Print the Swiss Pass at home when bought online

Hi all,

I am sorry if this is a repeat thread but I did try to look through the forum for a relevant thread but couldn't find.

If there is, would appreciate if someone could share that link.

Anyway, my question is that I figured out that I can buy the Swiss Pass online from both the following websites i.e. swissrailways.com and sbb.ch. Can we really buy the Pass from either of these websites?

Secondly, both these websites claim that I can print the Pass at home and need not wait for them to send the physical passes by post. Is this correct?

If answers to both the aforementioned questions is "Yes", then we are good to go. Any experienced opinion is welcome.

One more question - is it an updated info that the Pass is valid till 5am of the day after the day that validity should end?

Thank you

JD

Hi JD,

No need to read all threads, all purchase options of the Swiss Travel Pass are listed right here: www.myswissalps.com/sw isstravelpass/price

The website www.swissrailways.com/ en is the official SBB webshop for all tourist rail passes (the other site is the domestic site). Once you have filled out your address they will present delivery options. Select Online Ticket to receive the pass via e-mail.

The 5 AM rule is not new. It indeed works like that to allow you to complete late night trips.

Hi Annika,

That response of yours was faster than the Swiss Railways promises to send the passes via email.

Thanks for the confirmation.

My wife and I would be staying here:

Ringgis 872

Eggiwil, Bern 3536

Switzerland

Which would be the nearest station that we should ideally choose to go to Zurich early in the morning?

If this is not the relevant forum/thread, then I would like to ask the same question in a different thread/forum.

Thanks a lot

JD

<<"Which would be the nearest station that we should ideally choose to go to Zurich early in the morning?">>

From where on which day?

Try this link:

www.myswissalps.com/ti metable

Slowpoke

The nearest train stop is Signau. From there, it's 1h45 so Zurich.

Hello Arno

How far is Eggiwil frm Signau station and how to reach. I cant find it in the timetable

Udayaditya

Hi Udayaditya-

How far is Eggiwil frm Signau station and how to reach. I cant find it in the timetable.

It is about 10 km from Signau.

There is bus shown in the timetable. It runs all day at XX18, and at midday, there are some buses at xx48. Maybe for schoolchildren going home for lunch...also at around 1800 there are buses at xx48. Last bus at 2148.

The earliest bus is at 0548, then 0618, then 0648, then 0718, then 0818.

The trip takes 17 minutes.

Use Signau as your starting point, and Eggiwil, Dorf (vilage) as your destination.

If you still can't find it, let us know.

Slowpoke

Thanks Slowpoke.....

unlike ur name u r pretty fast😊

Glad to help.

Did you find it in the timetable? It will be useful to know how to use it while you are there.

Slowpoke

Hi friends,

Firstly, thanks for your responses. I have checked the timetable and as far as I could see, the first bus from Signau to Eggiwil on 30 April is at 7:18am and then it's 8:18am and so on. Only one bus is listed i.e. 271.

Neither could I find an earlier bus nor could I find a bus at 7:48am on 30 April - is my finding correct?

Secondly, I have also tried to check train options from Signau to Zurich on 2 May before 5am (so that I could use the Swiss Pass which would expire on 1 May midnight) but couldn't find anything before 5:13am from Signau.

Is there any other means of transport which we may take before 5am from Signau to Zurich so that it is covered by the Swiss Pass?

Thanks a lot

JD

Hi JD-

My mistake. I thought that you wished to go from Eggiwil to Signau...on thw 30th

<<"the first bus from Signau to Eggiwil on 30 April is at 7:18am and then it's 8:18am and so on. Only one bus is listed i.e. 271.">>

That is correct

In the other direction , it is at 0653

<<"Secondly, I have also tried to check train options from Signau to Zurich on 2 May before 5am (so that I could use the Swiss Pass which would expire on 1 May midnight) but couldn't find anything before 5:13am from Signau.">>

That is correct, also

A lighter schedule is typical on weekends, since fewer people need to commute to work from the remote villages in the countryside.. See the attached screen grab. My mistake that it is the other direction, because i misunderstood your needs, and that you have already seen those data, but I cannot seem to remove it.

If you stay way back in the countryside...that means Eggiwil...you might not expect frequent transport connections. In fact, you are lucky to have connections for that rather remote village. If you are staying there because you are visiting friends, perhaps they can get you to Signau for the first train. Other wise, as far as I know, you'll have to go the night before, to save the cost of the trip.

Slowpoke

Hi JD,

Which date is it that you would like to go from Ringgis 872, Eggiwil to Zürich - is it Saturday 30 April, Sunday 1 May or Monday 2 May? It makes a difference as to when the earliest bus is, because the earliest buses only run Monday to Friday - but not before 6:00 am in any case.

From previous responses, you already know that you need to catch Bus No. 271 from Eggiswil to Signau, and then get the train from Signau to Zürich (changing trains at Bern).

I looked the address up on Google Maps. As far as I can tell, the closest bus stop to the address you are staying at is called "Aeschau, Dorf", and according to Google Maps, that bus stop is 2 km from where you are staying, almost a 30 minute walk, but only 4 minutes by car. (See attached "map"). Perhaps your host would drive you to the bus stop.

The first bus from "Aeschau, Dorf" to Signau on a Saturday or Sunday is at 7:00 am. Mondays to Fridays there are buses at 6:00 am and 6:30 am, but they are the earliest ones. Sunrise at that time of the year will be around 6:15 am, which may be relevant if you need to walk to the bus stop.

It also appears from the official timetable that tickets are not sold on board the bus. I don't know whether or not it would be covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. If not, you may need to buy a ticket before boarding.

Hope this helps you.

Alpenrose

Hi JD-

I have checked the altitudes for Ringgis872 and the bus stop at Aeschau Dorf, as identified by AlpenRose.

I used the SwissTopo topographic map, at this link.

map.geo.admin.ch/?topic=swisstopo&lang=e n&bgLayer=ch.swisstopo .pixelkarte-farbe&layers=ch.swisst opo.zeitreihen,ch.bfs. gebaeude_wohnungs_regi ster,ch.bafu.wrz-wildruhezonen_portal,c h.swisstopo.swisstlm3d -wanderwege&layers_visi bility=false,false,fal se,false&layers_timest amp=18641231,,,&X=1959 65.00&Y=624637.50&zoom =8

Ringgis 872 is at 1pproximately 870 meters, so the name is probably the altitude - 872 meters.

It is good that he looked that up, because your location will be closer to Signau than to Eggiwil. In fact, if your host does drive you to a station, they might wish to take you directly to Signau, which is roughly 7 km from Ringgis 872.

You have picked a very attractive and typical Swiss countryside location in the Emmental.

I have stayed many times at nearby Langnau, as well as Signau. I have walked from Langnau to Signau via Schüpbach, where there is a nice , old, wooden covered bridge across the River Emme.

The bus stop is at approximately 694 meters. That is a notable height differential for me, with my sore knees. if you are young and fit, it should offer no problem, but if you have luggage, getting it up that hill might slow you down a bit.

Alpenrose has given precision to my comment about reduced service on weekends, and confirms no service at 5 AM. All of my previous comments about time are wrong, because i used Eggiwil as one stop, when I should have used Aeschau, Dorf.

Here is a screen grab for May 2, 2016. I requested 4 AM. 6 AM is the earliest, as noted.

Langnau i. E. (im Emmental) is a substantially larger rail station, with more trains in various directions.

I tried a journey from Langnau to Zürich on May 2, early. Langnau is about the same distance from Ringgis 872 as is Signau.

The earliest train to Zürich leaves at 0458 from Langnau i. E.

There are many places to stay in Langnau i. E. I usually stay at the Hotel Hirschen, 5 minutes from the station. A nice location on a small plaza. Good kitchen.

Although I know nothing about it personally, there is a Hotel Bahnhof very close to the station, across the street at Bahnhofstrasse 5, with inexpensive rooms and a "Massenlager" ( Dormitory.)

The countryside near Aeschau is very beautiful. Much nicer than the view of the train station at Langnau.....

I went a bit further to seek the identity or status of ringis 872

I used the Emmental B&B website:

emmental.ch/en/stay/bb /

There are some other B&B's in the area, but none was listed for that location. For what it is worth.....

Slowpoke

Hi Alpenrose,

Thanks for your detailed response. We would go from Aeschau Dorf to Zurich on 2 May early morning. Even our host confirmed that the nearest bus stop is Aeschau Dorf and she would pick us up.

<< I don't know whether or not it would be covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.>> I thought all sorts of ordinary public transport is covered by the Pass. Is there a way to find out if Bus 271 is covered by Swiss Pass or not?

Hi Slowpoke,

Thanks for your response. We have already booked our BnB. We didn't even know that there is a local BnB website for Emmentel.

Hi all,

Is there luggage storage facility at Bern, Lausanne, Geneve and Zurich stations? What is the cost for this? Is there any website/thread where I may get these details?

Thanks a lot

JD

HI JD

Thanks for your detailed response. We would go from Aeschau Dorf to Zurich on 2 May early morning. Even our host confirmed that the nearest bus stop is Aeschau Dorf and she would pick us up.">>

Could she return you to Langnau?

<<"local BnB website for Emmentel.">>

Emmental. "Tal" means "valley." Valley of the river Emme...

"|<<"Is there luggage storage facility at Bern, Lausanne, Geneve and Zurich stations? What is the cost for this? Is there any website/thread where I may get these details?">>

Yes.

www.sbb.ch/en/home.htm l

Follow the links to stations/services

<<"Thanks a lot">>

You are welcome.

Hope it helps.

Slowpoke

>> Is there a way to find out if Bus 271 is covered by Swiss Pass or not?

Yes, I would think so (see below).

Bus route 271 doesn't appear on the map showing where the Swiss Travel Pass is valid. There could be two reasons for that: either that it is not in fact covered, or that there are too many of these local bus routes to show on the map. Bus 271 seems to be a local transport feeder service, transporting people between remote villages in the area and the local railway stations.

However, the first available bus on 2 May is at 6am. If I understand correctly, your Swiss Travel Pass will have expired before that, so you can just buy a standard point-to-point ticket online for the whole journey from Aeschau Dorf to Zürich, which (see attached) will cost CHF 60.60 per adult second class. Then you will have your ticket in advance of boarding the bus.

If you change your plans in order to make that trip while your Swiss Travel Pass is still valid, your host might know the answer to your questions. If not, here are some email addresses for making further enquiries about coverage and/or ticketing for this bus route.

info@busland.ch

langnau@bls.ch

I found the first email address in the official timetable for Bus 271, and the second one on the website provided on that timetable, which is

www.bls.ch/d/bus/bus.p hp

(click on EN at the top of the page for the English version of the site)

Alpenrose

>> Thanks for your detailed response. We would go from Aeschau Dorf to Zurich on 2 May early morning. Even our host confirmed that the nearest bus stop is Aeschau Dorf and she would pick us up.

If you decide to catch the 6am bus on Monday 2 May, will she also drop you off at the bus stop?

If not, and you will be walking, it might be worth taking a small, lightweight, bright torch, as you would need to leave your accommodation before sunrise to catch the first bus. You can get ones with a head-strap, which leaves both hands free.

Alpenrose

All buses in inhabited areas in Switzerland are covered by the Swiss Travel Pass. But there's not enough space on the map to show all routes. The few buses that are not fully covered are in remote areas, e.g. Grindelwald to Schwarzwaldalp via the Grosse Scheidegg pass.

Hi Slowpoke,

Sorry for misspelling Emmental - thanks to your detailed explanation, I would never go wrong with this spelling again.

I checked the SBB site for luggage storage facility but I could only find luggage transportation facility - www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/services/lugg age-and-flight-luggage.html

Maybe once I reach there, I can inquire.

Hi Alpenrose,

<<your host might know the answer to your questions>> took your suggestion and wrote to my host today.

<<If you decide to catch the 6am bus on Monday 2 May, will she also drop you off at the bus stop?>> I wish to ask her that sometime later, maybe once I reach there. As it is she would pick us up :) We would anyway arrange things as per your suggestion just in case she is unavailable to drop us.

Hi Arno,

Thanks for confirming that the Pass covers practically all bus routes. It would definitely help.

Thanks a lot

JD

<<"I checked the SBB site for luggage storage facility but I could only find luggage transportation facility ">>

It's a little hard to find.

You have to go to the information for each station.

There are two places to look -

under each station...Station and Services/Services and equipment -

Here it is for Bern:

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.7000.html

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.7000.html

For Zürich:

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.3000.html ?WT.ac=service-zh-en

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.3000.html ?WT.ac=service-zh-en

For Geneva:

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.1008.html

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.1008.html

Lausanne:

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.1120.html

www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/bahnhof-finden.posid.1120.html

The prices for the Left Luggage office do not seem to be listed on those two locations for each station.

I recall 14 CHF per day for Left Luggage, no matte what the size.

Usually, items left in lockers for more than 72 hours (if I recall correctly) get moved to the left luggage office and accrue charges at the rate for that office.

Watch the opening hours for Left Luggage....They do not stay open late at night.

Slowpoke