[2] As St. Moritz and Zermatt are home to two well-known mountains, the Glacier Express is also said to travel from Matterhorn to Piz Bernina.

From Chur, the capital of the canton of Graubünden, the Glacier Express regains altitude, stopping at Filisur — where travelers can change for a connecting train to reach Davos to the east — and then traverses the Albula Range via a tunnel at 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) to reach the resort St. Moritz in a valley to the south.

The completion of the final portion of the FO in 1926 opened up the cantons of Valais and Graubünden to further tourist development.

Initially, the train was made up of first to third class salon and passenger coaches, supplied by all three of the participating railway companies.

That changed in 1941-1942, when overhead catenary was installed on the FO, enabling completely electric operation for the full length of the route.

Between the 1950s and the 1970s, both the BVZ and the RhB introduced new locomotive classes that, when attached to the Glacier Express, enabled reductions in schedule times.

[2][3] At that time, the BVZ, FO and RhB took the opportunity to relaunch the Glacier Express as a tourist attraction.

A special promotional wine glass on a sloping base emphasised the steepness of some parts of the route.

Between 1986 and 1993, the BVZ and the FO invested nearly 40 million Swiss francs in constructing 18 new first class panorama cars for the train.

In 2013, the direct service to Davos was discontinued because of decreasing passenger numbers and unfavourable economic circumstances.

[4] On 23 July 2010, a Glacier Express train derailed near Fiesch on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn line.

[6] Shortly after leaving St. Moritz station (1,775 m or 5,823 ft) in Graubünden, the train passes Samedan and Bever on the high Engadin plateau.

Between these two villages, the train has to go through many spirals because of the high difference of altitude within a short distance (400 m [1,300 ft] for 5 km [3.1 mi]).