GoldenPass Belle Époque Swiss Travel Pass: 1st vs 2nd class seats
Fabian Lim is planning a trip on the GoldenPass Belle Époque train and wants to know if he needs to upgrade to first class for the vintage turquoise carriage. He has already purchased the Swiss Travel Pass and is confused about the reservation options and carriage designs available for second class.
- To enjoy the vintage turquoise seats on the Belle Époque train, you should upgrade to a first-class ticket as the second class may have different seating that isn't as comfortable.
- Reservations for the GoldenPass trains are recommended, especially during peak season, and should be made through the MOB website, not SBB.
- If you have a second-class Swiss Travel Pass, ensure to purchase an upgrade for first class before your journey.
AI-generated summary-
Hello,
I just wanted to make enquiry better I make further reservations. I have purchased the SwissTravelPass and understand the train ride on Belle Epoque is covered under STP but I wanted the vintage carriage so does that mean I will need to upgrade to 1st class to be entitled to be in the vintage carriage (with turquoise fabric seats and wooden finishing)? I have seen some sites mentioning there are 2 different carriages interior designs for 2nd class (with turquoise fabric seats and the other carriage comes with wooden with simple benches) but when I tried making reservations on MOB site, there is only 1 carriage for 2nd class to select (Coach21) so am not too sure what design coach is that. Any advice to this? Thanks!
Cheers: Fabian Lim
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fabianlim – usually car no 20 have soft velur turquoise seats and car no 21 have wooden benches.
1st class car have always velur seats.
Kamil
Thanks a lot, Kamil. However when I try to make the seat reservation I can only choose Carriage 11 (1st class) or Carriage 21 (2nd class), there isn’t 20 for me to select. See image attached….
Cheers: Fabian Lim
Attachments:
fabianlim – some cars are permanently available only for tour operator or/and groups. It’s typical especially for swiss tourist trains. Probably you will not to able to book seats in cars no 10 and 20 in “Belle Epoque” never. Instead consider buying a 1st class seat and/or ticket. If your STP is valid in 2nd class only then you must additionally pay supplement (upgrage) for class change only.
Remember too, that reservation in “Belle Epoque” is not obligatory (eventually only recommended), so maybe you will be lucky and seats will be empty.
Kamil
Hi Kamil – Well noted, very unfortunate then. Even when I tried to get the 1st class carriage (#11) all are greyed out. I am not too sure if it’s system blocked or really fully booked. I personally don’t think will be fully booked since the trip is for 25th Apr, quite far away from now…. Any idea the best way to secure the vintage carriage?
Cheers: Fabian Lim
I checked few seconds ago 1st class car (no 11) on 25th of April, depart from Zweisimmen at 12:02 – it is ALL EMPTY, whole green 🙂 You probably forgotten to change class in reservation system…
Kamil
Ahhh thanks – I got it, it’s because at the start I have indicated to be 2nd class hence Coach 11 is greyed out. Now selecting 1st class I am seeing them available… Few questions:
Should I first purchase STP which gives me access to GoldenPass Belle Epoque, then make an upgrade to 1st class for this train, then only make seat reservations? Any idea what’s the best way to do this or you have a better suggestion? Assuming I already have STP where should I make the upgrade to 1st class?Cheers: Fabian
Book a seat whenever you want, before or after buying ticket – it is completely separate with ticket. You can upgrade from 2nd class STP to 1st class ticket for occasionally journey online or at the station. More information you can find here (section “Class upgrade”):
https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/train/classes/
Kamil
Well understood, thanks! Anyway we can find out if Carriage #20 (2nd class) will be open to public as that would be my preferred option to have 2nd class but having the turquoise seating interior…
Hi Fabian,
The Swiss Travel Pass is valid on both the GoldenPass Panorama and GoldenPass Belle Epoque trains: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/#discounts-train. Both trains have 1st and 2nd class carriage. If you have a 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass and wish to sit in 1st class, you just need to purchase a seat upgrade.
These GoldenPass trains travel between Montreux and Zweisimmen on hourly basis. But I think the Belle Epoque only runs twice daily. You can check the train schedules on the Swiss timetable: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/public-transport/timetable/. Seat reservation on the GoldenPass Panorama and GoldenPass Belle Epoque is not mandatory, however recommended in peak travelling season.
Let me know if you need further information.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna,
Hope you’re well! You never fail to impress me with the trip guidance, thank you! First of all, I have questions here:
1/ Will I need to register into SBB mobile app and is there a place where I need to input my purchased SwissTravelPass?
2/ When I make an upgrade to 1st class for Belle Epoque, is SBB mobile app the easiest way to do it?
3/ Will I need to link it to my purchased STP before I can make an upgrade?
4/ Are you aware that 2nd class carriage for the Belle Epoque train isn’t having the same interior furnishing design as 1st class? Will be the wooden and black seat styling?
Thanks: Fabian Lim
Hi Fabian,
In answer to your questions:
- You don’t actually need to register yourself on the SBB app. Once you purchase your Swiss Travel Pass, you will receive it via email in a PDF, which you can download and store on your phone (you’ll likely have a type of wallet app on your phone for storing such). More information in the attached link, scroll to “How does the Swiss Travel Pass work?”: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/. You can find some online purchase options for the Swiss Travel Pass here: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/#tickets
- Yes, you can do it online if you wish, or you can also upgrade at any staffed rail station or at any ticket machine. Just make sure you purchase the upgrade before the scheduled departure.
- No need. If you bought your upgrade today, you can still apply the respective 2nd class Swiss Travel Pass discount. Just ensure you have both when you board the train 🙂
- If you wish to sit on the turquoise seats, it is necessary to be in first class.
I hope this all clarifies.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Thanks Yolanda. I’d like to find out if GA Travel Pass is the same as STP?
I have purchase STP from one of the site and trying to make upgrade to 1st class on sbb mobile app for specific Zweisimmen-Montreux route but didn’t see mentioning for existing STP 2nd class, only GA TravelPass. So not sure if they meant the same. Also I am travelling with my wife can I make the upgrade for 2 person at the same time or need to do separate transactions? Thanks a lot!
Fabian
Yolanda – I think you are mistake 😉 “Belle Epoque” 2nd class car no 20 have exactly the same turquoise upholstery as 1st class car no 11. Only layout is different – “2+2” and “2+1”. And here you are photo:
https://www.vagonweb.cz/fotogalerie/CH/MOB_Bs-Pullman.php
Kamil
Hi Fabian,
You can select the GA to apply the Swiss Travel Pass discount. You can read about the GA in the attached link: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel/tickets/residents/
You should be able to add your wife, as an additional passenger so you can purchase both upgrades in one transaction.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Hi Kamil,
Thanks for sharing the photos. I am not 100% sure but it could be old footage. We’ll look into this as I am pretty sure you need a 1st class reservation to enjoy the turquoise seating.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
Yolanda – I’ll check it personally in Montreux at 22th of May 😉
Kamil
Hi Yolanda and Kamil,
I travelled on the Goldenpass Belle-Époque twice in September 2019: once in first class with a reservation, and once in 2nd class without a reservation.
Both times the carriage was furnished with the turquoise upholstery, with the only difference being the 2+1 and 2+2 layout as mentioned by Kamil.
I’d never heard about the wooden seats until this year, so perhaps those carriages are new. The pictures show they do have padding on the seat and back, but they certainly don’t look as comfortable as the upholstered seating, especially given the length of the trip.
I find it disappointing that the MOB aren’t more upfront about the type of seating you can expect in each class. I must admit, now that I know about the wooden seats, I would avoid reserving 2nd class seats unless I could be sure of getting the turquoise upholstered ones!
Alpenrose
🙂 🙂 🙂
@kamil – I will be there end Apr so will clear the air… LOL
Anyway, I will upgrade to 1st class just to be safe not to end up in the padded wooden seat – all the way to catch this train do not want to put the experience out to waste… Thanks for the feedback @Yolanda and @Alpenrose
Cheers: Fabian
Hi Yolanda,
I made the ticket upgrade to 1st class to secure the turquoise upholstery interior, was done successfully! However I also tried making a seat reservation but I got the error “Unfortunately, we cannot offer you a reservation for this connection”…. Any idea how to go about this?
See attached image….
Thanks: Fabian Lim
Attachments:
Hi Fabian,
Happy to hear you secured your upgrade 🙂
Seat reservations for the Belle Epoque (and the other GoldenPass trains) is not via SBB. You’ll need to make the reservation via MOB. Please see attached link, scroll down to “Other websites of interest, you’ll find all the details there:
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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