The steepest railway on Earth

Since 1889 the Pilatusbahn has climbed from Alpnachstad to Pilatus Kulm at gradients of up to 48 percent - still the steepest cogwheel railway in the world, and the single best reason to route your Pilatus day through the Alpnachstad side of the mountain.

The ride

The red cars take about 30 minutes up and 40 minutes down, climbing 1,635 vertical metres from the lakeside at Alpnachstad (reachable from Lucerne by a 20-minute S-Bahn ride or a 70-to-90-minute boat). The engineering is the show: engineer Eduard Locher rejected the standard vertical cog because at this angle the wheel could climb out of the rack, and designed horizontal gear wheels gripping both sides of the rail instead. Sit facing downhill for the full vertigo of the lake dropping away; the prettiest stretch is the flower meadows and rock galleries above Ämsigen.

Season, times and 2026 prices

The railway runs 11 May to 29 November 2026, every 35 minutes. A return from Alpnachstad is CHF 84 (CHF 42 with a Swiss Travel Pass, Half Fare Card, GA, Eurail or Interrail; children 6 to 15.99 half price). Most visitors ride it as one leg of a loop rather than up and down the same track: the Golden Round Trip pairs it with the lake boat, the Silver version with the train, both descending the other flank by the Dragon Ride cableway and panorama gondolas. The Viator packages bundle those loops from about $117 with free cancellation to 24 hours.

Seat reservations: the fine print

A ticket alone does not put you on a specific departure. Cogwheel seat reservations are a separate step on top of any ticket, official or packaged; they are free to move up to 30 minutes before departure, impossible to refund, and on sunny summer days the good slots go by mid-morning. Book one the moment your ticket is confirmed. Outside the railway’s season the summit stays reachable via the Kriens cableways most of the year - see plan your visit for the 2026 maintenance windows.