[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 6:16:01 #811953

Hello,

I have some quaries regarding seat reservation in the panoramic trains.

Is only seat reservation enough for my 3 yr old child to get a seat in the glacier and bernina express or I have to buy a separate half fare ticket for him? (As our swiss travel pass does not include our child)

m

MyM

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[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 10:22:25 #863810

Hi arijit,

Your 3 year old does not need a ticket to get on any train in Switzerland – just a reservation for a seat on a panoramic train if you want. FYI If you are talking about the Golden Pass train route – no reservations are required

Cheers!
Lucas

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 10:46:22 #863811

Thank you Lucas for your reply. Actually the bernina express website is showing that below 6 yr old children require half the standard fare along with the full reservation fees to have their own seats , so I am confused about it.

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 14:11:52 #863812

Hi Arijit,

I just read that on the Bernina Express website too and am quite surprised at this. 5 and under should be free on all trains in Switzerland.
It even seems that a 10 year old would be free with a Swiss Family Card but they will charge a 3 year old half-fare…..

We will contact them directly and get back to you if you find something more out – but at the moment you are correct and the 3 year old does pay half-fare plus the reservation. 🙁

Lucas

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 15:01:14 #863813

Thank you lucas for your concern. Hope there is no such rule in Glacier express too as no such recommendation is written in their website. But a portion of the Glacier express is operated by Rhaetian Railway ,so is the same child( below 6 yr)fare rule (as for Bernina express) is applicable for that portion of the journey also? Would you kindly help me out in this matter please?

arijit

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 15:09:09 #863814

Hi Arijit,

I just checked the Glacier Express website and it only indicated a charge of 33chf for a child under 6 (which is the reservation fee for a seat) so they are not charging for a ticket – just the Bernina Express at the moment.

Lucas

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 15:40:35 #863815

ok, thank you.

may i know if i want to take regional train on the bernina express line in the middle of october, how much crowd usually be expected at that time? Will it be uncomfortable for enjoying the journey?

arijit

[Arno]

24 May 2017 at 16:12:15 #863816

Hi Arijit,

I asked Swiss Travel System which is the company creating Swiss rail passes for tourists. The rule is that children up to 5 years old travel for free anywhere in Switzerland. But there’s an exception for trains requiring seat reservations like the Bernina Express and Glacier Express. In such a case children can still travel for free if they don’t require their own seat. In reality it’s not comfortable to have a child sitting on your lap for hours, so obviously you want them to have a seat. If they require a seat, they also require a valid ticket or a pass. The Swiss Family Card or Junior travelcard is considered a valid ticket as well, so if you have one of those for your child, then you don’t need an additional ticket. You only need the seat reservation. Will you be traveling with a Swiss Travel Pass? If so, you’ll get the Swiss Family Card for free.

There is a problem on the Rhätian Railway website (find the link on our Bernina Express page). For children of 6-15 it let’s you select a reduction pass, like the Swiss Family Card. For children of 0-5 there is no selection like that. So it lets you pay for a ticket. I recommend to get in touch with them here. They might be able to change their website or solve this in another way for you. Alternatively you can book seats through http://www.happyrail.com/en/p ass/europe/switzerland /panoramic-trains. They don’t ask questions about reductions, they simply let you book the seats.

I hope this helps. Please keep us informed about how it turned out for you.

Regional trains in mid October should not be too busy. There might be more tourists if it happens to be a holiday week for residents of Switzerland, Germany or one of the other nearby countries, but it should all be fine.

[Removed user]

24 May 2017 at 18:00:50 #863817

Thank you Arno for such detailed way out. Let me see what happens during booking reservations which can be done after 1 month more. I shall definitely keep you informed . Thank you for your kind cooperation .

[Arno]

4 August 2017 at 10:15:38 #863818

Hi Arijit,

I wonder if you were able to sort this out with the Rhätian Railways? Were you able to get a reservation for your child without paying for a ticket?

[Removed user]

4 August 2017 at 13:57:49 #863819

Hi Arno,

Thank you for your concern. I haven’t yet booked my reservation but yes the Rhaetian railway solved my problem very well.I am really thankful to them as well as you for your suggestion to contact them directly.

They agreed that there is a problem in their website regarding children below 6 yr seat reservation. So either I have to book offline through them and collect my reservations at the rail station or I may book online increasing my child age more than 6 yr. In both the cases family card will be accepted as reduction and no ticket for the child is required to get his own seat.

Thank you

[Arno]

5 August 2017 at 6:37:12 #863820

Thanks for your feedback Arijit! I’m glad there’s a way to get this booked for the right price. Hopefully they fix their website soon. Meanwhile bookings through Happyrail I mentioned above should work fine.

Enjoy your trip!