[Subrata]

8 March 2026 at 3:30:16 #2795910

My wife and I are scheduled to travel by IC3 from Chur to Zurich HB and by IC1 from Zurich HB to Bern early next month. We have already bought Swiss Travel Passes (First Class). Both these trains ply with double-decker coaches. Since we will have fairly heavy luggage with us, we would prefer to sit on the lower deck. I am, however, not sure whether there are stairs to negotiate to get to the seats in the lower deck. If not, we will try to reserve our seats in the lower deck in advance. I have been informed by SBB Customer Support that for specific seat allocation requests one has to either call the SBB Contact Centre or visit any SBB Booking Office in Switzerland.

Looking forward to information in this regard.

Regards

Subrata

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[Roger Sexton]

Reply 1 of 1 • 8 March 2026 at 8:38:14 #2795912

Hello again Subrata

Thank you for another very interesting question!

Double-Deck Swiss Trains

A lot of Swiss-Trains (both long-distance and local) are double decks.  With the exception of some older train which are used only on local ‘S-Bahn’ services around Zurich, all Swiss double-deck trains have level boarding through wide doors which lead into a quite large vestibule.

There are NO steps between this vestibule and the bottom-deck seats.  In short, you will have no problem getting yourselves and your luggage into the lower deck seats of double-deck IC trains.

IC3 Chur to Zurich HB

This could be a single-deck or double-deck.  The single decks are traditional carriages built about thirty years ago, and they have two steps to negotiate when boarding from the platform.

For both double and single decks, first class carriages will be at the front of the train.  Sit on the right hand side in the direction of travel for the best views.  (Sit in the first class carriage furthest from the front.)

All IC3 trains start from Chur, then calling at Landquart and Sargans.  From CHUR there should be plenty of first class seats, so I would not bother with reservations.  (I am assuming that your journey starts from Chur.)

The Interchange at Zurich HB

The IC3 will come into a ground level platform at 22 minutes past the hour.  The IC1 will depart at 32 minutes past the hour from an underground platform, usually platform 32 (occasionally platform 31).

Ten minutes is ample.  The walking distance is not that long. (I am guessing about 200 metres.) There are elevators/lifts which go down from the middle of the above ground platforms to the below ground platforms.  Be on the lookout for those as the IC3 train pulls into Zurich HB.

IC1 Zurich to Bern

These trains (which run across the country from St Gallen to Geneva) are always sixteen-carriage double-deck trains, with (when going westwards) first class in the middle and at the back.

As I know from recent personal experience (I travel round Switzerland with a first class STP: https://www.myswissalps.com/travel-ticket/swiss-travel-pass/), at ‘rush hours’ there are a lot of first class commuters!  (I often use the 07 32 from Zurich, and I have used the 17 32 from Bern!)  So if you are travelling at ‘rush hour’ do reserve seats on the IC1, and (as SBB have already suggested) get the experts in one of their booking offices to do this for you.

Kind regards

Roger