The planning stage

Please note: Normally, blog postings appear in reverse chronological order (ie newest first). I have adjusted the dates for these postings so they appear in chronological order (ie oldest first). This post, for example, was created in May 2007 and hence predates the trip which happened in July 2007.

The main purpose of this blog is to provide anyone who is considering planning a trip on the Swiss Railways to share in my experiences. I could have done it more cheaply, but I was determined to organise the whole thing myself. Partly because I wanted to set my own itinerary and partly because I wanted to travel independently, rather than feeling hassled and hustled. OK, it took a bit more effort, but planning the trip was, for me, as interesting and exciting as actually doing it. I hope my ramblings (in both senses) are of help to you. If you have any questions which have not been answered or suggestions as to what could be added, then please leave a comment.Ever since I can remember I have wanted to travel on the Swiss railway network. This year, for various reasons, I decided to fulfil this ambition. Apart from a car trip through Switzerland a few years ago, I knew nothing about the Swiss railway system. So my first enquiry led me to the Swiss Travel System website and their map of the system:

http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/fileadmin/pdf/STS-P-M-08-enLOW.pdf

Five airports are shown on the map - Basle, Zurich, Geneva, Lugano and Bern. Looking at the rail network, Geneva looked like a promising start and end point. From here, I plotted a route which would last approximately eight days and started looking for hotels. It was at this point I started looking also at air fares. None of the airports appeared to be destinations for cheap flights from Liverpool or Manchester, so I looked for an alternative - for example, travelling by train or flying to another airport and catching a train to Geneva.

The RyanAir service map made me realise that one of its destinations, Milan (Bergamo) is quite close to Lugano, the southernmost point of the Swiss rail network. Furthemore, looking again at the map of the railway network, using Lugano as the start and end point was going to be far more effective than using Geneva.

Consequently, a new route was determined:

The route
Day 1 - Milan - Lugano - Goschenen - Andermatt - Chur
(This includes the St Gotthard tunnel and part of the Glacier Express route)

Day 2 - Chur - Tirano - Lugano
(The Bernina Express)

Day 3 - Lugano - Locarno
(An easy day - with an opportunity to visit Swiss Miniatur )

Day 4 - Locarno - Spiez - Interlaken
(The Centovalli Line and Simplon Tunnel)

Day 5 - The Jungfrau
(The Jungfraubahn)

Day 6 - Interlaken - Lucerne
(Part of the Golden Pass Line)

Day 7 - Lucerne - Lugano
(The William Tell Express)

Day 8 - Lugano - Milan

With the route finalised, the hotels and trains were booked.

Booking Hotels and Trains
Booking the hotels, hostels and guest houses was a relatively straightforward process using the internet and was accomplished in a couple of evenings. To keep costs down we booked into cheapish rooms (around £60 per room per night - 2007 prices). It remains to be seen what they are like.

Buying the Swiss Rail Pass was accomplished easily online through the Swiss Travel Centre. As this was going to be a once in a lifetime experience we decided to travel first class which at £205 each for eight days (you get 15% discount for two) seemed like a bargain (and cheaper than a first class return ticket from Crewe to London!).

Named trains in Switzerland need to be booked in advance. A phone call to the Swiss Travel Centre in London quickly solved this - I was even able to book a meal on the Glacier Express and return tickets from Milan to Lugano on the Italian Railway system.

The trip begins on 18th July. Watch this space!

Day 3 - Milan to Chur

This was the day the rail holiday really began!



The Swiss Railways train took us from Milan Central through the southern states of Switzerland, through the St Gotthard tunnel and on to Goschenen. Here we disembarked and boarded the rack railway which climbed up the Schollenen Valley to Andermatt.

By this time I realised I had made a tragic error in booking the train from Milan, which meant we missed the Glacier Express (and our meal booked in the restaurant car). H0wever, we found the quality of food at the station cafe in Andermatt was very good - including home-cooked lasagne and some staples of Swiss fayre (eg sausages). Fortunately, trains run regularly over the Swiss system and we were able, with our Swiss Passes, to board the next available train to Chur which followed the same route as the Glacier Express. For me, the journey on the local train was far more interesting and rewarding than it would have been had we been crammed into the panorama coaches. On the local train, the windows could be opened for uninterrupted photography. In addition, we had the first class section of our carriage to ourselves and hence felt uninhibited in opening all the windows and leaping around taking pictures and video clips at our leisure.

We arrived in Chur in sufficient time to be able to stroll into the city centre to find food (and drink). The town has been modernised and pedestrianised but there are some interesting nooks and crannies to explore.

We stayed at the IBIS hotel in Chur, which is within walking distance of the city centre (though not with suitcases).

As can be seen, the hotel has an interesting pyramidal design - we stayed very near the apex in a large and comfortable room. The staff were very friendly and the buffet breakfast was well worth the extra cost - setting us up for the day ahead.

Day 4 - Chur to Lugano

The station at Chur is fascinating. A junction of several railways - both standard and metre gauge - with arrivals and departures every ten minutes or so, means there is plenty to watch while waiting for the train.

We had booked aboard the panorama train of the Bernina Express which ensures everyone has a superb view of the scenery, but being unable to open the windows makes photography difficult. However, the commentary in German, Italian and English was very helpful in alerting us to particular and impressive aspects of the railway, which winds and spirals its way up and over the Bernina Pass. A key feature of the line is that it uses adhesion for the entire journey - there are no rack sections, even though the gradient is a steep as 1 : 14 (7%).

Key features of the line are:

• The Landwasser viaduct (probably the most well known railway feature in Switzerland)
• The spirals between Bergun and Preda
• The Montebella curve and Alp Grum
• The descent into the Poschavio valley
• The spiral viaduct at Brusio

The line terminates in the Italian town of Tirano where a coach (which must also be booked in advance via the Swiss Rail Centre) took us past Lake Como to Lugano. The coach journey was particularly interesting as we neared Lugano where the road wound through the mountains and villages and in several places narrowed to a single lane. Our driver was clearly familiar with the route and threw the coach (sometimes almost literally) through impossibly narrow gaps and, with blasts on his horn, sent other motorists into complicated reverse manoevres.
The only positive thing we can say about the hotel we booked into was that it was close to the lakeside and was reasonably priced. Lugano itself is fascinating with plenty of night life and slightly faded elegance. We found the bar at the Lido to be particularly pleasant for a glass (or two) of Prosecco or a Campari Soda as an aperitif before strolling into the centre for a leisurely al fresco meal. Mind you, the selection of food is fairly limited. It's fine if you like staple Italian fare (pizzas and pasta) - but limited if you want a bit more variety.

Day 7 - The Jungfrau

Another highlight of the tour was the trip up the Jungfrau Railway. We were advised to start as early as possible (the first two trains have discounted fares). We went for a more leisurely 9.00 am start, but even then the queue for tickets was quite long.


We decided to travel up via Grindelwald and return via Lauterbrunnen - the staff at the hotel recommended this to make the most of the sunshine in the valleys.

The first train journey from Interlaken Ost to Grindelwald sped along giving us occasional glimpses of the Eiger until we reached Grindelwald where the famous North Wall dominates the skyline.

A change of trains and we started the tortuous climb towards Kleine Scheidegg and another change of trains.

After the rolling slopes of the foothills beneath the Eiger, the scenery here became more rugged. The station had all the busyness of a mainline railway junction as passengers changed trains from or to Launterbrunnen, Grindelwald and, of course, the Jungfrau Joch
After a short climb to Eigergletscher, the train disappeared into the Eiger tunnel, blasted through the rock in a steady climb across the North Wall. At about the half-way point the train stopped at Eigerwand station to allow us a ten minute view through windows set in the North Wall. A further halt at Eismeer provided us with a view across the ice field before completing the climb to Jungfrau Joch.


Unfortunately, the summit was shrouded in cloud, and blowing a gale, but the ice caves and the observatory proved interesting. I hadn't expected to suffer quite so much from the thinness of the atmosphere, having to catch my breath when climbing the stairs, for example.

After an hour and half at the summit we hopped on the train for the return journey. At Kleine Scheidegg we opted for the Lauterbrunnen route, via Wengen.


To my mind, this route is more picturesque than that through Grindelwald. The valley is narrower with a couple of spectacular waterfalls cascading down cliffs from improbable heights (see video).
A change of trains at Lauterbrunnen and we returned at high speed to Interlaken Ost.

So, was it worth the money? Definitely, yes! Despite the fact we were shrouded in cloud at the summit, the journey itself is well worth the expense and the experience of high altitude cannot be replicated, unless you have a bent for mountaineering. It's inevitably a popular and busy tourist destination, so in future I would try to avoid peak holiday periods if I had the choice.

There are several other railways and cable car services in the area which, given time, I would love to explore. Hence, if (hopefully, when) I return, I will allow more time to revisit this area - particularly as the hotel was so welcoming.