[divyamodi]

12 July 2017 at 14:02:18 #812596

hi

i am travelling from luzern to milan and i have swiss pass also. so pls suggest which train should i take and how much will it cost me.

thank you

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[Removed user]

12 July 2017 at 16:25:12 #866699

Hi divyamodi and welcome to MySwissAlps!

There are many trains per day you can take from Lucerne to Milan. Some are direct and some require a train transfer. They take about 3.5 hours and you can search the timetable here for the train departure that best fits your schedule.

You will only need to buy a ticket from the Swiss/Italian border town to Milan. This would be Chiasso to Milan. You can buy this ticket online here and have it with you when you travel on the train (to show the train staff once the train leaves Switzerland).

Lucas

[divyamodi]

12 July 2017 at 17:27:37 #866700

thank you lucas,

please tell me can i travel in a direct train from zurich to milan and can i buy ticket at zurich station or i have to reseve the seat beforehand

thank you

divya modi

[rockoyster]

13 July 2017 at 0:56:44 #866701

Hello Divya

Yes there are direct trains from Zurich to Milan departing every 2 hours eg 11:09, 13:09 etc. Check the timetable link that Lucas provided above. Reservations are compulsory for that route.

[divyamodi]

13 July 2017 at 5:05:02 #866702

I am not able to book tickets with the Swiss pass option … pls help

[Removed user]

13 July 2017 at 9:06:40 #866703

Which tickets are you trying to book? Are you using my link on an earlier post to buy tickets for Chiasso to Milan? You don’t need the Swiss Travel pass to book that – it is a normal ticket.

Lucas

[Slowpoke]

13 July 2017 at 9:27:38 #866704

Hi divya-

To add some detail-

Swiss trains do not require or need reservations within Switzerland. So , technically, you can get on any train at Luzern and go to Chiasso. Once in Italy, on the exact same train, you need reservations from Chiasso to Milano.

So, to be sure of a seat all the way, it is a very good idea to reserve for the whole trip.

Slowpoke

[rockoyster]

13 July 2017 at 9:49:50 #866705

Hi Slowpoke,

Any tips on how to actually reserve for the whole trip apart from rocking up to a manned station. Not immediately apparent how to do it on-line via SBB site.

[Arno]

13 July 2017 at 14:20:25 #866706

Hi Rockoyster,

Well, SBB is the domestic website and doesn’t sell reservations for Swiss Travel Pass holders. Technically one can select “GA” for Italy. But it’s tricky as GA is identical but not the exact same thing as the Swiss Travel Pass. Several other websites (listed here) do sell tickets for Swiss Travel Pass holders. Which is not needed within Switzerland, but for an international trip it may make sense. As Divyamodi is from India the page http://www.raileurope.co.in#t ab3 is a good option. It should be possible to book a Zurich to Milan ticket there, which costs less than normal tickets because the Swiss portion is free if you select Swiss Travel Pass. The seat will be reserved for the entire route though.

[Slowpoke]

13 July 2017 at 15:34:31 #866707

Hi Arno-

<<“In general, except for such special panoramic trains, you do not need reservations on Swiss trains within Switzerland.”>>

I understand the point. It is an interesting problem, and it is hard to imagine that the Swiss don’t havwe a solution.

The approach through RailEurope ought to work well for mainline travel. I’ve not been happy with them for travel on secondary routes.

I can say that a few years ago we went to from Zürich to Vienna and return on the “Railjet” and booked reserved seats all the way, using the SBB ticket office. Also once to Bolzano and Merano, and return via Mals Venosta, through the Swiss National Park to Zernez and Samedan where we got our luggage and a rental car.

We booked those trips through the ticket office of the SBB, and got reserved seats where appropriate ( at least as far as Meran0).

Come to think of it, we used our Half-fare cards, so we had to buy tickets. Don’t know how to handle the Swiss Travel Pass. I wonder if a note to the SBB would be helpful? They are quite responsive.

Slowpoke

[rockoyster]

13 July 2017 at 23:06:23 #866708

Hi Arno,

Just as an exercise I tried booking Zurich to Milan using this page http://www.sbb.ch/ticketshop/ b2c/adw.do?sprache=en&artikelnumm er=7731

Once you get to the reservation page and click next you get thrown back to the SBB Ticket Shop home page (German version) with a message which translates to “Your session was too long inactive. Please login again. If you were in the buying process, you have to choose your tickets again. Also ensure that session cookies are enabled in your browser.”.

I have tried a few times – same result.

I’ll report to SBB.

[rockoyster]

14 July 2017 at 3:36:25 #866709

Hi Arno,

I found a post on the SBB Community Forum (sbbcffffs-community.sbb.ch/t5/SB B-EN/ct-p/sbb_en) where someone asked the the question:

If I have Swiss travel pass, how should I choose the option when I booking the ticket from Bern to Milano and München To Interlaken? GA 2 = Swiss travel pass?

The moderator answered:

If you have a Swiss Travel Pass in second class, you can choose the reduction GA (in second class).

This is similar to the problem that arises when you try to buy a class upgrade. You have to choose the Half-Fare Card option to get the correct price if travelling with a 2nd Class STP.

[rockoyster]

18 July 2017 at 6:42:56 #866710

Hi Arno,

Further to above booking issue I also sent the following message to SBB:

I am trying to book International Reservation Zurich to Milan using the SBB on-line ticket shop. When selecting the appropriate price reduction there is no option to select Swiss Travel Pass. GA 2cl gives the correct price. Is it OK to use that option for travel with a Swiss Travel Pass?

I just got a response which says:

If you travel from from Switzerland to Italy and you have a Swiss Travel Pass, you can choose the GA 2cl in the reduction options.

Also the problem I reported earlier where I got thrown back to the SBB Ticket Shop Home Page seems to be fixed.

[Removed user]

18 July 2017 at 14:59:27 #866711

Perfect!

Thanks for following up Rockoyster! 🙂