Lauterbrunnen-St.Moritz - Glacier Express or not ?
 

Hi,

For travel between Lauterbrunnen and St.Moritz, there appear to be 2 choices.

*Lauterbrunnen-Interlaken-Spiez-Brig-St.Mortiz --> about 10hrs total
*Lauterbrunnen-Interlaken-Zurich-Chur-St.Moritz --> about 6hrs30mins total

The first option involves travel on the Glacier Express, but this takes about 3-4 hours more for the entire journey. This includes waiting for about an hour in Brig to get the right connection on the Glacier Express.

Is a trip on the Glacier Express worth the extra 3-4 hours on the train ? This will be around September end, and its our first trip to Switzerland.

Thanks in advance !

IMO it most definitely is, especially at that time of year since the trip over the Furka Pass will not require a diversion through the tunnel.

Spectacular scenery..MUCH more so than taking the route through Zurich and Chur, although with either route you will be able to experience the Lanwasser Viaduct crossing.

If you do this, consider getting a seat reservation in one of the Panorama cars..much larger windows and better scenery viewing.

Carl, reading travel guides to Switzerland: advices are mixed.

The ones for budget-oriented travellers say to save money, use regular trains instead, the difference is in window size, the route is the same.

I don't know what to believe. Maybe there is narration on the Glacier Express? Something has to be different!

Hmm .. since we will be getting a 3country-10day Eurail Selectpass Saver, I dont expect to pay much for the trip (in addition to surcharges and reservation fees). Unless someone here tells me that the Glacier Express is not covered by the Eurail passes !

So for me, its not a question of cost, but rather a question of time. Thoughts ?

Hi Carl,

I tried to post and suggest you to take the Glacier Express to St. Moritz - but technical problems with my computer. So I am glad you found out this option by yourself.

I would definitely take the Glacier Express. Very scenic. If you leave Lauterbrunnen 8.50 the trip takes 9 hours. It's only a half hour waiting in Brig. It's a nice small town, and you'll enjoy walking around for 15 or 20 minutes (Stockalper castle).

A word on the fares: Since you'll use trains frequently in Switzerland you should purchase a Swiss Half Fare Card for one month (99 Sfr. per person). With this card you get a reduction of 50% on all fares. And you have the option to buy a Day Ticket for the price of 53 (not sure?) Sfr. which allows you unlimited travel on railway, bus, ferries in Switzerland. This would be my choice for the Glacier Express (cheaper than the discounted regular fare as far as I know, even with a fee of 10 Sfr. for seat reservation, which is obligatory).

Sorry, I did not know you are going to buy the Eurail Saver Pass. Not sure if it covers the Glacier Express, but think yes. You need to pay the reservation fee, though, for sure.

The "difference" in the "Glacier Express" and the more regular trains that go the same route:

1) The "regular" trains do not carry the Panorama coaches (and yes as in many other areas, window SIZE does make a difference)

2) The "regular" trains do not always traverse the entire route. You can do the whole route on a "regular" train but you may have to change along the way

3) The Glacier express does have on-board narration.

I would advise you to READ those so-called "mixed" reviews of doing this and I suspect that none of them are going to say the "scenery wasn't worth it."

Passes..you <b> need to check this carefully </b>. Previously, the entire route was run by three different railroads and the one in the &quot;middle&quot; (i.e., from Brig to Disentis-Muster) run by the former Furka-Oberalp Bahn did NOT accept anything BUT a SwissPass..not a half fare card or a SwissCard. You could still ride the route but for that portion you had to pay a supplement UNLESS you were using a SwissPass.

That railroad has since merged with another one and these days you may very well <b> be </b> able to ride the whole route, without supplements, using other forms of passes.

The Panarama coaches require <b> compulsory </b> reservations but in the non high-season these can often be obtained once you get to Switzerland.

I suppose it all sounds complicated but I still firmly believe that it, along with the Bernina Express, has one of the most spectacular routes anywhere in Switzerland.

Obviously others do not share my enthusiasm.

Thanks Ingo, Intreped1, swandav, grasshopper and all others for all the great information !!

I have finally decided upon going to St. Moritz instead of Zermatt, and also that I will be taking the Glacier express and also the Bernina Express (to go to Venice).

I'll try to find out if the Eurail Selectpass will cover the journey or not - should I just do this at the station when we arrive, or is there a &quot;reliable&quot; way to find this out beforehand ?

Thanks again - I am finally done with most of my Austria, Swiss, and Greece planning. Now onto figuring out hotel reservations !!

You might try calling RailEurope (or another agency) and asking them..doesn't mean you have to BUY anything from them.

Back to those windows &lt;grin&gt;..if you can't get into the big window coach there is an advantage to the SMALLER windows..you can hang out of them (yes, I know it is illegal but people do it anyway).

Enjoy the ride(s), the spiral tunnels, etc...you might consider taking food along..the restaurant car on the GE is pricey.

carl,

OK, here is a dissenting opinion.

I would opt for Zurich/Chur to St. Moritz.

The Glacier Express is hardly an &quot;express&quot; in the true sense of the word, and crawls along much of the way. Plus, if you have a Flexipass, you'll have to pay a aupplement for Disentis-Muster of around $100-200. Not so if you go through Zurich/Chur.

Personally I found the segment from Chur to St. Moritz as scenic as anything on the Glacier Pass route.

And to close, I also preferred the regular trains over the Panorama cars. Not only are they easier to take (no reservations), I enjoyed the chance of rolling the windows down for better picturetaking and sightseeing experiences. If you're over fifty, though, then maybe not.

But, that's just me...

Reading this: I am lucky :) Don't have to agonize over this choice. Can't wait. I'll be on that Glacier Express. I will be the one smiling and waving like crazy :)

Intrepid1 says &quot;if you cant get into the big window coach ...&quot; - cant I reserve the panoramic coach ?? Since we will have a Selectpass, we will be traveling in 1st class anyways - so is it possible to reserve a seat in the panoramic coach or is it on a first come-first served basis ?

Like what Intrepid1 said, eurail pass does not cover the entire route for Glacier Express unless you have Swiss Pass.

Yes, I did the math and its cheaper for me to just pay the surcharge for the Brig-Disentis segment. I will be getting the 3country-10day flexipass saver and will pay the $60-70 for the segment that is not covered by the eurail flexipass.

So back to the question about the panoramic cars. Can a seat in the *panoramic car* be reserved or is it just first come-first served ?

Yes, you can make reservations for the Panoramic car. I suggest you also reserve seats for lunch in the dining car - relatively good food (3 courses) and a nice experience.

Just to confuse you ;-) : I think you made a bad decision to buy an Eurail Flexi Pass which covers Switzerland. As said in a previous post, I highly recommend a Swiss Half Fare Card for one month. It saves you much more than the Eurail Pass, which is not valid on the mountain railways, cable cars etc. And since you'll be in Switzerland for 10 (?) days, how do you want to cover the days on which you don't use your &quot;Eurail Flexi Pass&quot; ?

Just a thought.

carl,

The Panoramic cars indeed need reservations. The earlier you reserve, the better seats you get. (If it's booked, you might have to settle for 2nd class.) I believe that the Dining cars are the most difficult to book. Maybe if I had been in the Dining Car, my opinion of the Glacier Express would be higher.

I was referring to my experiences in the Panoramic cars on the other Swisss trains (Golden and Bernina Passses). Nice bars. And the Golden Pass train has that unique section where you actually sit in the FRONT of the train.

I read somewhere they bring snacks to your seat, or there may be a snack bar where you can get food and those slanted glasses for souveniers, is it so?

Hi everyone. All of you might like to read the article on the CNN website regarding the Glacier Express.

Click on Travel and you will find this article under &quot;Destinations&quot;.

Happy train rides to all of you!

On the Glacier Express there will be a snack &quot;trolley&quot; which is rolled through ALL the cars, usually on the segment between Brig and Andermatt. The usual stuff is available..soft drinks, sandwiches, etc. No ice for the drinks, however. There are also souvenirs such as GE keychains, a book with pictures, etc., also for sale.

The last time we took the trip (April 2004) we caught the train after staying overnight in Brig. We had gone to a grocery store in Brig prior to departure and bought wine and a bunch of picnic-type items such as cold cuts, bread, etc. In the Panorama cars the seats are configured in a typical European &quot;club&quot; style, i.e., there are two seats which face each other on each side of the aisle. There is a fixed table between these seats where you can eat.

As to the restaurant car. We have eaten the fixed price meal in the past. You can get more information about booking space for a meal on the GE website:

http://www.glacierexpress.ch/

The Panorama cars can be reserved up to 60 days in advance. The charge for a seat reservation is somewhat higher than the usual European seat reservation price.

Oops sorry...should have been more clear....on <b> each side </b> of the aisle there are a pair of seats which faces another pair of seats across a table.

Carl: a couple of other points for you:

When you take the train from Spiez into Brig, try to sit on the <b> right side of the train facing forward </b>. This will give you a spectacular view of the Rhone Valley as the train comes down the very steep grade into Brig.

In Brig you will have to go to <b> a different station </b> to catch the GE.
The station belongs to the Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn and it is easy to find: go out of the front door of the main SBB station (where you arrived). Directly across the street is the M-GB station...you'll see the covered/open platforms.

The GE reverses direction when it leaves Brig. A few kms outside of Brig the train enters the first of several spiral tunnels which are used to gain height. Last April when we took the trip there was no snow in Brig but once we got up into the area east of Brig commonly known as &quot;The Goms&quot; the scenery becomes stereotypically &quot;alpine.&quot; Last year the snow banks along the right of way were higher in some portions than the train iyself!

There will be a long pause in Andermatt..long enough for you to get out and look around the station area. The train then immediately enters another spiral tunnel and proceeds through several switchbacks to gain height again. At the top the village of Andermatt below looks like some sort of miniature.

There will be another &quot;pause&quot; at Disentis for a locomotive change and then at Chur the train reverses direction once again. You'll eventually proceed through the Rhine Gorge and across the spectacular Lanwasser Viaduct before St. Moritz.

I wish I were going with you!!!

Thanks all to for all the detailed information ! This forums has helped me enormously !

Ingo, I have started another thread to talk about the Half Fare Card - maybe you can help me with some of my confusion there.

About the Glacier Express the following site (http://www.glacierexpress.ch/pages_e...ketprices.html) has a line at the bottom of the page that says:

&quot;Railpass (GA) and day tickets are valid on the whole line of the Glacier Express.&quot;

Does Railpass include Eurail Flexipasses ? If so, then it appears that there is no extra cost for the Disentis segment ? I think Intrepid1 was suggesting the same - I will follow his advice and call up the Eurail guys to confirm for sure. But I thought this was interesting enough to mention it here for others who may be interested.

Thanks all again !

As I posted earlier, at one time the route was run by three railroad companies, the Brig-Visp-Zermatt (BVZ) ran the segment from Zermatt to Brig; the Furka-Oberalp (FO) ran the segment from Brig to Disentis; the Rhaetian Bahn ran, and still does run, the segment from Disentis to St. Moritz.

The Furka-Oberalp was the company which would not accept anything but a SwissPass for their segment without charging a supplement.

A couple of years ago the BVZ and the FO railroads merged to form the present Matterhorn-Gotthard Bahn and they may very well accept all pass forms..hopefully they do and also, hopefully, RailEurope (or similar) can give you that information.

Hi Again carlposter05,

Notice the &quot;(GA)&quot; after the word &quot;Railpass.&quot; GA stands for General Abonnement, an annual subscription of 2,990 chf for totally free travel on Swiss rails (http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/en/reisemarkt/abonnemente/ga.htm). The day ticket is a day-type pass you can buy if you have the Half Fare Card. I don't think they're referring to the regular tourist passes. If I were you, I'd email the Swiss rail folks to be sure; I've emailed them a few times and always receive prompt and thorough replies.

s

I have emailed the folks at the Glacier Express (using email addresses found on their website). I will post the reply here as soon as I get it.

Thanks again !

I've taken the Glacier Express several times usually with Swiss Pass. We had a very embarrassing moment one year when we were traveling on Eurail Passes. We had stopped in the Swiss House in London and reserved our seats on the Glacier Express for our trip, and showed her our Eurail Passes. We had to pay a small fee for the seat reservations. So we were shocked when seated on the train when the conductor said our Eurail passes didn't cover the Glacier Express. We were in First Class and he wanted something like a couple hundred dollars for our fares! He admitted our seat reservations were fine, but they weren't tickets -- and none of us could figure out why the people at the Swiss House reserved those seats when we didn't have tickets! We paid them a lot of money, but moved to second class. So the Swiss Pass covers the Glacier Express, but apparently not the Eurail Passes, at least the parts to Zermatt.

Meanwhile to answer your other question -- I really don't see much special about the Glacier Express from other trains which take the same route. We've been in the first class observation cars which have huge windows angling into the ceilings, but it was increibly hot in those cars in the summer with the sun beating down through the glass -- the AC couldn't handle it.

Here is the response I got from the Glacier Express folks. In short, the Eurail passes DO NOT cover the Brig-Disentis segment.

&quot;The Eurail Flexi Pass is valid between St. Moritz and Disentis.
Disentis-Brig comes for an adult CHF 45.00 in the 2nd class and CHF 75.00 in the 1st class. The Glacier Express supplement is to pay in each case. It is between CHF 9.00 and CHF 17.00 per person, it depends on the travel month and day.&quot;

Weeeee... I will be on the GE in less than a week. I hope to report back on what its like in Late September.
Kate

We will be going from Lauterbrunnen to Salzburg by train and I was assuming that we would go via Zurich. I don't have a good map to answer this right now and since there seem to be a lot of experts here...

Is the GE something that could be incorporated into our route or would that be totally out of the way/impossible? If it is possible, would it be overkill since we will be going up the Jungfrau the day before? I can't imagine seeing any more awesome scenery than that trip. Thanks.