Howdy,
We are interested in buying the half fare card for travel to Switzerland (9 days).
Could we purchase it at one of the border cities near Chamonix? Say Martigny?
I see there is free guest passes when staying in Chamonix hotels, with the Chamonix express being covered by the pass. Technically we could take that train to leave Chamonix and get off in Martigny and then get our half fare cards and purchase tickets to Interlaken?
You can buy Swiss Half Fare cards at any manned Swiss Railways station. You cannot buy it at stations run by "foreign" (not Swiss) railway companies.
Chamonix is in France, half fare cards are not valid to Chamonix, only full Swiss passes (see here for map).
The problem with getting a through train over the border, is that you need to buy one ticket from your starting station to the border station, and then another half fare ticket from the border station to your final destination (and buy the half fare card if you haven't got it already). That implies getting off the train at the border station, and then waiting for the next train.
Going in the other direction is OK, Swiss stations will sell you a half fare ticket to the border and a full fare one from there.
So Martigny would be the border town in which I could get the HFC?
And sorry about the spelling!
Yes, Martigny SBB station is a standard connection point on that route and a fine place to buy the one-month Half-Fare Card, then catch the next later connection on your route. Or the Half-Fare Card is sold online here for home delivery before you go (free shipping for orders totaling $449 or more, otherwise $18).
Are the same price as buying in Switzerland, Laura?
Ginger, If you look at the map I posted, you can see the first Swiss station is Le Châtelard, some way before Martigny. Martigny is not on the border. But buying a half fare ticket there will involve getting off the train and waiting for the next one, very inconvenient.
If you are changing trains at Martigny. You might as well buy your ½fare ticket there. It will only cost a small amount extra to travel full fare Chamonix to Martigny. You can also buy your half fare pass there, if you haven't got it already,
You can buy the pass in advance (see Laura's) link. This may cost more. You need to compare the price with the price you would pay in Switzerland, 120 Franks, see here for details.
Thanks so much for the detailed information, Chris.
But if we go across to visit Parc d'Attractions du Chatelard, I could buy the passes at this train station? It's a manned station, I presume?
