Doors slam and we’re off. From the valley station, it takes eight minutes to ride to the top - a vast improvement on the early days when it took 25 minutes. It was an engineer from Basel called Jos Englert who convinced a banker from the same city to stump up the cash. Englert reckoned the project would take a year to complete and cost CHF80,000.

Ernst Meili, former director of the funicular says Englert underestimated the technical difficulties. It took twice as long to build as planned and costs ran 50 per cent over budget. The railway was plagued by losses from the start. Within four years of opening, it had to seek fresh capital. It wasn’t until the railway was taken over by the Celerina cable car company that it became financially secure. 

The railway carries 280,000 people up and down each year. A return fare for adults costs CHF27. When it opened, the trip cost CHF4. That was a lot of money for the time but the clientele, which included nobility from Germany and Russia, was well heeled.

Dieter Bogner is head of marketing at the Upper Engadine lift companies association. He says Muottas Muragl is unique because all the other cars in the area generate more than 90 per cent of their revenue during the winter months. 

BOGNER: We generate about 50 per cent of the revenue of Muottas Muragl during summertime, because it is one of the nicest viewpoints in the Engadine, seeing the lakes and the whole size of the valley.”

The ride passes through a forest of tall trees, so it’s not until you’ve reached the mountain station at 2,500 metres that you get the views: the lake plateau from St Moritz to Maloja, framed by the backdrop of mountain peaks. To the left are the glaciers of the Bernina range.