Getting a seat on a train in Switzerland

  • Removed user
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    16 June 2018 at 12:52:22 #816677

    Hi,

    we would be Arriving at Zurich airport on 23 rd June 2018 from India at 6.15 am and would like to go to Montreux by train directly from airport. We are senior citizen couple and mostly would take the 8.18 train to Montreux via Lausanne on 23 rd June 2018. We would like to know whether we will be able to get a seat in that train if crowded ,

    how do you confirm which carriage has seat available.

    pleae help as we don’t want to go standing for 3 hours in the train.

    is standing allowed in swiss trains

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    Removed user
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    16 June 2018 at 16:42:23 #888449

    Hi Sumita and welcome to MySwissAlps!

    They are big trains, I am sure you will find a seat. Especially considering it is a Saturday morning and the train (I think) is starting from Zurich airport so it will be empty when you get on.

    You can see how busy they expect the train to be on the SBB timetable here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/timetable

    Once you search for your train connection it will show you a column for “occupancy rate”with figures of men. 1 means not busy, 2 men means a little busy and 3 red men means very busy. Your train has 2 men in 2nd class and again the train starts at the airport so it will be empty when you board.

    It is very uncommon to not find a seat on any train; and if it is full someone will get off at a stop and you can sit – reservations are very uncommon. You would never need to stand for 3 hours (but it is allowed of course).

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    16 June 2018 at 23:01:36 #888450

    I’ve never not found a seat on a Swiss train in 57 years…

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    17 June 2018 at 6:05:24 #888451

    Rush hour in Zurich sometimes means I stand for a bit – but maybe 10/15 minutes until someone gets out. 🙂

    Removed user
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    17 June 2018 at 7:26:06 #888452

    Thanks for the information. I would like to know if we could find a seat to sit on the golden pass train if we go unreserved or reservation is compulsory on the golden pass train and whether we could buy the reservation on train.

    Thanks for the quick response.

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    17 June 2018 at 14:17:10 #888453

    It isn’t mandatory but available if you want. In the summer, the section between Zweisimmen and Montreux can get busy as that is the panoramic train (only on that section of the route). The route is explained here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/goldenpass/getti ngthere

    You can find links to make reservations on our website here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/goldenpass/packa ges

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