Will be arriving in Zurich from overnight U.S. flight about 9:00 am (Delta). We need to go to Montreux. Have looked at both the Rail Europe and sbb.ch sites. Rail Europe apparently does not sale ticket from airport station to Montreux, only main station. Also the train changes in Lausanne with a 6 minute connection time. Questions are:
What is the best way to get to Montreux from Zurich airport by train?
Who/where is it best to purchase tickets in advance to guarantee a seat?
If arriving at 9:00 am, how much time to allow to go through immigration--in other words, what is the earliest time we could book a train?
Is 6 minutes enough time to change trains in Lausanne easily?
Have read conflicting stories--if on a U.S. carrier, can we use fly rail baggage from the U.S.? Any experience with--is it reliable?
Thanks for any assistance.

The first thing you need to know is this:
you CANNOT reserve seats on Swiss trains for trips that occur wholly within Switzerland UNLESS you are traveling on a "special" train such as the Glacier Express or using Cisalpino services, etc. So, I would not worry about having a place to sit and you should NOT have to buy tickets in advance.
You can buy your tickets at the Zurich airport station.

Six minute connection times are considered perfectly reasonable in Switzerland, as are four-minute connections. The trains are very efficient and punctual. HOWEVER, Lausanne is a station with multiple platforms and depending on how much luggage you have you may, because of that miss a connection. But service between Lausanne and Montreux runs AT LEAST hourly and sometimes three or four times per hour.

The "best" route is the one SBB says is the best: through Lausanne.

Hi hobseq,

I've done this journey four times and expect to do it again in a few weeks. I think I can answer all of your questions --

No need to reserve a seat; I've never seen the train from Zurich airport - Montreux at standing room only. The Lausanne-Montreux portion can get crowded in August, but I've never seen anyone standing -- just every seat taken. If you want to be absolutely certain to get a seat, go on first class as those cars are rarely crowded.

When you arrive in Zurich and claim your bags, just follow the signs (or the pictograms of a train); the train station is in the basement of the airport. Just buy your train ticket at the windows there.

I'm not sure I have a preference for the routing of the train Zurich-Montreux. I like the fastest one!! I don't think I'd recommend going via Luzern-Interlaken-Zweisimmen as that can be quite a long haul after an international flight. I think the standard route is Olten-Bern-Lausanne. Is there another that you're considering?

Six minutes is more then enough time to make the connection in Lausanne, assuming you can carry your luggage in one trip. A few days before your trip, check with sbb again and see if the platform numbers are posted yet -- that way you'll know how far you'll have to go in six minutes.

I also arrive on that Delta flight, and I usually get on the train within an hour of landing -- after having stopped at the grocery store (you'll see two big grocery stores enroute to the train station ticket windows) to buy bread, cheese, yogurt, water, and chocolate. The only delay is waiting for the bags; customs & immigration have been largely wave-throughs on past trips. For my next trip, I'm planning to make the 9.43 or the 10.13.

Finally, yes, you can use fly/rail baggage even if using a US carrier, only you'll have to go through RailEurope to do it. I did this twice -- once with the old Swissair and once via RailEurope, both into Grindelwald. With Raileurope, they send you all the documents you need, which you put into a big opaque green plastic tag and attach to your bag. Then you breeze through the airport and waltz onto the train with your carryon. The bags arrive a few hours after you do (in one case, they arrived on the same train I did). I've never done this into Montreux because it's a quick & easy connection and my bags are no problem.

A cheaper way to do this is to check your bags at the Zurich airport train station, but of course that'll take more time and you may miss the earliest train.

Let me know if I can help further --

s

If it is of any further help to you there are faster (fewer stops) trains from the airport to Lausanne which leave at 11 minutes past each hour. You would not have to train into the city of Zurich itself. These are on the fastest route to Lausanne/Montreux. Good luck.

hobseq (and s):

You may want to take a train leaving 43 minutes after the hour from Zürich airport. The run is 9 Minutes longer than on the trains running 13 minutes after the hour and it has more intermediate stops.

You will, however, run along the river Aare and lakes Biel and Neuchâtel, which is (in my opinion) far more scenic than the run through Bern and Fribourg. Just be sure to take a seat on the right hand side of the train at Zürich airport, this will afford the best views after Solothurn.

Tickets from Zürich airport to Montreux are valid on either run.

Enjoy your trip

Phil.

Thank you all for your replys. They are very helpful. It seems that other than the fly-rail baggage advantage with RailEurope, all recommend buying the tickets at the airport station with sbb and there is no reason to buy in advance? We are planning on first class tickets and it sounds like that will not be a problem. We will be traveling on June 26, so busy August also is not an issue.
When we change trains in Lausanne, if we miss our first connection, we can just get on the next one out--the sbb purchased tickets are changeable? (RailEurope told me that their tickets were not).
If we decide to take our bags with us instead of using baggage check, how much space is there above/next to/or under seats--how large a bag can we plan on? (even though we have read that the only people carrying bags are foreigners) If we checked the baggage at the station does it arrive when you do (unlike fly-rail which 'could' be later)?
Great responses. Thank you again.

hobseq:

Tickets purchased at a Swiss railway station are valid for one outgoing and one ingoing trip on any train of the said run within its period of validity (which for Zürich airport to Montreux is one month). You are completely free to take any train between Zürich and Montreux and you are allowed to make as many breaks in your journey as you like (lunch in Neuchátel comes to mind ;-) ).

You will be able to place your bags between the seats, on the overhead rack or on a rack near the exit. Layout of these facilities depend on the type of coach you are travelling on. There is generally enough space.

Swiss railways no longer guarantee that your luggage will arrive in the same train when checking it, they do guarantee its arrival on the same day. We Swiss do generally take our luggage with us into the coach, so you will "blend in" quite effectively when lugging along your suitcases .

One word of caution: June 26 is the first day of summer vacation in many parts of Switzerland. You might experience full trains (not a real issue when travelling first class) and slight delays.

Enjoy your trip.

Phil.

Hi hobseq,

Yes, if you miss the first connection, you can hop the very next train. When you purchase your ticket, it?s good for the entire day along the route. Don?t know why RailEurope would tell you their ticket is only good on a specific train; maybe they reserve seats for you????

While I?ve never measured the baggage space, I?ve never had trouble with my own bags. Lately I?ve been traveling with a 24-inch bag and a carryon, and I?ve never had any trouble storing them. I?ve seen folks with 26-inch cases, but larger bags can be a problem. There?s a compartment at the end of the car that will hold larger bags, but the overhead racks and the space between the seats won?t fit larger than 26 inches (I think!). Some folks in 1st class pile their luggage on the empty seats -- not exactly sweet but workable, and I?ve never seen a conductor complain.

One note -- some of the trains out of Zurich airport are now double-decker with terrific views from the second tier. But getting big bags up the tiny stairs is a challenge! I don?t know how those trains are designated on the schedule -- if I find out, I?ll post again. Anyway, if you have the notion to try for one of those second-tier seats, you may want to think hard about fly-rail or checked baggage.

And if you check your bag at the station in the airport, it?ll still be delayed a few hours. Not many, but a few. I usually carry one change of clothes, two days? medicines, etc, in my carryon. After I get to town and check in, I stretch my legs and walk around, get a snack, hit an atm, etc; on my way back to the hotel, I swing by the train station to retrieve my bag. The cost for checking bags within Switzerland is about 13 chf per bag, compared to Rail Europe?s $25.

By the way, even the Swiss take vacations and take their bags on the train. Where did you read that ?only foreigners? take bags on the train??? Maybe ?mostly foreigners? but certainly not ?only.?

Phil, thanks for the tip about the route via Biel & Neuchatel; I never noticed that! Now I?ll have a tough decision whether to wait an hour at the airport if I miss the 9.43!

Let me know if I can help further --

s

hobseq:

About the double-decker trains: there is a risk for the trains leaving Zürich at 13 minutes past the hour to be double-deckers (in spite of the view I hate them: too narrow).

The trains leaving 43 minutes past the hour are single-deckers of the latest generation. There should be no problem taking your cases aboard.

Hope this helps

Phil.

Great advice from Phil.

A slight correction if you allow me, Phil. Neuchâtel is not on the line between Zurich and Lausanne. Maybe you meant Bern or Fribourg.

Reg.checked luggage, delivery used to be within 24 hours but when I called the SBB info a week ago, they told me they can garantee now only within 48 hours, which really surprised me.

"Neuchâtel is not on the line between Zurich and Lausanne"

Never mind. I did not read all the posts from Phil. Was just thinking about the ordinary/quickest way ZRH-LAUS.

kappa:

There are two runs from Zürich to Lausanne:

The better known (Zürich-Bern-Fribourg-Lausanne)

and the less well known running along the southers edge of the Jura hills (Zürich-Olten-Solothurn-Biel-Neuchâtel-Yverdon-Lausanne).

Both are served once an hour.

Try this one, when in Switzerland, you will like it

Phil.

topping with thanks for another very interesting read to go with my Saturday morning coffee. J.