Does anyone know how long it takes to go from Zurich to Cogne? Is it pretty direct?

Zurich-Cologne (Koln), i assume you mean Cologne
Some direct trains take six hours; otherwise about hourly connections via a change at Basel - this route is actually quicker - five hours even with the change. For current schedules i advise going to the official German rail web site - www.bahn.de. An easy way to get the English language schedule page of this wonderful site is to go to: www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page, at the bottom, click on the link "All European Railway Schedules" and you'll instantly get the English schedule page where you just put in Zurich and Cologne and the date and you'll get all the times. The home page i'm referencing also gives you several valuable tips on how best to use the German site as you can also get a detailed itinerary of stops en route, facilities on the train, whether reservations are required, etc. The German site gives schedules for all of Europe and pricing info on German trains and those like this to nearby Swiss cities. If you're traveling much more in Germany a German railpass may be beneficial to you as it doesn't take much to make the $150 p.p. German Twin Pass pay off - it gives you four days on unlimited travel in a one month period in Germany.

You can also fly germanwings quite inexpensively too. Anywhere from 47 to 101 CHF (swiss francs)or 30-85 Euros one way. Just a thought if you want to get there quicker.

Trains will cost anywhere from 96 euros to 116 euros according to the German Rail site - this is full fare but you can scan the German site for SPAR fares - deeply discounted tickets that must be ordered only online and exist in very limited numbers.

I actually did mean Cogne, it's by Gran Paradisio Natl Park