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Glacier Express"The world's slowest express train" travels between Zermatt and St. Moritz, Switzerland, offering spectacular alpine views during its 7½-hour journey.
The
Glacier Express is one of Switzerland's most famous train excursions. The Glacier Express,
which has been operating since 1930, is billed as "the world's slowest express
train" and averages 36 km/h (22 mph) during the approximately 7½-hour trip
journey on its most popular route, Zermatt to
St. Moritz or vice versa.
The 275 km miles (169 miles) of narrow-gauge track are punctuated by 291 bridges and
91 tunnels. Trains reach a peak elevation of 2,033 meters (6,670 feet) at the Oberalp Pass near
Andermatt and traverse the 15-km (9.5-mile) Furka Tunnel, which takes a shortcut beneath
the Alps between Andermatt and Brig.
Rolling
stock varies from train to train. State-of-the-art "Glacier Express Premium"
trains, which were introduced in 2006, have new panorama cars in First and
Second Class (available for a higher surcharge). Other trains use conventional
cars in First Class and panorama cars in Second Class. Passengers on Glacier Express Premium trains
can have meals served at seats or in the dining cars; on the standard trains,
meals are served in the dining cars only, where angled-stem wineglasses help to prevent spilling during the steeper portions of the journey.
All trains have Railbar carts that sell box lunches, salads, hot and cold
drinks, etc. (Food and drink are not included in the fare.)
The Glacier Express used to be a summer-only train, but
today it operates year-round. The
summer timetable offers four trains per day; the winter schedule is more
limited. To make matters more complicated, not all Glacier Express trains
go to St. Moritz. Some cover the Zermatt-Chur portion of the route, and you can
also book a Glacier Express ticket between Zermatt and Davos via Chur. Consult
the timetable at the Glacier Express Web site for details. (You'll find a link
below.) The one-way fare between Zermatt and St. Moritz was CHF 268
(first class) or CHF 152
(second class) in spring, 2019, when this article was last updated. In addition to the fare, you'll pay a seat-reservation fee of
CHF 23 (winter), CHF 33 (shoulder season), or CHF 43 (high season). If you plan to travel elsewhere in Switzerland, you'll get a
better deal by purchasing a
Swiss travel pass
before you leave home. Swiss rail passes cover the entire fare, except for the
obligatory surcharge. (In contrast, Eurailpass is good for only about
half the route, so you'll need to buy a ticket for the remaining portion.)
Note:
Swiss rail passes are also good on the yellow Postal Buses, which makes it easy
to explore smaller villages from either end of the journey or--if you break your
trip--from intermediate stations along the line.
Glacier Express Rhaetian Railway (Rhätische Bahn) Swiss Rail Passes
switzerlandforvisitors.com About the author: Durant Imboden is a professional travel writer, book author, and editor who focuses on European cities and transportation. After 4-1/2 years of covering European travel topics for About.com, Durant and Cheryl Imboden co-founded Europe for Visitors in 2001. The site has earned "Best of the Web" honors from Forbes and The Washington Post. For more information, see About Europe for Visitors, press clippings, and reader testimonials. Photos copyright © Swiss Travel System. |
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