Scenic trains in March 2017

Hi there!

We are planning 8 days of Swiss rail travel in March 2017 and would appreciate some assistance with regards to the Gotthard Panorama Express and Bernina Express routes and timetables.

On 26 March 2017 we were hoping to travel from Lucerne to Fluelen by paddle steamer then onto Lugano via the Gotthard Panorama Express route and then on 28 March 2017 from Lugano to St Moritz via the Bernina Express route (bus/train). It appears from our searching that this may not be quite so straight forward.

Could you provide some suggestions, comments, links please to enable us to further plan our travel?

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

Hi liketotravel, welcome to MySwissAlps!

I think the direct bus from Lugano to Tirano won't be running until mid April, but other than that your plan seems fine to me. You can take non-direct trains instead. You'll find all details here:

• myswissalps.com/gottha rdpanoramaexpress
• myswissalps.com/ berninaexpress

Hi Arno. Thank you for your response. May I say what a wonderful service you provide with the Forum.

Given that the BEX direct bus from Lugano to Tirano will not be operating at that time, is there alternate buses for this route? I am not having any luck with finding something similar. All I can come up with is something with lots of changes and this is not what we prefer as we will have considerable luggage with us. Can you assist with some ideas please - Lugano to Tirano by bus on 28 March 2017. Thanks.

I'm glad you like it here! I am fairly sure the direct bus used to operate from late March. But it seems to have changed this year. There is no other bus. You will have to take a train via Monza near Milan. It's just one or two changes. The one change in Monza allows lots of time. Too much actually, so no problem with luggage. The timetable has all the details.

I'm not sure if you looked into passes yet, but the 8-day Swiss Travel Pass would fit your plans. It does not cover the leg in Italy, so you would need additional tickets from Chiasso (border) to Tirano.

Hello again Arno. Thank you for your last reply and your suggestion about passes. Can you help me further please with the train from Lugano to Tirano? You say to go via Monza near Milan. I must be searching incorrectly as i cannot find such a route. Is it possible to attach a screen print of the route you are referring to ? Thanks again for your expert advice. Cheers!

You're welcome! The route via Monza is the default route that should come up automatically. And it did when I wrote my previous post. However, I tried again and it seems not to know about the trains between Monza and Tirano anymore. At least not the ones after mid December. I've seen this before and it's probably caused by the Italian railways not making available their schedules in time, or by a technical issue. You can try again later, or fill out tomorrow instead of your actual travel date. That will give you an impression of the trip, and there won't be much changes in March I think.

Thanks Arno. I took your advice and searched for trains for tomorrow which gave me an indication of the trip. You were correct when you said the changeover in Monza allows lots of time. Arrival in Tirano is around 14:52 and we were hoping to catch the 15:00 departure Tirano to St Moritz - not a lot of time here. Is it do-able?

You have to walk from one station to the other in Tirano, but they're only 50 meters apart. That's perfectly doable in 8 minutes, provided that you have your rail pass in hand and all you have to do is change trains. But the Italian railways don't have a reputation for being on time. You could consider an earlier train and have lunch in Tirano.