Glacier Express Switzerland route, price & alternative trains in 2025 

This table shows prices per person for a single ride from St. Moritz to Zermatt, or the other way around. All fares and options are explained in detail below.

You need both a ticket or rail pass and a reservation

When traveling on the Glacier Express, you have to pay for two separate things:

• the route. You can cover this with a rail pass or ticket. You can get this at any time you want, even shortly before boarding. Most rail passes and tickets don't sell out.
• the seats. These have to be reserved in advance. You can do so here. Seats can be booked from 3 months before your travel date. Reservations not only secure your seat, but also include a supplement for the extra Glacier Express services.

Your seat reservation is completely separate from the ticket or pass you use. So you don't have to get your pass or ticket before reserving your seats. As long as you've purchased both before boarding, you're ready to go.

What if I can't get hold of Glacier Express reservations?

The Glacier Express is popular, and seats can get sold out quickly. That's why I strongly advise making your reservations 3 months before your travel date, and not much later. Annika has listed further insider tips to secure your reservations here.

How to make your reservations

Use any of the trusted vendors listed here. Also, check the video further down on this page, in which I show you how an online reservation is made.

Glacier Express seat reservations for 1st and 2nd class

Reservations have to be paid per person and per single journey. Prices in 2025 are:

• CHF 44 for a short journey: Zermatt-Chur (or any other stretch between these stations) and Brig-St. Moritz (or any other stretch between these stations). A heads up: there are limited options to make reservations for a short segment. It's possible for only a few trains in the summer schedule, and not for any combination of train stations.
• CHF 49 for a long journey: all rides longer than the short ones mentioned above

There's no difference between 1st and 2nd class reservation prices.

Glacier Express Excellence Class: reservation and supplement

Reservations for the Excellence Class cost CHF 490 per person and single journey, regardless of the traveled distance and season. This includes both seat reservations, as well as catering and all extra services. You also need a 1st class rail pass or ticket.

Glacier Express prices with a Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex in 2025

If you have a Swiss Travel Pass or Swiss Travel Pass Flex, this counts as your Glacier Express ticket. You don't need an additional ticket. But you do need to pay the seat reservation of CHF 49 for 2nd or 1st class, and CHF 490 for Excellence Class.

Glacier Express prices with a Swiss Half Fare Card in 2025

The lowest possible Glacier Express price with a Swiss Half Fare Card is CHF 78 in 2nd class, CHF 98 in 1st class, and CHF 539 in Excellence Class.

The above price is based on:

• a discounted Saver Day Pass at the lowest possible fare (from CHF 29 for 2nd class, from CHF 49 for 1st class and Excellence Class)
• seat reservations (CHF 49 for 2nd or 1st class, CHF 490 for Excellence Class)

Swiss Half Fare Card holders can pay for the ride with several products. The options are:

• a discounted Saver Day Pass. If you buy it early, it's usually cheaper than a normal discounted ticket.
• regular 50% discounted tickets. A discounted point-to-point ticket Zermatt - St. Moritz costs CHF 79.50 for 2nd class and CHF 136 for 1st class and Excellence Class.
• a Day Pass

Glacier Express fares with other rail passes

Find a full overview of rail pass discounts here. In all cases, you'll have to add the required seat reservation costs.

Glacier Express prices without a rail pass in 2025

Without a rail pass, the lowest possible price for the Glacier Express is CHF 101 in 2nd class, CHF 137 in 1st class, and CHF 578 in Excellence Class.

The above price is based on:

• a full-fare Saver Day Pass for the lowest possible fare (from CHF 52 for 2nd class, from CHF 88 for 1st class and Excellence Class). A Saver Day Pass is usually cheaper than regular tickets, if bought well in advance. A full-fare point-to-point ticket Zermatt - St. Moritz would cost CHF 159 for 2nd class, and CHF 272 for 1st class and Excellence Class.
• seat reservations (CHF 49 for 2nd or 1st class, CHF 490 for Excellence Class).

Glacier Express upgrade tickets for 1st class and Excellence Class

If you have a 2nd class pass or ticket, but want to travel by Glacier Express in 1st class or Excellence Class, you can buy an upgrade ticket. This costs CHF 113 for Zermatt - St. Moritz or the other way around. It's 50% discounted for Swiss Travel Pass (Flex) and Swiss Half Fare Card holders: CHF 56.50.

Glacier Express tour packages

You can choose to book a 1-day or multiple-day tour that includes the Glacier Express. In most cases, all tickets and reservations are included. See our list of recommended Glacier Express travel packages, plus the pros and cons of such trips, here.

The Glacier Express cancellation policy

Reservations for Swiss trains are mostly not refundable. That goes for Glacier Express seat reservations too. The only exception is proven incapacity to travel due to sickness or an accident. If that's the case, you can fill out an online form to request for a refund.

The rules for group reservations, rail passes or tickets, and travel packages may be more flexible:

• Groups of 10 people or more can cancel their Glacier Express reservation for free up to 30 days in advance. After that, a cancellation fee is deducted, which increases the closer in advance you cancel.
• Your rail pass or ticket may be refundable. It depends on what you're using to pay for the train ride. For example: the Swiss Travel Pass can often be canceled at a 15% cancellation fee, and some vendors even offer a full refund. Products that can run out, such as Saver Day Passes, are mostly not refundable.
• If you book a package, you'll have to check the cancellation conditions provided by the operator you're buying it from.

The Glacier Express is a direct train between Zermatt and St. Moritz. It's available in both directions. You can ride the entire route or just a section of it. You can board in Brig, Andermatt, Disentis or Chur for example.

The route is displayed on the below map. It can be divided into 4 main sections, each with their own unique scenery.

Section 1: Zermatt to Brig

The journey starts near the Matterhorn, in the car-free mountain village of Zermatt, at an altitude of 1605 m. The Matter valley leads to the town of Visp and is quite narrow at many places, with massive rock walls rising up to well over 4000 m.

The highest peaks of the Swiss Alps can be found in this region. Once Visp has been reached, the train has decended to 651 m. A short flat stretch leads to Brig.

Section 2: Brig to Andermatt

The train crosses the river Rhone a few minutes after departure from Brig, and continues its way east into the Upper Rhone valley. The V-shaped valley is very narrow sometimes. At end of the valley, in Oberwald, the train has reached an altitude of 1366 m.

Since 1925, a railroad across the Furka Pass leads from Oberwald to Realp. The mountains caused quite some engineering difficulties to this stretch, and it couldn't be crossed in winter.

In 1982, a tunnel to Realp was opened to bypass the pass, making the train service much more reliable. The old pass railway was closed, but it was reopened in 2010 for touristic steam trains. The Glacier Express uses the tunnel.

From Realp, a fairly flat stretch leads to Andermatt.

Section 3: Andermatt to Chur

Andermatt, at 1436 m, is where the Oberalp Pass begins. The Glacier Express winds its way up to 2034 m, the highest point of this journey.

This is where the river Rhine rises. The bare landscape up here can be covered in snow from November to April. The road is closed during that period.

Next up is a long descent along the Rhine valley to Chur, at 585 m. Chur is the lowest point of the route. The landscape looks very dramatic in the Rhine gorge between Ilanz and Reichenau, where the river carved deep into the white rocks.

This region is also referred to as the 'Swiss Grand Canyon'. After Reichenau, the train will reach Chur, the capital of the canton of Graubünden and the largest town along the route.

Section 4: Chur to St. Moritz

The final section overlaps with the first section of the Bernina Express. The Glacier Express changes direction and heads for Reichenau again. There it bends to the south, towards Thusis and Tiefencastel. This Domleschg valley is known for its many ruins and castles.

The Glacier Express continues south through a mostly narrow valley, crossing the spectacular curved Landwasser viaduct just before it reaches Filisur.

After Filisur, several spiral loops help it gain height until it reaches the entrance of the Albula tunnel, at 1789 m. This section of the route is very interesting to explore on foot as well.

The Albula tunnel leads to the high Upper Engadine Valley. The Glacier Express will reach its destination St. Moritz after another 20 minutes.

The best side of the Glacier Express train to sit on

Especially in high season, most seats will be taken. So it’s not that easy to move around in the train and switch sides during the ride. But if you can, these are the sides I’d suggest for each section of the Glacier Express route:

• Section 1, Zermatt-Brig: whether you sit on the left or right side of the train does not matter much.
• Section 2, Brig-Andermatt: the view from the right side of the train is slightly better, but there’s no major difference.
• Section 3, Andermatt-Chur: sit on the left side for the best views of the Rhine Gorge.
• Section 4, Chur-St. Moritz: you can best sit on the right side of the train to enjoy the view on the Landwasser viaduct.

If you make reservations, you usually can’t choose seats in a particular driving direction or on a specific side. You’ll have great views on either side though!

Operation dates, schedules, and timetable 2025 

Glacier Express operation dates 2025

• The Glacier Express runs from 7 December 2024 until 2 May 2025 (winter timetable) and from 3 May to 11 October 2025 (summer timetable).
• There's a maintenance break from 12 October to 5 December 2025.
• The Excellence Class is available on all operation dates mentioned above, except for 24 March to 11 April 2025.

Glacier Express timetable, option 1: find your train in the online Swiss timetable

I recommend to plan your Glacier Express with the online Swiss timetable. It's up-to-date and will show possible changes for your travel date. In addition, you can consult separate Glacier Express schedules: I'll explain those further down.

Here's how to find the Glacier Express in the general Swiss timetable:

• Enter your departure and destination stations along the Glacier Express route.
• You may have to add a via-station to make sure the timetable shows the Glacier Express trains, and not other routes. For example, add "Andermatt" when searching for connections between Zermatt and St. Moritz.
• The direct trains labeled "PE" ("Panorama Express") are Glacier Express trains. Click on such connections for further details.
• The train numbers correspond with the numbers in the separate Glacier Express PDF schedule, which is explained below.

Glacier Express timetable, option 2: check the separate Glacier Express PDF schedules for 2025

Download the Glacier Express PDF timetable through the links here. Then check my interpretation tips below.

But first: note that the PDF doesn't contain unexpected changes. So always consult the online Swiss timetable with up-to-date info for your travel date too.

How to interpret the PDF schedules in general

• For Zermatt to St. Moritz (direction: west to east), use the left half of the overview and read the timetable from top to bottom.
• For St. Moritz to Zermatt (direction: east to west), check the right side of the overview read the timetable from the bottom to the top.
• In each half, the winter schedule is at the left and the summer schedule is at the right. The operation dates for each season are mentioned too.
• The numbers (920, 902, 900, et cetera) above the timing indicate train numbers. They correspond to the numbers you'll find in the online timetable.
• A small "2" next to the train's number indicates that that one has an Excellence Class coach. In short, Excellence Class can be found on only one train per day: trains 902 (departure from Zermatt: 08:52) and 903/923 (departure from St. Moritz: 08:39). The other trains have 1st and 2nd class only.
• Two vertical lines at the right of a time mean you can only board at that station. You can't get off there.
• An "x" at the right of a time means you can only get off, not board the train at that station.
• At the bottom of the PDF, extra information about exceptions to the regular schedule is provided.

Details for the winter season schedule

During the entire winter season, there's one daily Glacier Express train in both directions with 2nd class, 1st class, and Excellence Class coaches:

• train 902, departure from Zermatt at 08:52 / arrival in St. Moritz at 16:37 
• train 923, departure from St. Moritz at 08:39 / arrival in Zermatt at 17:07 

During part of the winter season (to be exact: from 14 December 2024 to 5 January 2025, and from 1 February to 2 May 2025), there's an additional train with 1st and 2nd class coaches only.

• train 920, departure from Zermatt at 07:52 / arrival in St. Moritz 15:37 
• train 925, departure from St. Moritz at 09:39 / arrival in Zermatt at 18:07

Details for the summer season schedule

In the summer season, two daily Glacier Express trains a day depart from both directions. They operate on the entire route.

The earlier trains have an Excellence Class coach in addition to 1st and 2nd class coaches, except for 24 March to 11 April 2025 when the Excellence Class is not available:

• train 902, departure from Zermatt at 08:52 / arrival in St. Moritz at 16:37
• train 903, departure from St. Moritz at 08:39 / arrival in Zermatt at 17:07

The later trains on the entire route have 1st and 2nd class coaches only:

• train 904, departure from Zermatt at 09:52 / arrival in St. Moritz at 17:37 
• train 905, departure from St. Moritz at 09:39 / arrival in Zermatt at 18:07

In addition, there are two daily trains that service part of the route. These too have 1st and 2nd class only.

• In the early morning, there's one from Zermatt to Chur (direction: west to east) and from St. Moritz to Brig (direction: east to west).
• In the afternoon, a train runs from Brig to St. Moritz (direction: west to east east) and from Chur to Zermatt (direction: east to west).

Details for the morning trains on part of the route:

• train 900, departure from Zermatt at 07:52 / arrival in Chur at 13:25
• train 901, departure from St. Moritz at 07:07 / arrival in Brig at 13:40

Details for the afternoon trains on part of the route:

• train 906, departure from Brig at 14:14 / arrival in St. Moritz at 20:53
• train 907, departure from Chur at 14:26 / arrival in Zermatt at 20:07