I am spending a week next month (mid March) in Switzerland and will have an 8 day unlimited Swiss rail pass. Beyond the obvious well known/ tourist runs that all the guidebooks mention (e.g., Glacier Express, Belle Epoque, Jungfraujoch) does anyone have any suggestions for fun and interesting train rides worth trying, and why? My schedule is basically wide open, with the only real caveat that I plan on being back in Zurich at the end of the day.
Week riding Swissrail: trip suggestions?
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Metra Electric Rider
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Kind of a nutty suggestion on my part, but if are based in Zurich (or anywhere in Switzerland) one thought I have is to check out the cab ride video's from Lorirocks on YouTube for ideas of routes that might appeal to you.
There are some narrow gauge routes in Eastern Switzerland that look very interesting through scenic mountains - not sure, however, how they tie into the national system fare-wise.
Let us know what you end up doing!
I'm guessing your pass limits you to trains that run entirely within Switzerland. Other than the touristy routes you've mentioned, others with great scenery include Geneva to Zurich, the route to Zermat (which someone posted a fairly recent video review on YouTube), and Zurich to Milan or Innsbruck. Since the latter two leave Switzerland you might want to go as far as the last in-country station and turn around, still seeing the sights, or pay a supplement to continue. One we're looking forward to, when we visit in April, is the run from Cologne (Koln) in Germany to Zurich in the dome car. Pretty sure that won't work with your pass though.
Geneva to Brig, and then Brig to Zurich taking care to ride a local BLS train that climbs the ramp from the floor of Rhone Valley to the old Loetschberg Tunnel (not the new base tunnel). It is quite a spectacular ride. This the Swiss part of the Milan to Zurich Simplon route. Unfortunately the other end of Simplon Tunnel is in Italy at Domo so won't be covered by your Swiss Pass (this is inaccurate - Domo is now covered by the Swiss Pass). Otherwise Brig to Milan has it very scenic moments as it runs along Laggo Magiore through Stresa etc.
The classic Gotthard Line is also spectacular, Zurich to Chiasso in Switzerland (across the border in Italy is Como, again not the base tunnel but the old line over the top through the classic Gotthard Tunnel. There is a neat little ride from the north end of the Gotthard Tunnel at Goeschenen up a craggy gorge to Andermatt on the Glacier Express route too.
Again, if you could hop into Italy there is Bellinzona to Locarno and then onto Domo light rail line. As mentioned before Domo is in Italy at the south end of Simplon Tunnel, the north end being at Brig mentioned earlier.
Another spectacular ride to a spectacular place off the Rhone Valley Line is the Martigny - Chamonix ride partly because of the ride and partly because Chamonix is spectacular in and of itself specially if one takes the cable upto Aiquile du Midi, from where you can see Mont Blanc. Unfortunately Chamonix is in France so you will need to buy a ticket from Le Chatelard Frontier to Chamonix and back.
The classic Gotthard Line is also spectacular, Zurich to Chiasso in Switzerland (across the border in Italy is Como, again not the base tunnel but the old line over the top through the classic Gotthard Tunnel. There is a neat little ride from the north end of the Gotthard Tunnel at Goeschenen up a craggy gorge to Andermatt on the Glacier Express route too.
Again, if you could hop into Italy there is Bellinzona to Locarno and then onto Domo light rail line. As mentioned before Domo is in Italy at the south end of Simplon Tunnel, the north end being at Brig mentioned earlier.
Another spectacular ride to a spectacular place off the Rhone Valley Line is the Martigny - Chamonix ride partly because of the ride and partly because Chamonix is spectacular in and of itself specially if one takes the cable upto Aiquile du Midi, from where you can see Mont Blanc. Unfortunately Chamonix is in France so you will need to buy a ticket from Le Chatelard Frontier to Chamonix and back.
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oregon pioneer
Engineer
Been quite a while since I was in Switzerland, but they haven't moved the tracks or the castles. You will undoubtedly take the run along the north side of Lake Geneva (Lac Leman), and then up the Rhône Valley. Near the east end of the lake, between Montreux and Villeneuve, look for the Château de Chillon on an island just offshore.
I also loved the historic line from Aigle to Les Diablerets. It's a three and a half hour run into the Alps from the Rhône Valley, and for me at least it had the advantage of being in an area where I speak the language (French). Further up the valley, the lowland language is generally French and the mountain people speak Swiss German. If you don't speak either of those, it won't matter to you, but Diablerets is also quite a bit less overrun with tourists (populated mostly by skiers), and every bit as scenic as the tourist towns.
I also loved the historic line from Aigle to Les Diablerets. It's a three and a half hour run into the Alps from the Rhône Valley, and for me at least it had the advantage of being in an area where I speak the language (French). Further up the valley, the lowland language is generally French and the mountain people speak Swiss German. If you don't speak either of those, it won't matter to you, but Diablerets is also quite a bit less overrun with tourists (populated mostly by skiers), and every bit as scenic as the tourist towns.
Gemuser
Service Attendant
Quote from JIS [Reply 4]:
Unfortunately the other end of Simplon Tunnel is in Italy at Dodo so won;t be covered by your Swiss Pass. Otherwise Brig to Mial has it very scenic moments as it runs along Laggo Magiore through Stresa etc.
End Quote
JIS, this was not true in Jan 2016. The line from Brig to Domodossola is operated by SBB, it is electrified at 15kV 16.7hZ AC & local trains from Brig to Domodossola are operated by SBB & travel to there was valid on the Swiss Pass. It is at Domodossola that the electrification changes to the Italian
3K DC system.
I did it in Jan 16, why travel to Domodossola? To connect with the Centrovillie [sp?] to Locarno, which is also covered on the Swiss Pass. That was a great days train travel!
Unfortunately the other end of Simplon Tunnel is in Italy at Dodo so won;t be covered by your Swiss Pass. Otherwise Brig to Mial has it very scenic moments as it runs along Laggo Magiore through Stresa etc.
End Quote
JIS, this was not true in Jan 2016. The line from Brig to Domodossola is operated by SBB, it is electrified at 15kV 16.7hZ AC & local trains from Brig to Domodossola are operated by SBB & travel to there was valid on the Swiss Pass. It is at Domodossola that the electrification changes to the Italian
3K DC system.
I did it in Jan 16, why travel to Domodossola? To connect with the Centrovillie [sp?] to Locarno, which is also covered on the Swiss Pass. That was a great days train travel!
That is good to know. Back when I traveled mostly in the 90s AFAIR Domo was not covered by the Swiss Pass. But then it was a long time back and I could be remembering wrong. And also I was not myself restricted by Swiss Pass since I did most my travels several times in Switzerland using a three or four country Eurailpass which always included Italy and France in addition to Switzerland.
While it comes under the category of tourist attractions, a good day trip would be to Lucerne and its Swiss Museum of Transport. It's also well worth a stroll through that very attractive town. Then continue on to Breinz for a ride on the very scenic Brienz Rothorn Bahn.
Also if you are in the Lucerne - Interlaken area you may wish to ride the world's steepest rack railway to Pilatus. Its base is at Alpanch served by the Lucern - Interlaken S Bahn and InterRegio service.
en.wikipedia.org
Pilatus Railway - Wikipedia
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cirdan
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some suggestions:
- Centovalli route (narrow gauge from Locarno to Doom) cuts across Italy on the western part but Swiss Pass valid
- Bernina route
- Chur- Arosa
- classic Gotthard route via Göschenen (avoiding base tunnel)
- Appenzeller Bahn
- Bremgarten Dietikon (for something different off the tourist trail, it is a bread and butter narrow gauge commuter line but has some really scenic scenic sections)
- Damfbahn Furka Bergstrecke
- Lugano Ponte Tresa (another narrow gauge commuter line with special character)
- Niederbipp Solothurn
- Basel Rodersdorf
- Nyon St Cergue
- Palezieux Bulle Montbovon
- Centovalli route (narrow gauge from Locarno to Doom) cuts across Italy on the western part but Swiss Pass valid
- Bernina route
- Chur- Arosa
- classic Gotthard route via Göschenen (avoiding base tunnel)
- Appenzeller Bahn
- Bremgarten Dietikon (for something different off the tourist trail, it is a bread and butter narrow gauge commuter line but has some really scenic scenic sections)
- Damfbahn Furka Bergstrecke
- Lugano Ponte Tresa (another narrow gauge commuter line with special character)
- Niederbipp Solothurn
- Basel Rodersdorf
- Nyon St Cergue
- Palezieux Bulle Montbovon
xzperu42
Train Attendant
The RhB train from Chur to St. Moritz that departs at 11:58 usually carries a Gormino dining car. Eating and drinking your way across the Landwasser viaduct is about as good as it gets.
View attachment 70E14E99-6BF2-4D61-AEE7-E82010257178.jpeg
If money is no object, Excellence Class on the Glacier Express is another great way to eat and drink your way across the Landwasser Viaduct
www.glacierexpress.ch
View attachment 70E14E99-6BF2-4D61-AEE7-E82010257178.jpeg
If money is no object, Excellence Class on the Glacier Express is another great way to eat and drink your way across the Landwasser Viaduct
Glacier Express - Excellence Class
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Gemuser
Service Attendant
Quote from
If you can only devote one day to the RhB then I have two suggestions: 1) The Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano in Italy. you can do it as a round trip from Chur or you can continue on to Milan [not on the Swiss Pass].
2) If you don't take the Glacier Express you can take local trains over the same route to Andermatt, Brig or Zermatt, that will be a long day. You will have to change trains at Disentis, as the RhB & MGB cannot run through as one is non rack & the other is all rack, so locos MUST be changed here. [The Glacier Expresses are the only through trains, they have a straight loco swap]. At Andermatt you could take the Goeschenen Bahn down through the gorge to Goeschenen. From there you are on the old route from where you can get connection to anywhere in the country or you can return up the gorge and continue on to Brig or Zermatt.
I spent 4 weeks in Switzerland in 16 & a further2 weeks in 17 and it was not enough, so I am planning another 6 week trip in 2024/5.
Gemuser
Metra Electric Rider Reply 2:
I assume you are referring to the RhB in Canton Graubünden in eastern Switzerland. I can recommend the whole railway, it's scenic, & very interesting from a railway operating perspective & has some of the funkiest rolling stock around. I was based in Chur for a week and traveled on every line open to passengers. The highlight for me was a "footplate ride" on a CoCo electric loco from Chur to Saint Moritz. The kicker here was it cost me 800 CHF! But it was the culmination of a 40 year dream, so what the hell, I spent the money.If you can only devote one day to the RhB then I have two suggestions: 1) The Bernina Express from Chur to Tirano in Italy. you can do it as a round trip from Chur or you can continue on to Milan [not on the Swiss Pass].
2) If you don't take the Glacier Express you can take local trains over the same route to Andermatt, Brig or Zermatt, that will be a long day. You will have to change trains at Disentis, as the RhB & MGB cannot run through as one is non rack & the other is all rack, so locos MUST be changed here. [The Glacier Expresses are the only through trains, they have a straight loco swap]. At Andermatt you could take the Goeschenen Bahn down through the gorge to Goeschenen. From there you are on the old route from where you can get connection to anywhere in the country or you can return up the gorge and continue on to Brig or Zermatt.
I spent 4 weeks in Switzerland in 16 & a further2 weeks in 17 and it was not enough, so I am planning another 6 week trip in 2024/5.
Gemuser
Everyone has been giving me wonderful ideas -- thank you! I am reading through all of them, finding them on the map, and looking them up on the SBB app (where applicable) to see if it's a day trip from Zurich ( I am staying with some friends there most nights) or an overnight stay somewhere else. I have more than enough ideas to fill my time. It's clear that no matter how long a rail fan spends in Switzerland there's always more to do than the time you have!
Thanks to everyone for the wonderful suggestions. I am back now and many of my plans were rearranged due to almost non stop rain, but I did manage to scratch out an enjoyable train ride (along with stops at destinations) each day. Here's a rundown:
1. Z (will use "Z" to denote Zurich) to Chur and then narrow gauge mountain railway to Arosa and then back to Z.
2. Z to Jungfraujoch up via Eiger Express but return to SBB trains via Wenger and back to Z
3. Z to Zweisimmen and then rode Belle Epoque to Montreux, then rode Montreux to Brig for the night
4. Brig through Simplon Tunnel to Domodossola. Then Centrovalli line to Locarno. Enjoy a few hours in sunny warm weather before back to Z via new Gotthard tunnel (170kph).
5. Z to Bern for serious sightseeing, fast train to Brig for night.
6. Brig to Zermatt to Gornergrat to see Matterhorn, then back to Z.
7. Z to Chur, Chur to Andermatt (part of Glacier Express route), Andermatt to Z (part of Gotthard Panorama route) back to Z
8. Z to Stein am Rhein for sightseeing, back to Z.
Happy to delve into details if anyone has questions.
1. Z (will use "Z" to denote Zurich) to Chur and then narrow gauge mountain railway to Arosa and then back to Z.
2. Z to Jungfraujoch up via Eiger Express but return to SBB trains via Wenger and back to Z
3. Z to Zweisimmen and then rode Belle Epoque to Montreux, then rode Montreux to Brig for the night
4. Brig through Simplon Tunnel to Domodossola. Then Centrovalli line to Locarno. Enjoy a few hours in sunny warm weather before back to Z via new Gotthard tunnel (170kph).
5. Z to Bern for serious sightseeing, fast train to Brig for night.
6. Brig to Zermatt to Gornergrat to see Matterhorn, then back to Z.
7. Z to Chur, Chur to Andermatt (part of Glacier Express route), Andermatt to Z (part of Gotthard Panorama route) back to Z
8. Z to Stein am Rhein for sightseeing, back to Z.
Happy to delve into details if anyone has questions.
