Clients can enjoy some of the country’s most iconic rail journeys through Byway’s ‘Swisstainable’ range. The specialist will arrange and financially protect all travel and accommodation from train stations anywhere in the UK. All trips include on-demand WhatsApp support throughout and free replanning if disruption or strikes affect travel.
Byway launched the range after an increase in requests from clients for Switzerland, and anticipates the destination will be among its “six trending destinations of 2023.” Founder and chief executive Cat Jones explained: “At Byway, Swiss holiday enquiries include requests for specific scenic routes a third of the time, which doesn’t happen with any other European country. When beautiful rail routes like the Rhaetian Railway trend on TikTok or feature on TV, we get an influx of enquiries. Rightly so!”
On the Rhaetian Railway travellers ride in panoramic carriages and open-top trains on the Unesco World Heritage-listed line over the Bernina Pass. It includes 196 bridges, 55 tunnels and mountain glaciers at 2,253m above sea level.
On the Glacier Express the train weaves through glacial canyons and valleys and over viaducts on one of the slowest and most scenic express train journeys in the world, including the 2044 metre-high Oberalp Pass.
Switzerland Tourism launched its Swisstainable sustainable tourism campaign in 2022, highlighting the ways in which Switzerland is leading in sustainable travel. Swiss Federal Railways generates 90% of its electricity from hydropower; Staubern cableway (the world’s first battery-powered cableway), runs exclusively on solar; Interlaken’s e-bus relies entirely on renewable energy; and Zermatt, home to the Matterhorn, is completely car-free and only accessible by train or foot.
Byway cites research that found a return train journey from London to Zurich generates 36kg of CO2 compared to 242kg when flying.
