Help with Gotthard Panorama Express booking
A traveler named Cruiser939 is planning a trip on the Gotthard Panorama Express from Flüelen to Lugano next month. They bought tickets but are confused about whether they need to make a seat reservation and if their tickets are valid for the specific train they want to take.
- Make sure to purchase a seat reservation for the Gotthard Panorama Express, as it is required to travel on that specific train.
- Tickets in Switzerland are typically valid for any train on the same route for the day, but reservations are train-specific.
- For future long trips, consider the Saver Day Pass, which offers unlimited travel in Switzerland and may be cheaper if purchased in advance.
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I think I might’ve really screwed something up with my ticket purchasing and I’m hoping the educated people here might be able to help me out. I’m looking to take the Gotthard Panorama Express from Flüelen to Lugano next month. I searched on the SBB website and found the following result which I’ve attached as a screenshot. I then bought tickets for me and my wife and thought everything was set. Later on I was searching through the message board here and saw some people say that you had to search for Flüelen to Lugano via Göschenen to buy tickets for the train which I did not do. I still bought tickets for the 14:10 departure which was advertised as the Gotthard Panorama Express but my ticket receipt shows that I have a point to point ticket from Flüelen to Lugano via Gotthard! Have I screwed something up? Do I actually have tickets for the Gotthard Panorama Express? If I have screwed something up, what can I do to fix it? I just purchased the tickets about 2 hours ago so I’m hoping someone can help me out and alleviate my worries.
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Hi Cruiser939,
Your attachment shows the actual Gotthard Panorama Express, so if you bought a 1st class ticket for that train it will for sure be valid. However, does it also include the seat reservation (surcharge)? That is required for that train.
http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress/ tickets
Hi Arno. I did buy a first class ticket for that train but there was no seat reservation surcharge. I’m worried because my ticket that was emailed to me says Valid: 22.06.2019 00:00 -23.06.2019 05:00 (We’re planning on traveling June 22) and nowhere on it can I see any reference to the specific train we’re on. Also, how do I get a seat reservation? I was going to use the link that rockoyster posted in this thread: http://www.myswissalps.com/fo rum/topic/difficulty-booking-the-gotthard-panorama-express
would that be correct?
Hi Cruiser939,
Tickets within Switzerland are normally valid for a route, not one specific train. That’s why it’s valid for a full day. You could take any train, and also break your trip, as long as you complete the trip within that day. If you don’t travel on any of the regional trains, but on the Gotthard Panorama Express, you do need to have the reservation/surcharge as well. Unlike the ticket, the reservation IS for a specific train.
The link I gave you also provides links to buy the reservation online, and an alternative is mentioned in the post you referred to.
Arno, understood regarding ticket validity. I’ll be honest, I found some of the internal links here to be a bit confusing and circular with their directions and links. I will use the alternative link that rockoyster mentioned and reserve the seats but was mainly concerned with whether the tickets I purchased through the SBB wedsite will be accepted upon inspection as they say Flüelen to Lugano via Gotthard. I’ve looked and both Flüelen to Lugano via Gotthard and Flüelen to Lugano via Göschenen tickets are the same price so as long as I have the seat confirmation for the Gotthard Panorama Express you say we’ll be ok to travel on the actual Gotthard Panorama Express? Thanks so much for the continued help.
Hi Cruiner939,
I suppose your ticket price is CHF 104 (or CHF 52 if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card), right? You’ll be traveling via the Gotthard in any case. Both the new long tunnel and the short older one near Göschenen (part of the scenic route) are in the Gotthard area. It’s basically the same route but with two variations: quick and non scenic versus slow and scenic. If you purchased for the connection in your screenshot then it’s absolutely fine. All you need now is the reservation.
A tip for next time is to consider the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) for long trips like this. It includes the entire country, so no worries about routes, and it is cheaper if purchased well in advance (from CHF 88 1st class).
Arno, just when I was thinking that I was ok you introduce a new piece of info that’s making me question my tickets again, haha! Each first class ticket I purchased was CHF 40.50 with a Swiss Half Fare Card on the SBB website. Mind you, I’ve only purchased the ticket for the train portion of the trip and have not yet made the reservation/surcharge or booked the boat from Luzern to Flüelen. Am I still on the right track here or have I messed something up?
Can you take an image/scan of your ticket (less than 1 Mb please) and attach it here? I can then take a look and hopefully solve the mystery 🙂 You may have purchased a Supersaver ticket (which IS valid for a specific train only because it is cheaper), and if you have a Swiss Half Fare Card, it’s probably the correct price. But if I can see the ticket I can hopefully tell for sure.
Attached is an image of my ticket. I have removed personal information from the image as well as deleted the bar code so if you need it in order to determine whether this is the right ticket, please let me know. Thanks for continuing to assist with this Arno.
Attachments:
Hi Cruiser939,
Thanks for that. Your ticket is perfectly fine. Sorry about the confusion. The amount of CHF 52 that I mentioned allows people to travel north to Arth-Goldau first, to then take a fast InterCity train south from there. You don’t need that though. Your ticket is valid for the Gotthard Panorama Express, if you also buy the reservation we talked about.
Enjoy the ride! Let’s hope for clear weather.
Thanks so much for confirming that! My wife would’ve never let me hear the end of it if I had screwed that up seeing as I work for the railroads here in the US. One last question with regards to the Gotthard Panorama Express: I still need to book the associated boat trip from Luzern to Flüelen in order to connect to the train. Would I be correct to assume that the following search (attached below) on the SBB website is the boat that I’m supposed to take?
Attachments:
I’m glad I was able to prevent that 🙂 Yes, your screenshot shows the boat. Again, your ticket will be valid for any boat and does not include a reservation. Nor can you buy a reservation for the boat. A few Express trains are really an exception in Switzerland, everything else works without reservations. Hop on/hop off like a subway.
Have a wonderful trip!
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