When can I make reservations for Glacier Express ride in January 2026?
Nella is planning a trip in January 2026 and is struggling to buy seat reservations for the Glacier Express from St Moritz to Zermatt due to technical issues on the booking website. She is looking for alternative local train journeys if she cannot book the Glacier Express, as this train journey is central to her holiday plans.
- Try regional trains that follow a similar route to the Glacier Express, as they don’t require seat reservations.
- For a scenic alternative, consider taking hourly regional trains from St Moritz to Zermatt with minimal stops.
- If booking online, using a different browser might help resolve technical issues during the reservation process.
AI-generated summary-
Has anyone been able to buy seat reservations for the new winter timetable that was released yesterday? I have been in the online queue 6 times, waiting over 2 hours each time only to get through to the seat reservation page and it will not load to allow you to purchase the open available seats in any class. This is so upsetting and disappointing. Does anyone know an alternative booking site I can use to buy the seat reservations? I am looking to travel in January 2026. If we cant travel on the Glacier Express direct train from St Moritz to Zermatt, can anyone recommend an alternative, direct as possible with minimal stops, local train journey I could look at instead? Our whole holiday is based around this train journey so any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
Nella
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Hello again Nella
I am looking to travel in January 2026. If we cant travel on the Glacier Express direct train from St Moritz to Zermatt, can anyone recommend an alternative, direct as possible with minimal stops, local train journey I could look at instead?
Getting from St Moritz to Zermatt on 12th January without using the Glacier Express.
Here is an easy possibility.
Catch the 08 47 RE3 St Moritz to Landquart via Klosters, arrive Landquart 10 39
10 48 IC3 from Landquart (bound for Basel) arriving Zurich 11 53.
12 02 IC8 from Zurich (bound for Brig) arriving Visp 14 04.
14 11 R41 from Visp arriving Zermatt 15 17.
Kind regards
Roger
Thank you for the reply Roger,
Do you know if there are any regional trains that travel the same route as the glacier express? I am hoping to not have to go up and around through Zurich, but travel through Chur, Andermatt, Brig etc.
Thanks
Nella
Hello again Nella
Have a good map of Switzerland in front of you.
Do you know if there are any regional trains that travel the same route as the glacier express?
Yes there are hourly regional trains which follow the route of the Glacier Express.
Before I discuss those regional trains, I suspect that some of the difficulty in getting a Glacier Express booking is caused by the fact that through most of January there is only one Glacier Express a day operating between St Moritz and Zermatt. During the late winter and the spring there are two Glacier Expresses a day. In the Summer and Autumn there are three!
Zermatt to St Moritz by regional trains.
Note that the itinerary below omits a short section of the Glacier Express route, that between Reichenau-Tamins and Chur. But that section is not scenic!
Travel as follows (Seat reservations are not required – so that is money saved!)
08 05 IR38 from St Moritz to Chur, but you get out at Reichenau-Tamins at 09 52. Try and sit on the left-hand side of the train. The curved Landwasser viaduct comes immediately after the first tunnel after Filisur station.
From Reichenau-Tamins catch the 10 04 RE7 to Disentis, arriving there at 11 09.
Walk straight across the platform to the waiting 11 15 R45 to Andermatt, arriving Andermatt at 12 21.
From Andermatt catch the 12 37 R43 to VISP. Visp comes shortly after BRIG. You arrive Visp at 14 50.
Finally catch the 1511 R41 to Zermatt, arriving at 16 17.
The times given above basically repeat themselves hourly. You could leave at 07 05 or 09 05. But I recommend 08 05. In mid-January full daylight is going to be about 08 15 to 16 45. If you left at 09 05 (or if you left at 08 05 but took a lunch break at Andermatt) the last section to Zermatt will be in the dark.
Best wishes for your detailed planning.
Roger
Hi Nella,
I’m sorry you are having trouble securing your seats on the Glacier Express.
I managed to book seats on the Glacier Express and Bernina Express for travel in December, when booking for the new season opened on the 15th. I was put in a queue and only had a few minutes to complete the process. I think 1st class seats are limited but I still see plenty of 2nd class seats. Perhaps you should try again? Which dates are you looking at?
Glacier Express seat reservation: https://www.myswissalps.com/activity/glacier-express/#price
We provide some tips on how to book the seats here: https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/glacier-express-reservations/
Regards,
Anna
Hi Anna,
You seem to be the lucky one who has been able to complete the ticket process! I have tried countless times, going through the queue then to the booking page where it shows there are seats available then when you click to confirm the seats it only continues to load and then times out and pushes you back to wait in the queue again.I will add my screen shots of what is happening.
I am trying to book any seats on Monday 12th January, 1st or 2nd class. It says there are 11 1st class and 48 2nd class, however you cannot get past the ‘seat selection’ page.Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you all for your help.
Nella
Hi Nella,
Have you tried with a different browser?
Anna
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