And then just 50 meters
above that, in a feat of

Precision engineering
they continued to dig out

The 535 meter long
zuondra tunnel.

It's amazing,
isn't it?

We are gaining
elevation within a tunnel.

Basically we are going
to do a loop and be above

Where we were a couple
of seconds ago in a few seconds.

(Teddy)
the albula line brings thousands

Of tourists
to new heights.

Thank you so much,
perfect beverage

For the perfect ride.

(chuckling)

(Teddy)
but it also brings the threat

Of deadly
avalanches closer.

That's where search and rescue
expert hanseuli comes in.

Good to meet you.

Good to meet you.

(Teddy)
born in the alps,

Hanseuli is a second
generation helicopter pilot.

He's logged more than
ten thousand hours working

In these mountains
for over three decades.

I would say to fly
in the mountains

You need a lot
of experience.

He's hired by the
railway company r.H.B,

To scout the line from
above to keep the track safe.

Tell me about what we're
flying over right below us here.

That's avalanche barriers
to protect the r.H.B. Track.

So do you see a lot of these
types of barriers in the
mountains?

Everywhere.

Everywhere, yes because
the whole r.H.B. Track is

Winding through valleys
along mountain sides.

(Teddy)
and those avalanches are

A constant threat
to the trains.

Definitely.

Definitely.

You can see that
we're in an avalanche

Corridor right here.

You can see where
the avalanches come down

And that's an avalanche tunnel
so the snow actually goes

Over the tunnel and the
train passes safely inside.

Closer to the tracks we see
the last line of prevention.

So you can see that
right here the bernina express

Is passing just
below avalanche fences

And there are fences
everywhere including right

Up beside the tracks
like we're seeing here.

(Teddy)
not only does the railway

Work hard to deflect
and contain avalanches,

They also go and start them!

Well, now we go
avalanche blasting.

♪ ♪ ♪

The bernina express pits
mountain against machine

As it carves a path
through the rugged swiss alps.

A challenging trek that
attracts passengers

From all over the world.

She's our
relative from ukraine.

And this is my actually
gift for the birthday,

This bernina express tour.

So this is very
special for me.

Americans floyd
and melissa are retracing

The back pack trip they
took over two decades ago.

We finally got to switzerland
tired and exhausted.

It was like, 'this is fun'
but it was only a one day

Trip and we
had to get back.

So twenty-five years later,
we're like, 'we're going back'.

You're doing the trip
in a little more style

Than when you
were backpacking.

It's a lot better.

And we're not
carrying as much luggage.

Such a cool story.

(Teddy)
we're travelling through
the engadin valley, st. Mortiz

Put this winter
sports mecca on the map.

And we get to see it
all from the tracks.

How did the arrival
of the train affect tourism?

St. Moritz is a big town
around here and the first

Winter season
was in 1864.

The train was not here.

So the railway changed
everything to popularize

St. Moritz as a place
for winter sports.

Coming up, we'll be making
the switch from the albula

To the bernina line.

Right now we're stopping
at pontresina station

And this is a really important
stop on the line because it's

Where the train and the
electricity system

Changes from a.C. To d.C.

(Teddy)
the albula runs
on alternating current

But the bernina line
uses direct current.

In the past, they
had to switch from an

A.C. Locomotive to a d.C. One.

But the bernina express
can handle both.

All reto has to
do is lower the pantograph

To cut the
power to the train.

Then the current is
changed over to d.C.

With the flick
of a switch.

(Teddy)
the pantograph
is raised back up.

We leave a.C. Power
and the abula line behind.

Moving forward, it's
the bernina line all the way.

It was made with less money
and with less tunnels

And bridges but it's
as impressive and of course

As you can see
we're going very, very high.

(Teddy)
not only is the berina line

Twice as steep as the abula,
its curves are tighter.

After the next curve.

I once again increase
the speed to 50 kilometers

An hour, after
the slow speed stretch.

Since we left chur,
the bernina express

Has climbed a gruelling
1300 meters plus.

Every day brings something
new when driving this train.

One day it will be
very windy and very icy,

Then in summer it's
completely different.

(Teddy)
a demanding ride for train
and driver, pays off for

Passengers wanting
to hit the slopes.

We're at
bernina diavolezza.

There's a very
good ski spot.

Fertig!

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
this part of the route,
heading to ospizio bernina,

Gets more snow
than any other.

In the winter
of 2001 they got

A record breaking
24.6 meters.

Our boss is
the weather.

Every day the weather
brings something different

And every day it
brings something new.

(Teddy)
stefano is the track master

For the bernina line.

He's responsible for
keeping the train running

Out in the middle
of nowhere.

So he brings out
the big guns.

Okay.

(Teddy)
his machine,
nicknamed the beast,

Is so powerful and so big
it has to be pushed by

A twenty five hundred
horsepower work train.

They both ride
on top of the rails,

Facing off against
mother nature's worst.

If we did not do
our job the train would

Not be able to go through
and it is also thanks to

The ability of the drivers
and the machinery operators

That we accomplish
our job every day.

(Teddy)
the large blades
spin 460 times a minute,

Pulling snow
into the machine.

And spitting it
away from the track.

The beast can remove over
77,000 tons of snow in an hour.

Our problem is
the wind and not the snow.

The wind carries the snow
here and we have to clear it.

This is really
our main problem.

(Teddy)
but wind doesn't

Just blow snow onto the tracks.

It can blow
a train right off them!

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
twenty four hundred kilowatts

Of power is pushing the bernina
express higher and higher as we

Cross the epic bernina
pass in the swiss alps.

Never a dull day
or dull moment on

The bernina express
from the sounds of it.

Absolutely.

It's a mountain train
and mountains are never dull.

I think in a way it's
the most swiss of trains,

We're crossing a region
that where three different

Languages are spoken,
the three out of four

National languages
of switzerland.

It crosses some of the most
impressive areas of switzerland.

So in a way, if you have
to pick one journey to make

In switzerland or in the world,
it should be this one I think.

(Teddy)
our train snakes along

The shores of lago bianco,
frozen for most of the year

Fed by glaciers and one of
the most beautiful sights
for passengers.

(Teddy)
we're up over two thousand

Meters nearing
the summit of our journey.

We're reaching ospizio bernina,
it's the highest point on the
railway.

And it makes this railway
the highest railway in europe

That doesn't
use a cog wheel.

So it's really impressive.

(Teddy)
to handle steep grades,

Most trains, like
the bernina's sister train,

The glacier express

Use a rack
and pinion system.

Attached to the undercarriage,
a cog wheel turns and catches

The teeth of a rack
between the rail lines.

(Teddy)
the bernina express uses

Adhesion alone,
relying solely the friction

Generated between
the wheels and rails.

You have to stick
to the tracks and it's not

As easy as it sounds.

(Teddy)
adhesion works
best on clean, dry rails.

Snow between the rail
and the wheels lowers

The adhesion rate.

Accelerating on wet rails
can cause the axels and wheels

To spin faster without
catching and slip off the track.

So it is something
that's a challenge for

The bernina express.

To help prevent
this from happening

Crews must constantly monitor
and remove ice and snow
build up.

Especially where the
trains switch tracks.

This point here where
the train tracks merge

If it gets iced
can make the train derail

As it
slides on the ice.

So we need to
keep it clean.

(Teddy)
unlike regular
sections of track,

Switches have moving
parts that guide the train

From one track
to the next.

It's imperative they're
kept clear at all times.

So they've installed
special heating systems at

103 critical switches
along the line.

We have the automatic one,
which we use this one

And this comes on
when it snows

(Teddy)
when moisture is detected

Or the temperature falls
below 2.5 degrees celsius,

The tracks
automatically heat up.

(Teddy)
but there are some things

Technology just
can't prevent.

Hurricane force winds
are common in the alps.

Last year in lenk, a town
just four hours away from us,

200 kilometer an hour
gusts blew this train

Right off its track.

Eight passengers
were injured.

(Teddy)
we've reached
the station at ospizo bernina.

There's not much
wind up here today.

But the threat of an even
bigger disaster is brewing.

Avalanches are a major concern
for the bernina express.

So workers are taking control
of the situation with dynamite.

At their base in samedan
blasting experts jon and daniel

Prep one hundred and twenty five
kilos of explosives.

We're building the charges,
five kilos of charges.

These are the
electric igniters.

They will start to burn
the cord which then

Will start
the explosive.

These hired guns
work for local towns

And skill hills in the region,
but today they're on a mission

For rhaetian rail
to protect the tracks.

That's it so
we can go now.

(Teddy)
triggering avalanches has

Come a long way since
the railway first opened
in the early nineteen hundreds.

And so have the
explosives themselves.

In the first days when we flew,
we would just took any explosive

We could find and wrap them in
plastic bags and put them in
bottle boxes.

(Teddy)
these days, they
store the explosives

In a special lock box
with a quick release

Just in case something
goes terribly wrong.

If we had an emergency landing
we can kick the whole box

With the explosives out.

The explosives are in
the box and we're ready to go.

(Teddy)
the team is off to conquer

A mountain of snow
before it does any damage.

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
we're on a trek

Through the swiss alps on
the historic bernina line.

When it was built
over a century ago,

It was meant to
only be used in summer.

Could I check
your tickets please.

(Teddy)
today, even the state
of the art bernina express

Needs all the help
it can get to handle

The hazards of winter weather.

We are approaching
our blasting place.

Experts have located an unstable
section in the snow pack on this
slope.

We're maybe one
kilometer off now.

(Teddy)
but before they blast...

We make a reconnaissance flight
to make sure we don't have any

Animals or people in the way
of our explosives or
the avalanches.

(Teddy)
after their
scout is complete...

We wait for clearance
from the swiss army.

(Teddy)
they're going to
trigger a small avalanche

In order to stop a larger
one erupting out of blue.

And we're going
to do a low drop first.

(cockpit chatter)

(Teddy)
after the fuse is lit

They have just 90 seconds
to get as far away as possible.

Now we fly into the safety
area then we can observe.

(Teddy)
the blast loosens
unstable layers of snow.

They both started an avalanche
so the mission was a success.

(Teddy)
the bernina express heads

For the tiny
station of alp grum

Located in the german
speaking part of switzerland.

North of the
italian border.

It's hard to know what language
to speak here because everyone

Speaks to you in
french, german, italian.

Yeah, but everybody
speaks english.

(Teddy)
outisde the train,

We're surrounded
by impressive peaks.

The view is spectacular.

But inside
things aren't so great.

Patricia's found an
issue with the power.

It's not
working at the moment.

I try to get the power
back because there's

No reaction on here.

The toilet is
also not working.

And that's strange,
that's really strange.

Call it murphy's law because
four kilometers ahead of us,

There's an even bigger problem.

The scala gallery is
filling up with blowing snow.

The problem arises
when the wind blows for days

And the train carries it further
inside the tunnel as it runs
through it.

Space is so tight they
can't use a snow plow in here.

It's gotta be removed
by hand, one shovel at a time.

As you can see the more snow
we get in here on the sides

The less space there is
for the trains to go through.

(Teddy)
if they don't clear
all 140 meters of this gallery.

It's not good.

The supply train won't make it
to primo's restaurant, in alp
grum.

That's where the
passengers on our train

Are expecting to eat.

What would you like, you go in
the restaurant and you don't
have food.

(Teddy) stefano and his crew
work hard and fast to clear the
tunnel.

Before all the trains are
forced to stop on this
single track line.

We stay here,
we are waiting and no supplies.

But what can I do?

Just waiting.

I hope the
train will come.

The wagon packed
with almost two thousand

Kilos of excess snow
leaves the tunnel.

Just in time.

At the next station
we are at alp grum

And at alp grum we have
a photo stop for around
fifteen minutes.

We go further at 11:22 so you
can go out if you want to and
take some pictures.

(Teddy)
we eek through the
freshly cleared tunnel

And come out
the other side.

This is
alp grum station.

It's home to a restaurant,

A small hotel
and that's about it.

Right behind us, primo's
supply train finally arrives.

(Teddy)
the race to unload begins.

Primo,
how's it going?

Perfect.

We have a lot
to organize.

(Teddy)
at two thousand and ninety
one meters above sea level,

Primo relies on the rail
line for his livelihood.

Danke.

(Teddy)
there are no
roads up here are there?

No roads up here,
the any way to come to

Alp grum is by train.

(Teddy)
while primo's staff serve

The passngers from our train,
patricia and reto try to

Find out why the
bathroom has lost power.

Before he became a driver,
reto trained as a mechanic

So he checks the
cables on the motorcar.

Now he's
fixing the tube.

Yeah.

(Teddy)
turns out one is loose.

Right, thank you very much.

Fingers crossed
that does the trick.

(Teddy)
and in the meantime

I get a special
swiss treat.

It's called röteli,
it's a liquor with cherry.

It's quite sweet.

Whoa,
that's a pour.

The wind makes it
more difficult though.

Alright, bottoms up.

Whoooo, it's
nice it's strong.

Thank you.

(Teddy)
we depart alp grum.

Everything seems like
it's back on track.

Looks very good,
works again, yay.

All the problems are away.

(Teddy)
as we leave the mountains
behind, the snow melts

Away and the
valleys open up.

(Teddy)
so usually things
go smoothly but there's

Little issues like
that sometimes, right?

Ya, it can be
but it's not often.

Ya.

Just because you are here.

I think everybody is happy
because today is a great day.

The sun is shining.

(Teddy)
but further down the line.

You see this
whole part here?

(Teddy)
rock faces are teetering

On the edge of disaster.

♪ ♪ ♪

(Teddy)
we've crested the bernina pass

On the highest adhesion
railway crossing in europe.

It's all down hill from
here as we leave the alps

Behind and descend into charming
villages set in swiss valleys.

Does taking this train
and working on it

Make you proud of
your own country?

Of course.

I think this is one of
the most impressive lines.

(Teddy) we're coming up on a
hamlet of less than four
thousand people.

I've jumped off the train
to get a bit of fresh air.

This is poschiavo.

We're still in switzerland
but this is a dominantly

Italian speaking town and
italian speaking par
t of the country.

And as you can see, I've
ditched my winter coat.

It's spring like
weather here.

The climate has changed
a lot from just recently

When we were up in the
snow and mountains.

It's beautiful.

(Teddy)
soon we're rolling again.

And in good hands with our
new driver gion behind
the wheel.

I'm a driver for the rhatische
bahn for almost forty years now.

You're out in the open but
still you get to work with

Technical equipment,
and I like that.

(Teddy)
heading south,

We glide along the
shores of lake poschiavo.

We may have left the
threat of avalanches behind us

But danger is just around
the corner near brusio.

And we had around thirty
to forty thousand cubic

Meters of rock
coming down.

None of it hit the train
but it did close the

Line for almost
three months.

(Teddy)
did that completely
destroy the train tracks?

Yes ya, the track was destroyed
on a length of around three
hundred meters.

(Teddy)
ralph was instrumental moving

The tracks further from
the slope and rebuilding

As quickly as possible.

Like 50 meters or so
towards the valley we did

It in short time, one hundred
and eleven days exactly.

(Teddy)
to stop this from
happening again, ralph

Scouts the line to
identify high risk areas.

(ralph)
we calculate
the risk we have.

And we did that for every
hundred meter for rock falls,

For water and mud
flow and for landslides.

(Teddy) stone walls have been
installed right beside the
tracks

In unstable areas
to prevent landslides.

On this whole part here,
we put up some nets as well.

(Teddy)
strong but flexible metal nets

Are installed in high risk
areas near the tracks so

They'll trap any
rock that breaks off.

The security of our
passengers is most important.

(Teddy)
ralph and his team keep

The bernina express
protected and rolling.

(Teddy)
just south of brusio

Is the landmark
of the bernina line.

Here, the track needed to
drop lower than the steep

Grade of 7 percent
would allow.

But tunneling the unstable
rock in the mountain

Wasn't going to work.

So engineers built a 110 meter
spiral wonder on the valley
floor.

Right now we're
on the brusio viaduct.

I've been really,
really excited to see this.

It's a single track
overpass with nine arches

But the cool thing is,
as you can see,

It does a full three hundred
and sixty degree curve.

A full circle.

And it does this to
allow the train to go

Up and down a major slope.

(Teddy)
after the viaduct
we keep rolling south

Through the small swiss towns
of campascio and campocologno.

Right now we're in
switzerland but in just

A few seconds we're actually
going to be in Italy.

It's one of the really
amazing things about this train.

You get to visit two
countries in one trip.

Now we are in Italy.

After the border,
our journey takes

An unusual turn.

Our mountain train
becomes a city streetcar.

So we've just
come into tirano.

The buildings are very
close by the train and as

You can see there's
the street right there,

Pedestrians and cars can
come very close to the train.

Especially in the summer time,
during the holiday season

There is a
lot of traffic here, yes.

You've got to be careful.

That's the cathedral
of tirano right there,

The main town square.

And it's really
interesting to have

The train going
right down the street.

As long as there are
no accidents and no one

Gets hurt, it's also fun.

So there's the announcement
right now that the trip's almost
over.

I've had a great time.

How's it been for you?

It was a great
day at my favourite line,

My favourite train,
so what I want more?

It's been a remarkable
journey through the alps.

Seeing first hand how
machine mastered the mountains.

And with painstaking swiss
precision, it comes to

An end right on time.

Well, this is tirano station
and the end of the line for

The bernina express.

It was really fascinating
to go through so many

Climates and altitudes
in just a few hours.

And of course to cross
over the highest railway

Crossing in the alps.

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪