Pininfarina, the Italian company famous throughout the world for automotive and industrial design, is designing a new train, called Goldenpass Express, for the Montreux Oberland Bernese railway company (Mob). From December 2020, the new jewel is expected to take over 1.5 million tourists around Switzerland allowing them to immerse themselves in the panoramas on the borders of the Vaud and Bernese Alps.
The new train will connect the three main tourist attractions of Switzerland – Montreux, Gstaad, and Interlaken – with revolutionary technology, thanks to which passengers will not have to change trains at Zweisimmen station. In fact, a variable gauge system allows the Goldenpass Express to keep on going when the track gauge goes from 1m to 1.43m. The designers are giving the maximum attention to both the new safety standards and the passengers’ comfort. Thus, in addition to changing the mechanics at the head of the train, a floor-to-ceiling window will allow travelers a full view of the landscapes while avoiding reflections or reverberations on the photos taken from inside the train. Pininfarina engraved a near-invisible pattern to reduce reflections and also set up the lighting to reduce reflections on the windows.
Alfredo Palma, Pininfarina Design Project Manager, explained: “H_aving to deal with new safety standards has been a stimulus to our creativity, rather than a limitation.’_ Adding,‘In every project, whether it is automotive, transportation or architecture, our goal is to create beautiful objects while overcoming technical or regulatory obstacles. With Mob, we created a train that offers an immersive travel experience, in total symbiosis with the beauty of the surrounding nature.”