Swiss Travel Pass Flex fee to take R, IR&IC trains

  • Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 12:29:59 #821679

    Dear Sir or Madam,

    My wife and I have Swiss Travel Pass Flex 1st class, respectively.

    1. Do we need any extra charge to take the train “R:regional” , “IC:intercity”, and “IR”? (What stands for IR’s abbreviation ?)

    2. Is the 1st class pass all seat reservations only, or non-reservation seat included for R and IC?

    3. We will go from Zurich to Montreux via Luzern , Interlaken, Spiez and Visp, using our Swiss Pass Flex. How much does it cost for the extra charge by seat reservations in total for our two?

    I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you soon.

    Kind regards,

    Akirah52

  • Effortlessly learn from the questions and answers in the forum. Receive a daily e-mail with new discussions.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 13:00:39 #912509

    Hi Akirah52,

    There are no extra charges in the Swiss Travel Pass Flex http://www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpassflex

    You do not need seat reservations, as 1st class carriages are often quite empty! Unless you are planning to take a panoramic train. You can read more about reservations here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/reservations

    The IR stands for Interregio, you can see the different types here: http://www.myswissalps.com/tr ain/practical/traintyp es

    You do not really need to know the type of train as the tickets in Switzerland are valid from one destination to another (or across the network), although it’s nice to know what train you are on for facilities etc.

    I hope this helps and let us know if you have other questions!

    Maria.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 20:53:53 #912510

    Dear Maria,

    Thank you for your kind reply.

    Does 1st class Pass Holder like us need to reserve to seat for the following two trains, on this September:

    1. Glacier Express (Zermatt to St.Moriz): the date will be 10 (Tuesday) September, 2019.

    2. Bernina Express (St.Moriz to Tirano): the date will be 11 (Wednesday) September, 2019.

    Kind regards,

    Akirah52

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    16 May 2019 at 21:16:30 #912511

    Yes. You can book the BEX 6 months out, and the GEX 3 months out.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 22:56:54 #912512

    All trains on the mainline Swiss railway network are ‘walk on’ if you have a travel pass. No need to reserve seats or pay any supplements (as happens on many express trains in Italy and France for example).

    IC = Inter City – fastest

    IR = Inter Regio (ie inter-regional) – semi fast

    R = Regio (nal) – local all stations

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    16 May 2019 at 23:00:28 #912513

    Just don’t try walking onto the GEX or BEX without a reservation though. Aren’t they on the mainline Swiss railway network? 😉

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 23:13:06 #912514

    ” as 1st class carriages are often quite empty! “

    I’ve said this before on this forum. Actually 1st class can often be quite full as there are fewer 1st class cars per train and a lot more people travel 1st class in Switzerland than typically do in other countries.

    “You do not really need to know the type of train”

    Yes you do! as an IC will be faster than an IR and both will be quite a lot faster than most ‘R’ trains.

    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    16 May 2019 at 23:25:56 #912515

    No.

    It’s difficult and time consuming to define but in railway parlance main line means major standard gauge inter city network. That doesn’t really include narrow gauge Swiss lines that are in inherently slower than standard gauge (although RhB is doing its level best to convert its network into the equivalent of a main line)

    This is borne out by the fact that it is over 1 hour quicker to travel between Zermatt and St Moritz via Bern and Zurich than via the Glacier Express, even though the former (roughly 420 km) is a much longer distance journey than the latter (about 260km)

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    16 May 2019 at 23:57:40 #912516

    I just didn’t want Akira, who as a visitor would be oblivious to such subtlety, to be confused about the need for reservations by your technically correct statement.

  • The thread ‘Swiss Travel Pass Flex fee to take R, IR&IC trains’ is closed to new replies.

About MySwissAlps

We’re passionate tourists and locals. We share tips about how to plan a trip to Switzerland. MySwissAlps was founded in 2002.

Get a free account for a worry-free trip

  • Join our 10730 members and ask us questions in the forum
  • Access to member-only promotions
  • Detailed maps and weather forecasts

Planning your first Switzerland adventure?

Get a jump-start with Annika’s 20-minute e-mail course, “Switzerland for beginners”. Subscribe to our newsletter to unlock the course.