A red panoramic train curving through a green Alpine valley beneath snow-covered peaks

Scenic rail · Alps · Coast · Forest

Travel at the speed of the landscape.

Northbound runs panoramic trains on the routes flights fly over — glacier crossings, coastal lines and forest night trains, booked in one place with every stop on the map.

12scenic routes in the timetable

196bridges across the Albula–Bernina lines

55tunnels carved through the Alps

0airport queues, middle seats, or baggage carousels

Journeys worth the long way round

Four signature routes, each built around the view. Filter by the landscape you want to wake up in.

Panoramic train rounding a bend below glaciated Alpine peaks

FeaturedAlpineFull day

The Glacier Crossing

The flagship run: eight hours between two valley towns, over the highest rail pass in the range and past three glaciers close enough to hear them crack. Lunch is served in the dining car as the line climbs.

Duration 8 h 04Distance 291 kmHighest point 2,253 m

from $189 See departures →

A long red train crossing a high Alpine valley in autumn light

AlpineHalf day

Bernina Line

Palm trees to glaciers in four hours. The line loops over the Brusio spiral viaduct and climbs its 7% gradient without a single rack rail.

4 h 12144 km

from $96Departures →

A coastal train running along cliffs above a turquoise sea

CoastFull day

Coastal Pacific

Six hours with the ocean on one side and the ranges on the other — seal colonies, river mouths, and a shoreline road that gives up and turns inland.

5 h 48348 km

from $124Departures →

A train passing through dense green forest

ForestNight train

The Forest Night Train

Board at dusk, dine as the pines close in, and sleep through the deep forest. You wake at the lake town terminus with breakfast already on.

11 h 30Overnight

from $142Departures →

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Daily departures

One timetable, no codeshares or connections to decode. Every train below runs daily.

JourneyDepartsArrivesDuration

The Glacier Crossingvia the Oberalp Pass08:5216:568 h 04Cabins →

Bernina Linevia the Brusio spiral viaduct09:1713:294 h 12Cabins →

Coastal Pacificvia the Kaikōura coast07:0412:525 h 48Cabins →

The Forest Night Trainsleeper service, dinner included21:4009:1011 h 30Cabins →

Inside a panoramic observation car with armchairs facing wide windows

Built around the window, not the aisle.

Every Northbound train is specified for looking out of: raised seating, glass that wraps into the roofline, and a timetable that slows down where the view earns it.

01
Observation carSwivel armchairs and a wraparound glass dome on every departure, open to all cabins.
02
Dining carRegional menus matched to the line — glacier-water trout in the Alps, coastal catch on the Pacific run.
03
Quiet carNo calls, no announcements, lights dimmed after 22:00 on night services.
04
Route commentaryA printed field guide per seat and live position on the carriage screens — no app download needed.

Three ways to ride

Same train, same view. Pick how much of it you want to sleep through.

Vista Seat

$96 from, per person

Panoramic window seat, extra legroom
Observation and dining car access
Printed route field guide
One checked bag included

Questions first

Roomette

$210 from, per person

Private cabin converting to a bed
Dinner and breakfast included
Priority observation car seating
Two checked bags included

Choose a journey

Panorama Suite

$390 from, per person

Corner suite with wrap-around glass
All meals and drinks included
En-suite shower and lounge access
Flexible date changes, free

Questions first

From the journal

Field notes from the lines — engineering, history, and what to watch for at kilometre 214.

OCT 2026

How do you build a railway over a glacier?

The Oberalp section sits on ground that moves a metre a year. The engineers' answer involves bridges designed to be re-levelled, not rebuilt.

8 min read SEP 2026

The viaduct that curves into a tunnel

On the Albula Line, the most photographed bridge in the Alps ends mid-air — inside a cliff. A short history of the Landwasser Viaduct.

6 min read AUG 2026

A field guide to watching the coast go by

Seal colonies at kilometre 96, the river mouth at 141, and the exact bend where the ranges first appear. Tear-out notes for the Coastal Pacific.

5 min read

Before you book

No. The observation car is open to every cabin on a first-come basis, and Roomette and Suite passengers can reserve a two-hour window at no charge when they book.

Alpine services carry a weather guarantee: if the line closes, you choose between the next day's departure with a hotel night included, or a full refund. No rebooking fees either way.

Yes — every ticket allows one stopover of up to 48 hours at any intermediate station on the route, at no extra fare. Add it when you book or at the station ticket office.

There is Wi-Fi in stations and the dining car, but the high sections of the Alpine lines have no signal at all — which most passengers end up counting as a feature. Download the field guide before you board.

The window seat is the destination.

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