[Arno]

30 November 2013 at 13:26:19 #806215

Hello train travelers,

Swiss rail pass prices will increase as of January 1, 2014. The discount on Swiss Saver Passes and Swiss Saver Flexi Passes will be decreased from 15% to 10%. The Swiss Transfer Ticket and Swiss Card will be a little more expensive. The prices of the Swiss Half Fare Card, the Swiss Pass for single travelers and the Swiss Flexi Pass for single travelers will not change.

You may be able to save money by buying on time, as some resellers will charge the current price, even when buying for 2014. If your plans for 2014 are fixed, you may want to consider to buy on December 31 at the latest. I would even advice to buy before December 25 as I expect maintenance will be performed on some reseller websites around the turn of the year, so they may not be available.

Price examples
Swiss Saver Pass 8 days for two people: CHF 668 (2013), CHF 708 (2014)
Swiss Card: CHF 195 per person (2013), CHF 199 per person (2014)
Swiss Transfer Ticket: CHF 135 per person (2013), CHF 139 per person (2014)

The websites below sell the various passes
Swiss railways webshop: swissrailways.com

Swiss railways webshop for the UK and Ireland: swissrailways.com/uk

Rail Europe Argentina: raileurope.com.ar

Rail Europe Australia: raileurope.com.au

Rail Europe Brazil: raileurope.com.br

Rail Europe Canada: raileurope.ca

Rail Europe China: raileurope.cn

Rail Europe GCC (Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Yemen): raileurope-gcc.com

Rail Europe Hong Kong: raileurope.hk

Rail Europe India: raileurope.co.in

Rail Europe Israel: raileurope.co.il

Rail Europe Japan: raileurope-japan.com

Rail Europe New Zealand: raileurope.co.nz

Rail Europe Singapore (and Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam): raileurope.com.sg

Rail Europe South Africa (and Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe): raileurope.co.za

Rail Europe South-Korea: raileurope.co.kr

Rail Europe Thailand: raileurope.co.th

Rail Europe UK: raileurope.co.uk

Rail Europe USA (and Mexico, Caribbean): raileurope.com

Rail Europe world wide: raileurope-world.com

Many Rail Europe sites offer promo codes for an additional discount.

Hopefully this will save you some money. Enjoy your trips!

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[Removed user]

9 December 2013 at 20:32:26 #839409

thanks Arno for advice – our dates are fixed so will order asap!
Maggie

[Removed user]

19 December 2013 at 18:59:25 #839410

Hi Arno
I have ordered our Swiss Saver pass for next year – they are already only giving 10% discount for saver Pass instead of 15%. I also had phone call to say pass wouldn’t be sent until few weeks before travel date – this is normal and I said I was expecting that to be the case. But the lady said there may be a price increase to which I replied that I wasn’t charged any extra for my 2013 Pass when I had ordered and paid for it in 2012, so hoped that wouldn’t happen this time, since I have paid the price quoted. I will let you know if they try to charge me extra. Do you think they are wise to those of us who try to save money by ordering in advance? I must say I have also been somewhat dismayed by the much higher cost of air tickets this year compared with last year. I have been looking into the possibility of travelling by rail but as we live in Birmingham we have to add in the time to get to London to catch Eurostar and I am put off as well by the thought of crossing Paris with lots of luggage! Also you can’t book rail tickets until 90 days before travel by which time if rail proves to be unfeasible air fares will have gone up even more so I feel I can’t win on this one!!
Maggie

[Arno]

20 December 2013 at 2:58:54 #839411

Hi Maggie,

I did indeed notice that the Swiss Railways worldwide site was quoting the new prices already. This is the first time they charge the price for the next year even if bought in the previous year. The listed Rail Europe sites still have not increased their prices. I expect them to do so shortly after December 31. I don’t know about the Swiss Railways UK site. In any case, I don’t expect them to charge you anything extra on top of what you have paid now. If they do so, please let me know.

A rail trip to Switzerland would certainly be an option to consider, but it is indeed quite a long trip. You have to change to different stations in London (you probably know your way around there) and Paris. Most connections require a change from Paris Nord to Paris Gare de Lyon, which is a subway transfer. But there are also connections that require a change from Paris Nord to Paris Est. A walk between those stations is only 10 minutes on foot. Details are in the timetable. I am not aware of any convenient luggage transfer services. There is one from France to residential addresses in Switzerland, but it takes a few days. I don’t know of one from the UK.

International rail ticket prices vary like air tickets. I am not sure how they compare. But you’re right that most trains can only be booked 3 months in advance. Eurostar can soon be booked 6 months in advance. Usually there are quite some promotions on point to point tickets (both Eurostar and TGV) throughout the year. I am not sure yet what’s planned for 2014.

Anyway, it’s great you’ll be heading for the Swiss Alps again!