The Brienzer Rothorn is the highest viewpoint above Lake Brienz and the only mountain on this site you reach behind a steam locomotive. Its summit stands at 2,348 metres according to the Swiss federal height service, and it is the point where three cantons — Bern, Lucerne and Obwalden — meet. This page leads with the thing most rail-pass itineraries get wrong here, because it is the one that costs money.
Quick Facts
- Getting There
- 91 min from Interlaken Ost, one change at Brienz
- Duration
- Full day
- Price
- CHF 98.00
- Season
- 6 June to 25 October 2026
- Best for
- Views, railways, a full day
Journey time checked
The operator answers the pass question differently in German and in English
The Swiss Travel Pass does buy you the half fare here — but only according to one of the operator's two language versions. Its English pages name the pass four times, its German ones not once, and every occurrence sits exactly where the German says «GA» or «FIP-Ausweis»:
- The half-fare column heading — «1/2 = Prices with Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass» in English, «1/2 = Preise mit Halbtaxabo oder Generalabo GA» in German.
- The list of accepted passes — «Holders of a Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass receive a 50% discount» in English, «Inhaber vom Halbtax, GA oder dem FIP-Ausweis erhalten 50% Vergünstigung» in German.
- The Brienz guest card and the Bernese Oberland camping card — «10% off the Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass fare» in English, 10 % off the Half Fare fare in German.
Both versions agree on everything else: a free ticket for the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, the Lucerne Travel Pass, the red VöV card, the FVP Touristik supplementary card, the SBB companion card and for anyone travelling on their birthday. A return trip at full fare is CHF 98.00, the half fare CHF 49.00, and CHF 31.50 rather than CHF 63.00 one way. Amounts checked with the operator on 22 August 2026.
What that means for you — and what we are not claiming: reckon on CHF 49.00 rather than CHF 98.00, and ask before you buy. We are not claiming that the English version is the binding one, nor that the German one excludes the pass — it simply does not name it. A contradiction between two versions by the same operator is not a promise, but it is not nothing either: arriving with a Swiss Travel Pass, you have something in writing to point at. The passes that travel free in both versions are the Bernese Oberland Pass and the Lucerne Travel Pass — for this region, those remain the most useful answer.
And one amount that appears in no fare comparison: the seat guarantee costs CHF 8.00 extra when bought in advance in the webshop or at the counter. On an hour-long climb with limited capacity, that is a real decision rather than a technicality.
Getting there: 91 minutes, 55 of them on the mountain
17 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost to Brienz, direct and without a change, then 55 minutes on the Brienz Rothorn Railway up to the summit station. With the connection at Brienz that is 91 minutes from Interlaken Ost to the top — 9.04 to 10.35, to name a real departure.
Those times come from the Swiss timetable, not from the operator, which publishes the duration of its own climb on neither its fare page nor its home page; we looked in both places. Anyone reading only the operator's site will not learn that the ascent alone takes the better part of an hour — which is exactly where a half-day plan falls apart. Budget a full day: three hours of travelling before you have spent a single minute at the top.
The steam locomotive is the reason — and not a promise
This is the only steam rack railway in Switzerland still carrying passengers to a timetable. That is the difference between this mountain and every other one on this site: you are buying a journey rather than a view.
But it is not guaranteed. The operator writes on its own timetable page: «In the event of high passenger numbers or technical failure of a steam locomotive, diesel locomotives may be used for passenger services.» That is a fair disclosure, and it belongs before the purchase rather than after it: on a busy August day you may well ride behind a diesel.
When it runs
The operator gives 6 June to 25 October for 2026. Outside that span it does not run, which makes the Rothorn no winter destination from the Brienz side — unlike Harder Kulm, whose railway runs into November.
A limit of that answer, stated openly: the summit has a second approach from the Lucerne side via Sörenberg — which is why the Sörenberg tourist board ranks high in Google's results for this mountain. We did not check that second railway at source, so we claim neither that it runs in winter nor that it does not.
Is it worth it for me?
Probably yes if you like railways — then the ride is the destination and there is no second one like it in the country. Also if you have a full day, already plan to see Lake Brienz, and want a summit emptier than the famous names of the Jungfrau region.
Probably not if what you want is the view over the lake rather than the steam. Harder Kulm gives you the lake and the peaks for a fraction of the money, twenty minutes from Interlaken, where the Rothorn takes an hour and a half and CHF 98.00. And not if your day is tight: a half day does not fit here.
Timetable and fares at the Brienz Rothorn Railway
Where it is
The summit rises above the northern shore of Lake Brienz; the coordinate and the altitude come from the Swiss federal gazetteer and height service, queried on 8 August 2026. The federal register lists the point as «Hauptgipfel Brienzer Rothorn (BE)» at 2,348 m — and, within a few dozen metres, three further entries of the same name carrying the cantonal codes LU and OW. That is not an error in the register but the geography: Bern, Lucerne and Obwalden meet on this summit, and each canton keeps its own point.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Brienzer Rothorn covered by the Swiss Travel Pass?
Not free — but at half fare, at least according to the operator's English version. That version names the Swiss Travel Pass four times, the German one not once, and every occurrence sits where the German says «GA» or «FIP-Ausweis»: «1/2 = Prices with Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass» against «1/2 = Preise mit Halbtaxabo oder Generalabo GA», and «Holders of a Half Fare Card or Swiss Travel Pass receive a 50% discount» against «Inhaber vom Halbtax, GA oder dem FIP-Ausweis erhalten 50% Vergünstigung». We do not resolve that contradiction: reckon on CHF 49.00 rather than CHF 98.00, and ask before you buy. What travels free in both versions is the Bernese Oberland Regional Pass, the Lucerne Travel Pass, the red VöV card, the FVP supplementary card and the SBB companion card.
How long does the rack railway take?
55 minutes from Brienz up to the summit station, plus 17 minutes by train from Interlaken Ost to Brienz — 91 minutes door to door including the connection. Those figures come from the Swiss timetable, not from the operator: it publishes the duration of its own climb on neither its fare page nor its home page, both of which we checked.
What does it cost?
CHF 98.00 return for an adult at full fare, CHF 63.00 one way. At the half fare it is CHF 49.00 return and CHF 31.50 one way. A seat guarantee costs CHF 8.00 extra when you buy in advance in the webshop or at the counter. All amounts checked with the operator on 22 August 2026.
Is it really a steam train?
Usually, and that is the reason to go: it is the only steam rack railway in Switzerland still carrying passengers to a timetable. But it is not guaranteed. The operator states on its own timetable page: «In the event of high passenger numbers or technical failure of a steam locomotive, diesel locomotives may be used for passenger services.» Worth knowing before you spend CHF 98.00 specifically for the steam.
When does it run?
The operator gives 6 June to 25 October for 2026. Outside that span it does not run, so from Brienz this is not a winter destination. There is a second approach to the same summit from the Lucerne side via Sörenberg, which we did not check at source — so we claim nothing about it either way.
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