MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Reservation needed or desirable on Locarno FART?
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Hi! I am planning on traveling with my family (4 of us) from Lugano to Zermatt in June. We have swiss rail passes. For the part of the journey that heads through the Centovalli would it be helpful to make reservations? It looks from the website as if reservations are optional and that it’s a fast, panoramic train. I’m tempted to not reserve for flexibility.
Later in our
itinerary we may be on a Golden Pass train while we travel from Zermatt to Luzern. Would we want reservations on that train or are we fine to play it by ear?Thanks so much!
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Hi jenncanuck,
I thought seat reservations where not possible for the Centovalli Express. If it’s optional I would also be tempted not to do it.
For the Golden Pass you don’t need reservations, although reservations are recommended for some trains on the Montreux to Zweisimmen leg. Reservations can be done here: http://www.myswissalps.com/go ldenpass/packages.
There is a small supplement (CHF5 I think) collected in cash on board the Centovalli Express by the conductor.
Sit on the left. A primer youtu.be/58UjPHKVR_A
>> I thought seat reservations where not possible for the Centovalli Express.
Yes, that used to be the case, but according to the Swiss Timetable, it seems reservations are now possible on some services (but not all).
Alpenrose
>> There is a small supplement (CHF5 I think) collected in cash on board the Centovalli Express by the conductor.
The supplement isn’t quite so hefty! Just €1,50 or CHF 1.50, and is only charged on the trains that have the panoramic windows.
In the Swiss Timetable, these trains show up as TRENO PANORAMICO VIGEZZO VISION, and have the letter Z in the legend, meaning subject to surcharge.
On the departure board at the station, the word supplemento identifies trains on which the surcharge will be collected.
Alpenrose
Bargain! Grazie.
There is an “R” on the timetable for the Centovalli Express train, but it’s not in a square. It seems to indicate that reservations are possible but not required. I’m not sure if I should bother or if it will be fine to leave it open-ended. I certainly don’t want to miss out.
@rockoyster- that looks amazing. I can’t wait! (and thank you for your replies to my earlier post. I fell off the grid for a while due to work and life getting in the way of my trip planning, and when I went back to post a reply, the thread had been closed.)
For the Golden Pass, I think we will only be going from Interlaken Ost to Luzern (at least I think so- I’m still in the relatively confused stage of planning the train rides). I shouldn’t need a reservation, correct?
Thank you all for your help!
Jenn
Hi Jenn,
You shouldn’t need reservations for Golden Pass Interlaken to Lucerne.
Reservations on Centovalli might give you a better chance of sitting together. Hard to say.
Thanks Alpenrose.
>> Grazie.
Prego!
Alpenrose
Hi Jenn,
>> For the Golden Pass, I think we will only be going from Interlaken Ost to Luzern … I shouldn’t need a reservation, correct?
That train can get busy, especially in 2nd class. I don’t know about June, but in September 2016 (which is after the peak of the tourist season) I found that train very busy every time I used it while in the area for around 2 weeks.
Without a reservation, I expect you would all get a seat, but possibly not window seats, not on the best side for views, and maybe not four together.
That train just shuttles back and forth between Luzern and Interlaken Ost, with about a 10-minute turnaround. Once you have decided which train you will take, if you check what time it will be arriving in Interlaken Ost from Luzern, and board it as soon as possible after it arrives, you might have a good chance of getting your preferred seats.
Alpenrose
If I did want to make reservations on Centovalli, how do I go about this? I have swiss rail passes that I purchased through Rail Europe. The Rail Europe site doesn’t show any of these trains, and the sbb.ch site doesn’t seem to have a place to do so- it just seems to take me in circles. Maybe it’s too early? Definitely stymied here.
Probably way too early Jenn but nearer the time go to http://www.sbb.ch/ticketshop/ b2c/adw.do?sprache=en&artikelnumm er=1993
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