Located in the Swiss Alps, the Jungfraujoch train station is the highest in Europe. It offers expansive views from its platforms, with visitors welcomed by restaurants and a geological station, and now with an ETC Selador Desire LED lighting experience.
Up to 5,000 people from around the world visit Jungfraujoch per day. The streams of people can now explore six special attraction areas as part of a new museum-like exhibition. Named Alpine Sensation, the new attraction creates a 250m-long round ‘experience subway’, with dynamic exhibitions including: A Longing for the Mountains and Construction of the Jungfrau Railway.
Communications company Steiner Sarnen AG, which developed and implemented the project, created a two-minute 16-second light, sound and automation show for each area, including projections that bring a giant snow dome to life.
The primary technical challenge for lighting designer Serge Schmuki of lighting company Tokyo Blue was the site’s low air pressure at such an altitude. “Few lighting manufacturers give any kind of warranty for use over 2,000m,” he says. “That’s because normal incandescent lamps rely on pressure at sea level. So high up, they simply crumble. That’s why I decided from the outset to use a solid state lighting system.”
Schmuki found the solution in ETC’s Selador Desire D40XT Studio HDs, also highlighting the fixtures’ ability to seamlessly change colour temperature to affect the mood of the lighting, and specifying them for several areas including the mural, the karst formation cave, and the entrance to the ice cave.
The unique surroundings also meant that any lighting fixtures had to be able to acclimate to the Alpine surroundings. The IP66 rating on the Desire XT fixtures certifies that they are both water and dust tight. At Jungfraujoch station these lights operate in HSIC mode, which grants control over hue and saturation, as well as allowing adjustments to be made to the colour temperature in both white light and when colour mixing.
Jürg Bichsel from installation company Stageparts states: “The rugged outdoor lights were factory rebuilt for our specific requirements. Both ETC as the manufacturer and the Swiss importer ECM quickly implemented our special requests and even delivered overnight.”
The Alpine Sensation is open year round, and, for the 100th anniversary of the Jungfrau Railway, special excursions are on offer.
