Golden Pass train fees with Swiss Travel Pass Flex

Our earlier thread is closed. We purchased Swiss 4-day Flex Combi Passes and earlier had purchased panoramic seats for Golden Pass. We are trying now to get 1st Class tickets to go with our panoramic seats, for which Rail Europe site has additional $64/person charges. Based on your earlier explanations, our understanding has been that these tickets should be free with our passes and that we only pay extra for the scenic seats?

Hi Bill,

Actually you don't need tickets at all. That's the advantage of a pass: you can board without arranging for tickets for each trip. So, if you have a 1st class pass and a seat reservation, you're all set.

Enjoy the ride!

Thanks, so we will trust that our Swiss Passes + panoramic seat reservations will be sufficient for Golden Pass train.

For Glacier Express train from Andermatt to St. Moritz, our understanding (based on your previous responses) is that we can use our Swiss Passes + 33 CHF surcharge/person---will we also need to reserve tickets or not?

Our other train travel will be round-trip Champex/Zermatt and one-way Chamonix to Montreux. Based on on your previous responses, we don't need advance tickets for these trains? Our plan is to use one free Flex day for Chamonix/Montreux, another free Flex day for return trip from Zermatt to Champex, and the half-fare Swiss Combi Pass provisions for trip from Champex to Zermatt. Are our understandings correct?

Hi Bill,

You don't need tickets on any of the free routes (the map is here). Only in case of cable cars, where you get a discount, you need to buy a ticket.

Apart from a few exceptions like the Glacier Express, seat reservations are not needed in Switzerland. You just board with your pass. More details are here: myswissalps.com/ train/reservations.