Milan to Lucerne with Swiss Travel Pass
A traveler named SRBhatta is trying to book the EC 156 train from Milan to Luzern using a Swiss Travel Pass but is confused about ticketing as Omio shows a discounted fare instead of free travel. They prefer a direct train and want to know how to effectively utilize their Swiss Travel Pass on this route.
- Book a ticket from Milan to Chiasso, then travel to Luzern without needing another ticket as long as you have your Swiss Travel Pass ready for inspection.
- If EC 156 doesn’t show on Omio, try using Trainline or trenitalia.com to find the direct train option.
- Reservations aren't usually necessary for Swiss trains, but if you want a specific seat, consider paying extra when booking your point-to-point ticket.
AI-generated summary-
Hi I tried to book online the train EC 156 from Milan to Luzern using my Swiss Travel Pass. When I added my swiss pass in the option provided by OMIO, the total tickets gives me only a discounted fare of 4000/- approx! Is my Swiss pass not suppose to waive off my Swiss fare?
While if I try booking to Chiasso only from Milan, it’s costing me 500/- approx but it doesnot show me EC 156!
I prefer a direct train from Milan rather changing in Chiasso! How do I take the benefit of my Swiss Pass which in the only direct train EC156?
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Hi SRBhatta,
Welcome to MySwissAlps.
With the Swiss Travel Pass, you can enjoy free travelling throughout Switzerland. If you’re coming from Milan, you just need to book a ticket from Milan to the closest Swiss border town. For example Milan to Chiasso. From Chiasso to Lucerne, you don’t need a ticket, and you won’t have to get off in Chiasso if you take a direct train. Just present your Swiss Travel Pass during ticket inspection.
You can find information on tickets and how to travel from Italy to Switzerland here: http://www.myswissalps.com/traintickets/italy
Regards,
Anna
Thank you Anna! I will surely check the link
As Anna says, just make sure that you have a valid ticket Milano Centrale – Chiasso and when you board at Milano Centrale, you are on a through train to Switzerland, and stay on the train at Chiasso.
To reach Luzern, you will either be on a direct Milano – Luzern train, or a train to Zurich. If on the latter, change trains at Arth Goldau
As you have correctly identified, EC156 is the best morning train direct from Milano to Luzern. You can see it on the official timetable PDF page (page 4/9) here:
http://www.fahrplanfelder.ch/fileadmin/fap_pdf_fields/2022/600.pdf
Thank you @1960man
Just to be more clear on EC 156 as it aapears the best option for me, when I have to pre-book online to Chiasso, EC 156 doesnot reflect, that can be obvious because it doesnot have any stop at Chiasso! Does that mean I should book till Bellinzona and then carry on in this train?
It might happen that I might not get a seat reservation if I leave myself to book at the train station at Milan on the day of departure!
Thanks
SRBhatta
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Hi SRBhatta,
When you book a point-to-point ticket from Milan to Chiasso, you can usually pay extra for seat reservation as well. There is usually no need to make seat reservations to travel on Swiss trains, as explained here: http://www.myswissalps.com/train/reservations
Regards,
Anna
The EC 156 stops at Chiasso, for 20 minutes. It is the border station.
Or trenitalia.com, the Italian railway ticket shop. Omio is not recommended.
Hi SRBHatta!
The EC156 leaving from Milan at 08:10 does show up in the Omio timetable if you fill out Milan Centrale to Lucerne. But Omio can’t process Swiss Travel Pass discounts (yet). It can process Swiss Half Fare Card discounts, called “CH – Halbtaxabo” there. Maybe that’s the option you initially selected?
In your case another option such as The Trainline is easier: http://www.thetrainline.com/trains/italy. You can buy a ticket plus reservation for Milan-Lucerne there, that includes the free traveling offered by your Swiss Travel Pass. Pick “Add loyalty and railcards” . Then, under “CFF”, select either “Abonnement Générale 1ère” or “Abonnement Générale 2nde”, depending on whether you have a 1st or 2nd class pass. These names refer to the Swiss GA travelcard, a pass used mostly by residents and offering the same free traveling on the Swiss leg Chiass0-Lucerne as the Swiss Travel Pass (see “Swiss Travel Pass versus GA travelcard” at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/details for details).
You can just stay seated in Chiasso. Show your ticket/reservation if asked for during the leg Milan-Chiasso, and show your Swiss Travel Pass if asked for during the leg Chiass0-Lucerne. The paragraph “Traveling beyond the area covered by the pass” at http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass/howtouse may be helpful.
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