At Alpnachstad, the Pilatus Railway connects with steamers on Lake Lucerne and with trains on the Brünigbahn line of Zentralbahn.

[1] The first project to build the line was proposed in 1873,[2] suggesting a 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and 25% maximal gradient.

Eduard Locher, an engineer with great practical experience, proposed an alternative project with the maximum grade increased to 48%, cutting the distance in half.

This design eliminated the possibility of the cogwheels climbing out of the rack, and prevented the car from toppling over, even under severe crosswinds common in the area.

Construction began in March 1886, and it took four hundred working days during the summer months of three years to complete.

The first year the line counted 35,000 passengers, by 1901 a million had travelled on top of the Pilatus by rail.