Country music star names luxury Swiss train; Meet Shania Train

What does an artist with five Grammy Awards and two World Music Awards need to complete her list of achievements? A high-tech Swiss train named after her, of course.

The new Golden Pass Express train, which runs from Montreux on Lake Geneva to Interlaken in central Switzerland, has been named the Shania Train as a tribute to Canadian country music star Shania Twain.

Twain has lived on Lake Geneva for 10 years, and a spokesman for the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway said in a press release: “The Canadian singer is the godmother of the Shania Train.”

Twain spoke of her “honor” on Twitter after she attended the opening ceremony in December, tweeting, “All aboard the Shania train to Twain City.”

The new train – the first non-stop service on the route – had to overcome some heavy hurdles.

First, the platforms at each station are at different heights, making entry and exit potentially dangerous. But now, thanks to the trucks underneath each car, the new train’s body can adjust to the height of the platform by moving up or down by 200 millimeters.

The engineers’ other major challenge was finding a way to allow the train to run on the two different track gauges. The solution? Wheels that can be adjusted to different widths while the train is in motion.

So where previously passengers on the route had to change trains twice, they can now enjoy their three-hour journey through the Swiss Alps undisturbed.

The new train follows the Golden Pass trade route, which has existed since the Middle Ages, starting from the shores of Lake Geneva before entering the Hongrin valley – famous for its dairy cows, cheese and chocolate. It ends in the resort town of Interlaken.

Currently, the service runs once a day in either direction, but starting June 11, it will increase to four daily round trips.