My wife and I plan on taking the train from Luzerne to the airport at Zurich (schippol) for our flight home. We want to take the 5:10 PM train on a Wednesday and we will have our luggage with us. This train is at the most suitable time, (although there are others we can take) and doesn't require changing trains which is a big advantage.

Is it necessary or recommended to reserve or buy tickets in advance? Also, what happens if we buy tickets in advance and then miss the train? Do we have to buy new tickets for the next train?

Thanks in advance.

That's IR (inter regional) train. You cannot reserve even if you want to. Local people would not think of reserve it (like most other Swiss trains. Just buy the ticket the same day and get on. Potential problem is that's rush hour and this train is supposed to be quite crowded, especially in the 2nd class. If you are taking 1st, then it tends to have more free seats. If you take one train earlier (direct one is exactly 1 hour before at 16h10) you would find more free seats.

How do I know all above? Go to :
http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm

and see for youself. This train has only (comments : inter regio & mini-bar). If reservation is possible, recommended, compulsory, there would be an according sign. Also the "occupancy" signs shows maximum 3.

Thanks Kappa. I understood everything in your reply except for the last line:

"Also the "occupancy" signs shows maximum 3."

What does that mean?

> "Also the "occupancy" signs shows maximum 3."

Meaning the train is likely to be very crowded (in 2nd cls. 1st has occupancy level only 1 so problem). Did you try the site i gave you above? If you do you will see what I mean.

Oh and Zurich airport is Kloten. Schipol is Amsterdam.

I take this train (and ones around it) all the time. I would seriously considering booking into 1st class (and I normally think 1st class is a waste of money). This route can get incredibly crowded at this hour and you can very easily find yourself crammed into the entryway, standing, with your bags and about 15 of your closest friends. It can be very unpleasant.

As to the tickets. There is no reason to pre-purchase, but even if you did and missed your train, you can just use them on the next train.

Thanks. Of course I meant Kloten. I arrive in Amsterdam, but leave from Zurich!

Travelgourmet: Thanks for that last sentence. That answered my second question.
We will be arriving by train 3 days earlier so we will be at the train station and can book the departure train. Can I book the first class ticket 3 days in advance?

Yes, you can.

IF that train ORIGINATES in Luzern there is a simple strategy which helps guarantee you a seat..get to the platform EARLY as the train is either pulled/pushed into the station or just as it arrives from its previous origination point..and be the FIRST to get on.

There will almost undoubtedly be a LOT of unreserved seats for you to choose from

Now, let me rephrase the question.

We have to get to Zurich airport that evening. Is there any reason NOT TO buy the tickets in advance while we are at the train station?

ttt

> we will be at the train station and can book the departure train. Can I book the first class ticket 3 days in advance?

In case my post wasn't clear, I repeat. You cannot reserve a seat on that IR train or others around that one. To see if you can reserve or not on a train, go to the site I posted above. By the timetable of each train, you might see "R" sign in different ways, just "R", "R" is thick letter or "R" in a square, Dedpending on the way, it means reservation Possible (= not necessary), Compulsory, etc. If you don't see R (like your 17h10 IR train) then there are no reservable seats. All seats are first come first served basis when the train has entered the track.

No there is NO reason not to buy your ticket in advance when you have more time than before taking the train. You just have to tell at the counter the day that you want to do the ride because the ticket will not be specific only for a certain train. You can take any train of the day for Lucerne - Zurich Airport with change or without at Zurich HB station.

sssteve - In answer to your question:

1) Yes, you can buy a ticket in advance. You buy tickets for the day of travel. So, if you are buying it a day or two before, make sure you specify that the travel is for a later date.
2) It doesn't really do much for you. You can't reserve a seat, and the tickets don't sell out. So, you can just buy the ticket from the machine 5 minutes before the train leaves.

Travelgoumet, your first post said ".. booking into 1st class", that made me confused. Book -ing means to me reserve a seat, maybe OP thought the same thing. Now from your last post I see you do know you cannot book /reserve that train.

> It doesn't really do much for you... So, you can just buy the ticket from the machine 5 minutes before the train leaves.

Except, those who live here do it all the time but it's not necessarily a recommended thing for a traveller as he is not used to using the machine + the couter can be crowded that would be problem if you try to buy 5 minutes before. So actually it is a good thing if OP buys the ticket beforehand , e.g. when he arrives there 3 days before.

sssteve: Personally, I would buy the tickets in advance and keep your vacation as stress-free as possible. Kappa has some good points.

By the way, even I can get into a stressful situation when buying tickets too close to the time the train leaves. Standing in line to buy tickets and then buying then from a machine that depends on you to punch in everything correctly can be very stressful.

Thanks to everybody.