Final question on Bernina Express vs. regular regional red train

When I took the regular regional train on the Bernina route, I had the RS Switzerland guide with me. It had a detailed section on the Bernina route with descriptions of what you can see at different points along the way. That worked very well for me. Since I wasn't going elsewhere in Switzerland, I had picked up an older edition of the RS book for a couple dollars which was well worth it. The guidebook also had information of things to do or see and places to eat at some of the stops. I believe there are also some detailed route descriptions and youtube videos you can find online. There was also some minimal information at each seat -- maybe just a map.

I had these same questions and concerns on my first trip to Switzerland. Ultimately, I ended up on a regional train and was so happy I went that route. First, the regional train car we were on was attached to the panoramic cars - so it was literally the exact same train. The panoramic cars were completely packed and my wife and I had our entire car to ourselves and we loved being able to put the windows down, peek out the windows and take pics and videos without worrying about a glare.

Maybe the biggest reason that made me feel like we made the right decision was that more than a few couples ended up joining our car after a photo stop because of the crowds and inability to put the windows down in their panoramic cars. They ended up sitting in the regional cars even though they paid for the panoramic seats.

I’ll never worry or be tempted to pay for the panoramic experience again. Hope this helps.

Just the info I needed!! This forum is such a life-saver. I truly appreciate all the help I get from you savvy travelers!!

I have never ridden in the fancy cars, only in the normal train, so can't comment on the actual commentary. I assume that the commentary may be multilingual unless it is headphones - I certainly wouldn't want headphones on that long.

I've been back and forth all along that line, and love the scenery and tunnels. As far as commentary being a must, that wouldn't be me. I'd appreciate a couple of minutes of notice before arriving at the Landwasser Viaduct and Landwasser Tunnel. If you're northbound it is the tunnel first; southbound is the iconic view with the curving viaduct with the front of the train curving in front of you and straight into the tunnel into the side of the cliff. I prefer to be on the open window at the rear of the train, on the right hand side of the train, southbound.

But the view of the viaduct and tunnel is only a few seconds, and not as fab northbound, and I expect no near as good from the sealed curved glass of the fancy cars because because of the difficulty looking forward rather than straight out - but I expect they will build up to the event as you go.

Please circle back and tell us how whichever you chose went for you.

susan,

I travelled in the panoramic cars and spent a lot of trip in the foyer using an open window to avoid the window glare when taking photos. I was less interested in the commentary than I was in getting good photos. However, that may not be as much of a problem now as there are a number of AI-powered apps that can remove window glare from photos. If you're taking the photos with your smartphone, some of the apps you could look at are Snapseed or TouchRetouch (there are others). If you're using a regular camera, something like Photoshop should work. With that in mind, if I were to do that trip again, I would probably still choose the panorama car for the "comfort level".

We rode the regional trains, so I have never heard the panoramic narrative. We had the RS Guidebook, which does a great job of describing the landmarks. It also helps to have read this section once in advance, to appreciate the history behind building the various structures.

I also recommend the Smithsonian's series "Mighty Trains", and the segment on the Bernina Express. This show does an excellent job of describing the maintenance required to keep the trains on this route running smoothly, along with some behind the scenes info. This helps one really appreciate the construction of this train route, which was built with engineers/architects doing their own math, way before computer assistance.
Beforehand, I wondered if the real experience would be as spectacular as the shows I'd seen, and I can verify that the real experience is incredible and well worth the ride! I hope to repeat the route again someday.

For us, the regional trains were not crowded, so that allowed us to jump from side to side, as the scenery changes. You couldn't do this on the panoramic trains.

No matter the mode, this is a fantastic adventure!

Thank you all fr this helpful info. I have subscribed to Paramount so I can see the Bernina Express episode of the Smithsonian great train series. Also, definitely doing the regional train. This will make life easier and sounds like a better fit for us.

You don't have to subscribe...... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLMEVm8ZuAY

you don't need the Smithsonian to see videos of the Bernina Express, if you dare to type that phrase into Youtube you'll only get about, oh, 500 hits. It's an extremely popular topic with train vloggers, unless seeing the trip beforehand would ruin it for you.

You may as well spend a couple hours looking on cab videos for the railway, generally they have technical comments on the railway (and there is very little but the railway and the landscape) on the whole route. For example:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=URfm_eBsQ98

Thank you all.