THE PININFARINA-DESIGNED WONDER TRAIN
As of next year, 4 million tourists a year will be able to enjoy the views on the borders of the Vaud and Bernese Alps from on board the new trains redesigned by Pininfarina for the MOB (Montreux Oberland Bernese) railway company.
The Goldenpass Express, which will go into service on 13 December 2020, is a dream come true. It will connect three of Switzerland’s main tourist destinations: Montreux, Gstaad and Interlaken, boosting the attractiveness of these resorts. A challenge made possible by a revolutionary variable gauge bogie that will make it possible to switch in just a few seconds from narrow gauge (1m from Montreux to Zweisimmen) to standard (1.43m from Zweisimmen to Interlaken), meaning that travellers won’t have to change trains at Zweisimmen station. With the Goldenpass Express, the future flagship of its fleet, MOB expects to accommodate an extra 1.5 million passengers a year.
“With the Goldenpass Express we are facing a spectacular technological challenge, shifting from narrow gauge to standard gauge. We also wanted this tourist train to be beautiful and elegant. That’s why we assigned the task to Pininfarina, one of the most prestigious design companies in the world”, says Georges Oberson, General Manager of MOB.
