Is there an advantage to purchasing train tickets in advance?
 

After flying in from London to Basel, Switzerland, we will be immediately traveling by train to Lucerne. Flight arrives 5:30 p.m. or so, and trains depart on a regular basis. My question is whether or not I should purchase tickets via RailEurope in advance, or simply wait until we get there? Given the time of day, does anyone have a feel for whether space would be an issue (we are a party of four) or if the tickets would be cheaper purchased in advance on Swiss railroad.

Thanks

JimF

>My question is whether or not I should purchase tickets via RailEurope in advance?

Short answer: no.

Long answer: if you would even buy the tickets in advance to save yourself 2-3 min you need to buy them from a machine, why would you buy them from RailEurope?

www.sbb.ch is the webiste of the Swiss federal railway network.

RailEurope often marks up the same ticket you can pre-buy on the actual rail site, given above (and in English!)

Advance tickets, at least in France, are often offered at a discount with restrictions on refunds, exchanges etc. over the full-fare tickets. These discounted tickets are limited and go rather quickly. I don't know if Swiss tickets are promoted in the same way, so try it out on SBB and see.

Echoing previous posters, no need, just buy the tickets at the station when yiu get there.

Even if you can get them for the actual cost from RailEurope, they will charge $18 to mail them.

Yes. Piece of mind. Gradyghost

Piece? lol

The only time I encountered a crowded Swiss train was one Sunday afternoon when I was traveling from Bern to Interlaken Ost. Just about every seat was taken.

At other times, the rail cars are 50% full.

You will definitely pay more through Rail Europe.

The only time I get seat reservations and buy in advance is when I am leaving the country. On those occasions, I usually buy ahead of time with a reserved seat. Cisalpino trains to and from Italy usually require a seat reservation.

But if you are traveling on an SBB train within Switzerland, there is rarely any need to buy in advance with a seat reservation.

I can see having your ticket ahead of time if time is tight.

Many thanks for the feedback. We'll purchase when we get there.

JimF

Jim, you didn't say when you're travelling. Until August 12, SBB is offering "Supersaver Tickets" at great discounts. For instance, Basel-Luzern CHF 9.40 with half-fare travelcard or without travelcard CHF 12.40 instead of CHF 31. However, earliest train leaving Basel SBB at 8.17am, arriving at Luzern 9.30am. In other words, after commuter rush hours. You may want to look into other destinations while in Switzerland. Tickets will not be exchanged or refunded!

I realize, Jim, you're already convinced to wait to buy your tickets. But, for completeness' sake, I'll throw in another reason. If you buy ahead of time, you need to allow for your plane being late. So you'll have to buy tickets on a later train. Then you most likely will end up hanging around, waiting for that later train. Whereas, if you wait to buy your ticket, you just hop on the next train.

There are two direct trains every hour. In the unlikely event that the next train is full, go for a coffee then get the next one. There really is no need to reserve seats for a journey like this in Switzerland.

>If you buy ahead of time, you need to allow for your plane being late. So you'll have to buy tickets on a later train.

If you mean a normal ticket, actually no - the tickets are the same as when you buy them from a ticket machine or counter. You don´t have to buy a ticket for another train - you can take any train to your destination with the normal ticket. But then, why buy in advance?
If you think about SuperSaver tickets, then everything Mimar said applies in full...