indiancouple

We will be in Switzerland for 8 days in early August, and will be using the Swiss Pass for moving around. On going through the sbb.ch schedules, we find that reservations on trains are possible/advisable on 3 of our sectors:
1. Luzern - Interlaken (Panorama coach): reservations possible
2. Interlaken - Zurich: reservations possible on Thun-Zurich portion
3. Zurich - Salzburg: reservation advised.
Is it necessary to book reservations well in advance, or is 3-5 days advance booking OK (in which case we can do it after we arrive). Incidentally, we are travelling 2nd class.

bob_brown

As a general rule, I never have made a seat reservation on a Swiss train.

There is no need for a reservation from Thun to Zürich with the possible exception of a sunny Sunday afternoon when many people are traveling locally.

The Zürich - Salzburg trip is a slightly different question because the train is operated by the ÖBB, the Austrian national railways. Strictly speaking it is not a Swiss train.

The express trains from Zürich to Salzburg and Vienna do not stop often in Switzerland, but they stop quite a few times in Austria. (Two stops in Switzerland, 11 in Austria for some of them.)

I suggest making a seat reservation on this route to ensure a seat by the window. Also, because of the number of stops in Austria, local peak travel conditions are possible for a few stops.

Reservations for seats add just a few chf to the cost and remove any hassle about finding choice locations. Booking 3 days in advance should be far enough ahead.

I have ridden the train between Interlaken Ost and Luzern, but not in the special panorama coach that you mentioned. Therefore I cannot really answer the question about the need for reservations.

I did not have seat reservations on the train I rode nor were they needed.

Usually I drive between Luzern and Interlaken and find the Brünig Pass road to be more of a pain in the rear than a scenic marvel.

altamiro

>Usually I drive between Luzern and Interlaken and find the Brünig Pass road to be more of a pain in the rear than a scenic marvel.

Around Sarnen and Giswil, the train line runs along the hill side 20-30 m higher than the road, which allows an overview of the valley. The drivers see nothing except trees.

altamiro

>we find that reservations on trains are possible/advisable on 3 of our sectors:

Just because something is technically possible doesnīt mean it is necessary. Just take Bobīs advice and donīt bother.

On the train between Zürich and Salzburg, you can get a reservation a few days before travelling. While it is necessary, the afternoon EC to Vienna is very popular with the commuters living around sargans because it goes there from Zürich without stops. But this applies for most lines out of big cities at rush hour - the trains can get quite full. You can still find a seat but after a good search and definitely not together.

indiancouple

Thanks a lot for the advice.

PalenQ

Buy your Austrian portion of the Zurich-Salzburg portion at Zurich before getting on the train

Your Swiss Pass covers you to the border - if the conductor has to sell you a pass there is often quite a surcharge for doing it onboard IME

If you make the optional seat reservation then they will sell you that ticket as well

In first class i would not make a reservation - i've ridden hundreds of these type trains in Austria and Germany and Switzerland and cannot remember really a full first class coach - 2nd class yes so reserve - but only on the Zurich-Salzburg train since there are such limited optimal trains on that route.

brookwood

That train to Salzburg from Zuerich goes all the way to Vienna West.
In the Voralberg area of western Austria there are many stops and many people getting on and off.

I have seen short stretches where there was literally standing room only for a stop or two. Even though the train is supposed to be an Euro City train, it stops umpteen times in that section between Sargans and Kufstein.

Finally after Kufstein there is a clear run of a little over an hour through part of Germany to Salzburg.

PalenQ

all the more reason IMO to go first class - or was first class filled up too - have never seen that on an Austrian train

brookwood

I have never seen a full first class.
Years ago I took first class because all the non smoking cars were full.
At the time the extra cost was worth it.

One year I had a senior discount card in Austria. The dollar was like €1.00 = 1.10. With the discount first class was fairly inexpensive, so I thought I would see what life was like in first class.

The big differece was that we had wider seats.

Between Sargans and Salzburg there are 12 stops! Several stops are 12 ninutes apart, or less. That is where the train can get crowded.

indiancouple

PalenQ, we will be having both a Swiss Pass and an Austrian Rail pass (both 2nd class), so no need to purchase the Austrian leg of the journey. We propose to catch the 1:40 pm afternoon train from Zurich, which is a direct train to Salzburg, with very few stops. We are proposing to do the reservations on arrival in Switzerland, which will be 7 days before this journey. I am presuming this will be OK.

brookwood

You will have plenty of time for the 13:40 train. I noticed that it is no longer called the Maria Theresia.

I sort of liked when the trains were named after famous people. My favorite was the Michelangelo from Munich to Rome.

As for stops, it hit me as being plenty of them. Between Zürich and Salzburg there are 13 stops total not counting Salzburg. The first leg to Sargans is stop free as is the final leg from Kufstein to Salzburg. In between, however, you get 13 of them with some being like 12 minutes apart.

altamiro

13:40 is not commuter time, so no need for reservations. And those 12 min apart stops are also not in any major commuting area, so donīt worry about reservations.
If you would leave Zürich around 17:00 it would be a completely different matter.