Also called Interlaken East, Interlaken Ost Train Station is one of Interlaken’s two main stations, along with West bahnhof. Intercity trains from the direction of Bern, Thun and Spiez stop first at the West station and then at the East station as their final stop. The distance between the two is not too great and the center of Interlaken is easy to reach. So it doesn’t matter too much where you get off, but to be on the safe side, check the exact location of your accommodation.
As already mentioned, Interlaken Ost is the final stop for Intercity trains coming from Bern. On the other side, there are connections to the trains to Brienz and over the Brünig pass to Lucerne.
The eastern station is most important because it is the starting point of the Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB), which takes tourists comfortably to the world-famous Jungfrau region and the Jungfraujoch.
Accessing Interlaken Ost from other cities in Switzerland:
As the terminus of the Intercity route Basel – Olten- Bern – Thun – Spiez, you can reach Interlaken Ost from all these cities without changing trains.
If you want to reach Interlaken from Geneva, Lausanne or Zurich and Zurich Airport, you have to change trains in Bern. Travelers from Visp and Brig in the Valais have to change trains in Spiez.
In addition to these Intercity connections, Interlaken Ost is also accessible from Brienz and Lucerne thanks to the Lucerne-Interlaken Express Line (ZB train). This section is also the easternmost part of the Golden Pass Route, a panoramic train route connecting Lucerne with Mountreux through the Alps.
Interlaken to Grindelwald or Lauterbrunnen by train:
Traveling between Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen and Interlaken Ost is a breeze, thanks to the two villages’ proximity.
The Bernese Oberland Railway (BOB) runs trains on two routes that originate and terminate at the Interlaken Ost station.
Actually, the two trains are still connected in Interlaken Ost and travel together to Wilderswill. There, the two parts are then separated and travel separately to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen respectively.
Interlaken to Jungfraujoch by Train
For a visit from Interlaken to the Jungfraujoch, Interlaken Ost is the starting point for the journey.
- The journey begins with the Bernese Oberland Bahn (BOB) to either Lauterbrunnen or Grindelwald.
- There you change to the WAB which takes you up to Kleine Scheidegg.
- From here, the last leg of this spectacular panoramic journey begins, with the Jungfrau Railway, which takes you to the highest railway station in Europe, the Jungfraujoch.
Interlaken Ost to Harderbahn
When visiting Interlaken, a trip to the home mountain, the Harder, is well worthwhile. The Harder Kulm funicular is located in the immediate vicinity of the Interlaken Ost railway station. It takes just about 5 minutes to walk to the other side of the Aare where the valley station of the Harderbahn is located.
Interlaken Ost or West?
This might be confusing for some people, but there are two stations in Interlaken. They are:
- The West station
- Interlaken Ost Train Station
For all Intercity trains from Bern, Thun, Spiez, Interlaken Ost is the terminus. From here, the train travels in the opposite direction. All trains stop first at Westbahnhof on the way to Interlaken as well as on the return journey.
The distance between the two stations is just about 2 km and can be walked in a stroll of about 10 minutes. The distance to the center is about the same from both stations and as most accommodations are somewhere in the middle, it doesn’t matter too much where you get off.
To be on the safe side, you should check the exact location of your accommodation to see if one station is much closer than the other.
Summary & Final Thoughts
The Interlaken Ost railway station is a central hub for travelers who want to discover Interlaken and the surrounding towns by train. Not only connections to the Intercity trains to reach Interlaken, also connections to the Jungfrau region and the Jungfraujoch are available at Bahnhof Ost. The funicular on the Harder or the harbor for the passenger ships on Lake Brienz are also in the immediate vicinity of the Interlaken Ost train station.
