Public transport borderline: The East

Today my project takes me to the Engadin. Vinadi (German: vineyard) is the easternmost village in the canton of Graubünden and also the lowest located place in the Engadin. The namesake post bus station is the easternmost of the Swiss public transport network.

Historically, Vinadi was an important border and customs point in the 19th century. Today, the hamlet located directly on the Inn belongs to the district of Martina in the municipality of Valsot. Until 1815, Vinadi marked the border of the Old Confederation. It was only in 1848 that the official Swiss customs and border post was relocated to the nearby Martina (Martinsbrug). However, the left bank of the Inn remained Swiss territory up to Vinadi. The German name “Weinberg” is misleading, as there were never vineyards there. It instead derives from a linguistic reinterpretation of the older term “wimberg” for a local spring.

Enough of this useless knowledge. First, one has to get there. The train rolls charmingly along the banks of Lake Walensee. I have the entire upper deck to myself and can enjoy the coolness and tranquility. From Landquart, two train sections with different destinations continue on via Klosters. This elicits exciting reactions from inexperienced travelers, ranging from confused “Huh?” to frantic compartment changes. In Klosters, the trains are separated. Up until then, all passengers are well sorted and can continue their journey to their destination.

Coming from a heat- and drought-stricken rest of Switzerland, I now marvel at the lush green meadows, forests in summer splendor, and bubbling springs in 'Prettygau.' This is truly a treat, after we have been running the bare minimum at home for weeks.

We chug along the Vereina line to Scuol-Tarasp, the easternmost station of the RhB network. The Vereina tunnel is the longest meter-gauge tunnel in the world at 19 km. Alongside all the fantastic engineering marvels, this is another railway record that fills the sons and daughters of the Swiss railways with pride.

In Scuol, summer camps of the schools from Kriens are also regularly held. I was also lucky once to experience this. Luckily, there were no mobile phones back then. Therefore, we cover my heroic deeds with the merciful mantle of silence.

Vinadi itself is quickly explored: an abandoned customs station, a rundown Ustaria, and a decommissioned Pinzgauer - c'est tout! A veritable lost place. So, I searched for a shadowy spot, conjured up a picnic from my backpack, and there you have a first-class meal. My thoughts drift back 40 years to the half adventurous exploits we had with the 4li4-Pinzgauer. A legendary vehicle - still in military action today in the Ukraine.

The return journey unfolds in a typically Swiss unremarkable manner. All connections work, all trains have space, are clean and air-conditioned. Only the transfers feel like visits to a convection oven. SBB, there is still room for improvement!