Milan to Lucerne – Bernina Express route
A traveler from Texas is planning to get from Milan to Lucerne in one day, needing to arrive by 7 PM. They want to take the Bernina Express but are concerned about timing and are looking for advice on how to successfully plan their trip without getting into Lucerne too late.
- Take regular trains instead of the Bernina Express for more flexible timing and the same scenic views.
- Use the SBB website or SBB Mobile app for planning your journey and checking train timings.
- Look for train routes from Tirano to Lucerne via Chur that arrive by 7 PM for the best options.
AI-generated summary-
We need to get from Milan to Lucerne in one day –(in Lucerne by 7pm). It looks like the Bernina Express (which we’d love to take from Tirano to Chur time is only late afternoon. That timing would get us into Lucerne too late as we’d also have to consider timing for a train from Chur to Lucerne.
However, I saw a note that suggested e could take a portion of the Bernina Express early in the morning and then pick up the rest of the route via regional train.
Can someone outline their knowledge of this or help us plan in any way.
Thanks from Texas
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Hi Annflwr from Texas and Welcome to MySwissAlps,
If you want to follow the Bernina Express route then you would be wise to simply take regular trains for the whole route. The scenery is exactly the same and the timing is much more flexible and you don’t need reservations.
Use the timetable on the SBB website (bit.ly/2HH1U7B) or the highly-recommended SBB Mobile app (bit.ly/2ICIUHi) to plan your travel, find fares* and buy tickets if required. If you are not familiar with using the timetable it will pay to first read the instructions on this page – http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. *SBB website shows half-fare prices by default, mobile app allows you to nominate full or half-fare and is also smart enough to offer you the Saver Day Pass (http://www.myswissalps.com/sa verdaypass) if that offers the best fare.
Just search for Tirano to Luzern via Chur arriving by 19:00 for the best route. Trains appearing on the timetable denoted “PE” are the Bernina Express so you could take these if they coincide with your timing requirements.
You have fallen into what I call the ‘Marketing hype trap” ( One of the things that really annoys me about 21st century travel marketing is that it can misdirect the uninitiated)
In this case, It is important to understand the difference between the ‘Bernina Express’ and the ‘Bernina Railway’. The Bernina Railway is the (originally independent) railway line from Tirano – St Moritz – Tirano. It became part of the Rhätische Bahn* (RhB) in 1943.
The Bernina Railway itself does not connect to Chur
It has regular ‘normal’ train services :
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/ fileadmin/fap_pdf_fiel ds/2019/950 .pdfThe Bernina Express title designates one or two trains a day operated by special coaches (with supplement payable) which include a journey on the Bernina Railway
You do not have to travel on the Bernina Express, any local/regional train is free to board in Graubünden if you have the right valid pass.
* – The Rhätische Bahn is the ‘national’ train operator in Canton Graubünden, with a network of metre gauge lines, separate from Swiss Federal Railways
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