A railway which has used renewable energy for 100 years is celebrating its centenary in 2010.

The hydro-electric plant at Valposchiavo has always provided the 1,000 volts DC electricity to power trains on the Bernina line in Switzerland.

The 37-mile long line from Tirano to St Moritz has 196 bridges and viaducts and 55 tunnels and cuttings as it traverses spectacular landscapes. It is recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site.

It includes a spiral at Brusio and rises to a summit of 2,253 metres, near the Piz Bernina, the highest mountain in the Eastern Alps.

The 700,000 tourists a year include many Japanese.

Special trains organised by the Rhaetian Railway in 2010 include a Crocodile locomotive hauling a classic Pullman train on several days.

Rhaetian Railway information