Upgrade, seat reservation on Gotthard Panorama Exp

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    4 October 2019 at 12:51:17 #824088

    Hello! I recently did a trip from Lugano to Lucern using the Gotthard Express with my Swiss travel pass (2nd class) and I have a few questions and I seem to be getting all different answers from info people.

    1) We were told the Gotthard Express only offers first class, so we were required to upgrade to 1st class for 23 francs and then 16 francs for a seat reservation. Is this correct?

    2) on the train to Flüelen from Lugano, we sat in first class (our first class ticket says Lugano to Lucerne via Gotthard) and that was fine. When we got on the boat we sat in first class and got stamped by someone and he said we were fine. We got off in Treib then got back on two hours later and went to 1st class again. We got our tickets checked and got kicked off 1st class to 2nd class. The question is, was our first class ticket valid for only the train from Lugano to Flüelen or also the boat as well? It cost 23 francs to upgrade then again our Ticket says Lugano to Lucerne via Gotthard 1st class.

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    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    4 October 2019 at 15:36:43 #923176

    Hello Milantravels and Welcome (belatedly) to MySwissAlps,

    1) Leaving aside the prices, yes. Next year they will revert to offering 2nd Class again as in the past.

    2) The Gotthard Panorama Express has always been a bit of an enigma. Possibly because it is SBB’s only attempt at selling a Panoramic train package directly.

    A class upgrade for the train should have cost you CHF17.50 plus CHF16 seat reservation.

    A class upgrade for the boat should have cost you CHF11.50.

    I doubt that answers your question but them’s the facts. Who did you pay the CHF23 to? If it was a reseller like Happyrail then I would suggest it is their “marked-up” version of CHF17.50 and therefore covered only the train leg.. Resellers have to make a living too. 😎

    Annika
    Moderator
    7103 posts
    5 October 2019 at 13:54:48 #923177

    Hi Milantravels! Let’s have a look at your questions:

    Yes, the CHF 16 for seat reservations is correct. Apart from that, you need an upgrade ticket to 1st class if you have a 2nd class ticket or Swiss Travel Pass. Prices depend on the exact leg you’re choosing. Normally, an upgrade for the entire train and boat section would cost CHF 29,-, and a class upgrade for only the train section would cost CHF 17,50. I don’t know where your CHF 23 comes from. Maybe you explained you’d get out in Treib and (accidentally) only got an upgrade for the leg up to Treib but not for the remaining part? That could explain the non-standard fare you’ve been being paying. Or could you have bought a train ticket for the entire route, rather than a combined train-boat ticket, which wasn’t discovered during your first boat check?

    Please find explanation on the obligatory class upgrade and seat reservation fees at http://www.myswissalps.com/go tthardpanoramaexpress/ tickets. You’ll also find a link to standard price overviews at the bottom under “More information”.

    If you’re still insecure, I’d recommend to contact the company you bought your upgrade ticket and seat reservation from. They should be able to explain what they’ve sold, especially if you attach a copy or screenshot of both your upgrade ticket as well as your reservation.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 October 2019 at 15:01:45 #923178

    thank you for your reply! we bought the upgrade at the lugano train station from the SBB booth. weird that they charged us 23 francs..

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 October 2019 at 15:04:13 #923179

    hi, thanks for your reply! our 1st class upgrade ticket said Lugano to Lucerne via Gotthard, 23 CHF. could this mean maybe they thought we were taking the train straight to Lucerne, but there isn’t a gotthard train that does that right? we spontaneously got off at Treib and didn’t mention it to the SBB people. we bought the class upgrade straight from the SBB people at the lugano station.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    8 October 2019 at 16:03:50 #923180

    The cost of a class upgrade from Lugano to Luzern (via Göschenen and hence the Gotthard Panorama route) and continuing to Luzern via Erstfeld is indeed CHF23. Mystery solved. 😎

    See attached.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    8 October 2019 at 16:04:56 #923181

    Did the SBB think we were taking the Gotthard from lugano to fluelen and fluelen to luzerne via Erstfeld then? Hence the 23 CHF charge and not 29?

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    8 October 2019 at 16:19:42 #923182

    Who can say?

    Arno
    Moderator
    15471 posts
    8 October 2019 at 17:31:05 #923183

    Hi all,

    It makes sense now I think. Somehow when buying the ticket you assumed Flüelen to Lucerne via the boat, but the staff assumed the quickest route via train instead of the boat. A misunderstanding, a language issue, I’m not sure.

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    8 October 2019 at 18:11:10 #923184

    The official GPEX route (including boat) is Lugano to Luzern Bahnhofquai (see attached) for which the class upgrade is CHF29.

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