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Como S. Giovanni to Luzern on the Treno Gottardo

Posted by (New York, NY) on

On Sat, Sept 19, my husband and I will be traveling from Como, Italy to Luzern and I want to travel the treno Gottardo route (not the panorama train). I bought the tickets through the SBB app, including the trenitalia train starting at Como S. Giovanni, taking the 10:24 train. The SBB route has me going through the tunnel which I don't want. When I try "forcing" app and adding either Airolo or Göschenen in the "via" section, I don't even get the option for the train I've already booked.

The SBB app has me going 1)Como S. Giovanni (RE80) to Lugano 2) Lugano -Arth-Goldau (IC2) 3) Arth-Goldau _Luzern (IR 26). But I understand that the most scenic section is on the IR26 from Bellinzona and before Arth-Goldau.

What AI has told me is the following (which is a much easier routing than the SBB app is giving me). Please confirm that this is correct or, if not, please let me know what routing we should take. 

Saturday, Sept 19th Itinerary for the Treno Gottardo route

10:24 AM: Board the RE80 (Direction Locarno) at Como S. Giovanni.
10:58 AM: The train arrives at Lugano. Stay on the train. (Ignore the crowd transferring to the fast IC2 tunnel train).
11:16 AM: Arrive at Bellinzona and get off the train.
11:16 – 11:41 AM (25 mins): You have a relaxed 25-minute buffer at Bellinzona station. You can stretch your legs, grab a snack, or find your next platform.
11:41 AM: Board the copper-colored IR26 Treno Gottardo. (The electronic boards on the platform may display its final destination as Basel SBB or Luzern, but it is your exact train).
13:41 PM: Arrive directly in Luzern (Lucerne).
Relax at Arth-Goldau: The train will pause briefly at Arth-Goldau around 13:14 PM. As mentioned before, do not get off. The train will continue directly into Lucerne a few minutes later. 

Thanks for all the help! We leave very, very shortly and I can't wait!!
Paule

Posted by
23780 posts

I think AI is leading you astray. Use www.sbb,ch/en.

It shows that the RE80 does not go to Bellinzona, it goes to Locarno. But you can transfer to the Treno Gottardo at Cadenazzo with a 26 min transfer time. You actually arrive at Luzern at 14:41.

Posted by
136 posts

Thanks! I wasn’t confident that AI was right, but SBB app keeps me going through the tunnel and I can’t figure out where to get the train to go over the treno Gottardo.

Posted by
23780 posts

Using the App, you put in "Goeschenen" in the "via" box. It actually shows you can leave later on the S10 at 10:45 and that train does go to Bellinzona. The change time is 16 minutes, but you don't even have to change platforms as you arrive and depart on Platform 2.

Posted by
136 posts

Thanks, that’s great! It wasn’t working for me before when I tried using “via” but I will try again since I see I either need to take the S10 at Como (the least number of changes) or change for a train at Lugano to go to Bellinzona. AI doesn’t know everything!

Posted by
136 posts

And yes! That’s it! Thank you!

This is why I doublechecked - AI is great for an overall plan, even with obscure places and detailed planning, but doublecheck things like schedules! It’s not infallible!

Posted by
4218 posts

What kind of ticket did you get? If you have a normal ticket (ie not a saver one) you can take either route with it. But yes, you need to use the right tools to find the route.
Best route is to take the S10 to Biasca at 10:45, and change in Bellinzona.

Normally SBB would sell you an "ORDINARIO" for the Como - Chiasso part, and you can use later trains with that, but may ned to change the check in (but you probably will not encounter a conductor on that short stretch anyway). Then from Chiasso to Lugano via Bellinzona you are fine...

Posted by
4218 posts

"AI doesn’t know everything!"

AI does not know anything. AI is a text generator that is driven by statistics. So it basically finds the best approximation to what a probable answer to your question might sound like.
AI does not think, it just writes good sounding texts.

For route planning us maps. For public transit planning use timetable apps or website.

Posted by
136 posts

WengenK,
Thank you. Yes, the S10 at 10:45 is what I’m planning to take now. In using the SBB app, I originally planned to take the train at 10:24 but didn’t fully understand how to use the app and was not getting the route I wanted.

I’ve found that AI is very helpful for overall planning (excellent at descriptive information) but information with values, such as a timetable or schedule, it is not reliable. Which is why I checked it out when I wasn’t sure it was right!

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