[Removed user]

3 January 2020 at 16:37:23 #824790

Looking at the SBB site, it appears that I cannot buy Gotthard Express tickets for May 2020 yet. Does anyone know when they will be available for sale? Thank you!

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[Anna]

3 January 2020 at 17:02:11 #927313

Hi Vickel,

Generally you can purchase of the Gotthard Panorama Express tickets up to 30 days in advance. Other than the SBB, you can also purchase the tickets and seat reservation from a list of resellers from this link: http://www.myswissalps.com/gotthardpanoramaexpress/tickets

Hope that helps!

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

3 January 2020 at 18:42:01 #927314

Anna thanks for the quick response. Are the resellers reliable? Are they more expensive? Do you recommend one? Thanks again.

[Anna]

3 January 2020 at 21:33:07 #927315

Hi Vickel,

Does your travel plan only involve travelling on the Gotthard Panorama Express while in Switzerland? If that is the plan, then a single ticket would be sensible. But if you are travelling to a few places over a certain number of days, I would recommend getting a railpass such as the Swiss Travel Pass.

With the Swiss Travel Pass for example, you don’t need to purchase a full-price ticket to board the Gotthard Panorama Express train and boat. You just need to pay a surcharge/upgrade and make a seat reservation.

For details about railpass option, please see here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swissrailpasses
For specific info about the Swiss Travel Pass, see here: http://www.myswissalps.com/swisstravelpass

The resellers listed on the link provided (http://www.myswissalps.com/gotthardpanoramaexpress/tickets) are recommended resellers. It is perfectly safe to buy from them if that’s what you are concerned as many have purchased their seat reservations and passes successfully. Price-wise, some resellers may charge a little extra as service or admin charges. If you prefer to buy direct from SBB, there is also a link provided at the bottom of the page under ‘more information’.

Hope that helps!

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

3 January 2020 at 23:01:19 #927316

Anna thank you again so much! I’ve already purchased a 2nd class 3-day travel pass and will be traveling on the Gotthard Express on the last of the three days. So I know I need to purchase an upgrade and seat reservation for the Gotthard Express. I would prefer not to wait until 30 days prior to the trip so I’ll try one of the resellers. Thank you.

[Removed user]

4 January 2020 at 0:46:52 #927317

I’ve travelled the legendary Gotthard mountain route many times over the years, but I question the value of the concept of the Gotthard Panorama Express, so:

Gotthard Panorama Express – a personal view

This is ‘take it or leave it’ advice:

Personally I am sceptical of the attraction of the Gotthard Panorama Express. It is an attempt to keep some tourism going on the Gotthard ‘mountain route’ since the rest of the fast trains now go through the base tunnel. However, you see mainly valleys not high mountains. Also it is reservation obligatory and first class only.

Also, the train gets rather lonely – part of the ‘romance’ of the Gotthard route previously was that your train competed for space on the line with huge long international long-distance trains carrying 000s of passengers a day between northern and southern Europe, and those passenger trains interacted and weaved in between dozens of heavy freight trains lumbering back and forth across the Alps.

The curiosity was seeing another train high above you one minute then a few minutes later passing by your train on the same level, then perhaps seeing it again below you a few minutes after that. It is this that no longer happens as there are so few trains left on the line.

(It could also be argued that it is just a way of finding a use for very expensive panorama cars that Swiss Federal Railways bought but don’t have now have any other use for them…)!

More economical might be for you to take any boat Luzern – Fluelen. Then take the train Fluelen – Erstfeld. Change at Erstfeld into the regional train that takes the same old mountain route but at no extra cost, and runs direct through to Como (and Milano)

[Removed user]

4 January 2020 at 13:37:58 #927318

Thank you 1960man, I’ll definitely read your link. But I’m traveling with friends and we’ve already committed to the itinerary, hotels, etc so I’m afraid there’s no going back …😟

[Removed user]

4 January 2020 at 13:47:52 #927319

One more question – if my friends and I want to sit together, do we need to buy the tickets together? That is, are the tickets for specific seats or just for the train in general? Thank you.

[Anna]

4 January 2020 at 14:44:05 #927320

Hi Vickel,

As far as I know, you can’t select your seats but when you book them together, the seats assigned are usually adjacent to each other.

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

4 January 2020 at 15:03:22 #927321

If we book them separately, would we still be able to sit together? That is, does each ticket have a specific seat assignment on it? We’d prefer to each book our own ticket if possible and still sit together. Thanks again.

[Anna]

4 January 2020 at 18:24:11 #927322

Hi Vickel,

When you book a seat, I think you will be assigned a specific seat on the train. You could probably request for an aisle or a window seat but not actual seat number etc. I would recommend booking together if you wish to sit with your friends.

Regards,

Anna

[Removed user]

4 January 2020 at 19:38:35 #927323

Thank you!

[Removed user]

5 January 2020 at 1:15:25 #927324

I’m not sure you have understood the situation correctly. You can travel exactly the route you have already planned – but you don’t have to use the GPE. You already have a pass that is valid on the same route as traversed by the GPE, so you could do the same route without ‘booking’ anything at all, nor having to ugrade to 1st class.

[Removed user]

5 January 2020 at 3:15:45 #927325

Thank you for clarifying that; I probably read your email too quickly. I’ll let my friends know and see what they want to do. Appreciate your info.

[Arno]

5 January 2020 at 10:55:39 #927326

You can indeed take any other train as well. I’ve done the route on all kind of trains, and I used both lines: the scenic classic route and the new long (boring but quick) tunnel. I enjoyed the ride on the Gotthard Panorama Express the most – by far. It’s a luxurious comfortable train. The scenery won’t be any different of course, but we happened to have great sunny weather, and we crossed paths with the famous Orient Express at Göschenen. I wouldn’t take the Express all the time; it’s an occasional treat and it depends on the plans and final destination whether or not it’s the best option.