Lötschberger (Switzerland)

Lötschberger is the name of a service rather than a train - these trains have the Lötschberger branding because this the only service to travel the length of the highly scenic Lötschberg Railway - which used to be the route taken by express trains between Switzerland and Italy.

The express trains have been diverted away into the Lötschberg Base Tunnel, but these Lötschberger services still travel via Kandersteg.
A route that is so fabulous it merited inclusion on the list of Switzerland's fifteen most beautiful train journeys.

These trains are operate by BLS, it and SBB are the two principle operators of mainline trains in Switzerland - but SBB sells tickets for journeys by BLS trains.

There's nothing special about the trains themselves, apart from the Lötschberger branding on their exteriors, they're little different to the trains which BLS uses for its commuter services.
What makes a journey by these trains worth taking is the incredible scenery that they pass through - sit on the left when travelling from Brig and on the right when heading south from Spiez.

The trains typically depart hourly and no special tickets are required - and users of Swiss Passes, Saver Day Passes and valid Eurail and InterRail passes can hop on board.
When travelling between Milan and Switzerland making connections to and from the Lötschberger trains in Domodossola and Bern not only avoids the rail pass reservation fees on the cross-border EC trains, it's also a much more spectacular travel experience.

When ShowMeTheJourney most recently travelled on the Lötschberger trains, the journey taken was north from Brig - hence the videos being taken from a train travelling in that direction.

The wow moment occurs immediately to the north of Brig station, as the railway ascends / descends from the location of the original Lötschberger tunnel - which is the highest point on the Swiss rail network.

Within a minute of departing Brig the route taken by the Lötschberger trains climbs away from the railway which connects Brig with Visp.

Over on the left when heading north, you can look down over the town and see the other trains which don't attain such dizzying heights.

A few minutes later you can look down over the town of Visp and into the valley taken by the trains that head to and from Zermatt

Then north of Kandersteg the railway twists and turns through a stunning landscape.

Though spectacular Lake Thun is on the other side of the tracks to the views north of Brig, so before or after the train calls in Speiz station, you'll need to swap from one side of the train to the other to take in all of the spectacular views.

Between Spiez and Thun there are views to be enjoyed over the lake.