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Can I book the seat in 1st class in Bernina Express / Gloden pass with a second class swiss pass?
Is it possible to get complimentary packed breakfast from the hotel of Lucerne around 5 am in the morning,? As we suppose to take the train around 5:28 am from lucerne to catch the Bernina express 8:32 am at Chur.
Is it possible to buy the tickets from Tirano to Milan at 7:30 am from Chur station?
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You can reserve a seat on either train in 1st class with a 2nd class pass. But in order to travel 1st class on the train you will need to purchase a class upgrade. This will cost you half the difference between the 1st and 2nd class full fares. You can buy a class upgrade at any station.
You would need to check with the hotel about breakfast although it should be possible to pick something up at Lucerne or Chur stations.
You can buy a ticket from Tirano to Milan at any station. You could buy it at the same time you bought your class upgrade(s).
I’m not sure if it pays to buy the Italian ticket in advance as prices in Italy do tend to increase as the travel date approaches. You might want to read http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/italy.
Thanks
You can also buy a Class upgrade on-line at https://www.sbb.ch/en/ buying/pages/fahrplan/ fahrplanProduktbasiert .xhtml or using the SBB mobile app. Make sure you nominate Half-fare reduction to get the right price.
Hi rockoyster – you were kind enough to help me out with a reply a couple months ago and I had a follow up question I was hoping you could help me with. Here was your suggestion:
You can buy a ticket from Salzburg to Chur using the Swiss Train Timetable (http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable). The process will give you an option to claim a reduction on the Swiss leg of the journey. If you have a Swiss Travel Pass that leg will be free as Lucas noted. You will need to choose the GA 1. class or GA 2. class a reduction depending on whether you have a 1st or 2nd class pass.
When choosing a loyalty card on this train route (I will be using Swiss Travel Pass Flex) is “GA 2” the option of “CFF SBB Generalabonnement 2nd Class (GA)”? There are 2 options, The one above and then the same one above with “RP” added at the end. I want to be sure I choose the correct travel pass associated with the Swiss Travel Pass Flex.
Thank you,
Caitlin
Hello Caitlin,
I see the attached. Not sure where you are finding the wording you quoted.
If you are only going as far as Chur it is not worth using a day from your flex pass anyway, Buchs to Chur full fare is CHF17.60.
Attachments:
Hi Caitlin,
On https://www.trainline. eu/search they indeed offer GA and GA with RP as loyalty cards. RP (RailPlus) is for Swiss residents only so does not apply to you. GA is similar but not identical to the Swiss Travel Pass (Flex). I would be hesitant to pick GA if you have a Swiss Travel Pass Flex, because GA offers discounts to Austria and Swiss Travel Pass Flex does not. There might be the risk you’ll be getting a discount you are not entitled to. It simpler to just buy a ticket to the border (Buchs), without a discount. Or in this case it might be better to buy a full priced ticket for the entire route and not use your Swiss Travel Pass Flex as per Rockoyster’s suggestion.
Thank you both so much for your feedback, saved me a lot of stress. What are your suggestions when it comes to purchasing train tickets. Should we purchase our Slazburg to Chur train tickets ahead of time online or purchase them day of at the station? (Do prices really fluctuate that much)?
The challenge I am running into is all the websites that sell train tickets in advance charge different rates for the same trips. If you do suggest purchasing ahead of time, what is the most reliable website to purchase those train tickets from?
Thank you again for all your help and suggestions,
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin,
International train tickets can fluctuate in price yes. The earlier they are bought the better. You can buy the ticket from Salzburg from one of the retailers here – pick whichever happens to be the cheapest. 🙂
Thank you Lucas!
Can anyone explain the requirement to print your train tickets on A4 hardcopy paper if you purchase a ticket ahead of time? My Glacier express reservation has this listed and I have heard that if you pre-purchase train tickets they must also be printed on A4 paper as well. How strict is this rule with the trains, can we get away with just printing out tickets on regular 8 1/2 x 11 paper?
If they are strict, how do you go about getting this paper?
Thank you,
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin,
If all the information fits on the paper you should be fine. It’s in the end not the size of the paper that matters.
Hi Caitlin,
>> requirement to print your train tickets on A4 hardcopy paper … can we get away with just printing out tickets on regular 8 1/2 x 11 paper?
A4 paper size is 210 × 297 millimeters (8.27 × 11.69 inches). That is pretty close to the size of paper you have.
As Chantal mentions, the critical point is that you must be able to print it on the paper you have without having to rescale it to fit on the paper: i.e. if you print it at 100% of the size, and it fits on the paper, that will be OK.
Alpenrose
Thank you both so much, I really appreciate the help. I can take one thing off my list to stress about :).
Caitlin
I am trying to purchase the train ticket from Salburg to Chur and my payment is being declined and I am being told I cannot purchase a train tick for international connections (between Austria and Switzerland). Is this accurate or should I try a different website? Currently trying to purchase on the SBB CFF website http://www.sbb.ch/en/timetabl e.html.
Thank you,
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin,
>> I am trying to purchase the train ticket from Salburg to Chur and my payment is being declined and I am being told I cannot purchase a train tick for international connections (between Austria and Switzerland).
There is information here to assist you.
http://www.myswissalps.com/tr aintickets/austria
Alpenrose
Thank you for your help Alpenrose, I guess my main question is. If I am not using a rail pass for Austria or Switzerland and just want to book the full train trip ahead of time, do I need to book 2 separate tickets? One first to the border of Austria/Switzerland and then book another ticket from Switzerland to Chur?
Thank you,
Caitlin
Hi Caitlin,
No, if you don’t have a rail pass you would buy one ticket, from Vienna to Zurich for example. People with rail passes like the Swiss Travel Pass should just buy a ticket to the border (or else it is kind of like paying twice for the trip portion in Switzerland.
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