Connecting in Chur from Zurich to Bernina Express
A traveler is planning a trip from Zurich to Chur with her two nieces to catch the 8:32 train to Tirano. They want to know if arriving at Chur by 7:45 is sufficient time to make the connection and how to handle their reservations for the Bernina Express. Suggestions for their onward journey to Milan are also appreciated.
- Arrive at Chur around 7:45 to have a short connection time of about 3 minutes for your train to Tirano.
- Reservations for the Bernina Express are separate from the Swiss Travel Pass, so you can book all three seats together if you prefer.
- It's advisable to make reservations as soon as possible for the Bernina Express and purchase the Swiss Travel Pass online for convenience.
AI-generated summary-
My two nieces and I are planning to travel from Zurich to Chur early morning to get the 8:32 train to Tirano. If we arrive by 7:45 at Chur station will we be able to make that 8:32 train – is it all the same train station? To make reservations on the Bernina, do we each need to attach the reservation to our Swiss Travel Pass or can I book all three reservations so I can get seats together? Thanks for any suggestions. We will be heading on to Milan from Tirano so any other suggestions would be welcome.
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It will take you about 3 minutes to change platforms at Chur station between the train from Zürich and the 08.32 Bernina Express.
The following advice depends on which train you get from Zurich, but roughly speaking on departure from Zurich, try and sit in about the 6 or 7th coach from the ticket barrier (ie back of the train) to be closest to the platform subway at Chur
Hello AMB25 and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
Seat reservations can be done independently from the type of ticket or pass you have. You can make reseervations and select seats at http://www.rhb.ch/en/panorami c-trains/bernina-express#info.
Hi AMB25 and welcome to MySwissAlps!
Yes, reservations are separate from any rail pass you may have. You can make reservations before or after buying your Swiss Travel Pass (sooner the better though). Reservations can also be made here: http://www.myswissalps.com/be rninaexpress/packages and you’ll find more details on the Bernina Express there as well.
You can buy you Swiss Travel Pass online here: http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price.
It would be more convenient to buy the Swiss Travel Pass online. It can be emailed to you and printed at home (saving you time at the airport train station and giving you a copy to print out again in case you lose your pass).You can check the train departures from Zurich here: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable – I’d pick an arriving train around 08:15 if such a time exists on your travel date. Technically 3-5 minutes connection is ok in Chur but leaves little wiggle room if there is a delay (though that would be very unusual).
Hi Lucas. Thanks so much for your information. I did follow your links and ordered my Swiss Travel Pass online and sent the link off to my nieces. I have also logged into the Bernina Express link and ordered reservations for the three of us. However, I am not sure those reservations went through since I was not asked for payment information. I redid the reservations just now but was told the information was already entered. Will I receive an email from Bernina once they check on my Swiss Pass? Not sure how this part works. Thanks in advance for any info.
Hi AMB,
They don’t need to “check on your Swiss Pass” by which I think you mean Swiss Travel Pass. That happens on the train.
If you haven’t been asked for payment then you won’t get your reservations. Are you sure your order is not sitting in the Shopping Cart awaiting payment?
Yes, strange indeed – you’ll need to pay for the reservations (separate from your Swiss Travel Pass) and that should happen at time of purchase.
You should be asked for payment information. Which reservation link did you use?
I used HappyRail.com for my Swiss Travel Pass and just realized that I was supposed to find a “cart” to complete my payment. My credit card company had contacted me to verify the transaction so I thought it was all set. However, I did not find my Bernina reservations in that cart. I am not sure now which company I used. I clicked the link you sent me for “….berninaexpresspackages”. I am now very confused.
Hi AMB,
You may have ordered from https://www.happyrail. com/en/pass/europe/swi tzerland/passholder-fares-bernina-express as that’s one of the links on our packages page. I’m not sure though. Your credit card payments (you either paid just for the passes or also for reservations) and e-mails received from HappyRail (or another company) should reveal what happened.
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