The Glacier Express connects Zermatt to St. Moritz across the Swiss Alps in an eight-hour run, and this film rides along to show how a train manages that route at all. Cameras follow the line from the base of the Matterhorn through the Rhone valley, into the Furka Tunnel, over the Oberalp Pass, through the Rhine gorge, and across the Landwasser Viaduct, one of the route's signature stone bridges. Engineers and rail staff explain the cogwheel and adhesion systems that let the train climb grades ordinary track can't handle, along with the maintenance work needed to keep a century-old line running through snow, rockslides, and constant temperature swings. The film treats the train itself as the main character, tracing its history from the original steam-era construction to the diesel and electric traction systems running today. Aerial shots of the viaducts and tunnels sit alongside footage from the driver's cab, giving a sense of both the scenery and the engineering problem the builders were solving.