Geneva to Lausanne Train

The SBB planner can plan between any two public transit stops in the country. It can also plan to street addresses and points of interest.
Just try entering the name of your hotel in the destination field and you will see what I mean.

So when you enter a town name it will list all the stops in that town. But the main station will be shown at the top.

If that is all too confusing just buy your train ticket at the station. No need to overthink this. This is trivial mass transit.

Also, if I pick the one that just says Lausanne, it has a bunch of
different directions, like Brig, Luzern, etc. Which one should I pick?

I always pick the option with the least amount of changes. If the # of changes are all the same, I look for the one that has the shortest time.

The different directions are indicating the final stop for the trains. Really no need to pay attention to that.

When I put in Geneva to Lausanne for tomorrow morning at 7 am in the SBB app, I see most options have no changes. The fastest option looks to be direction Brig at about 35 minutes. That’s the one I would pick, if the time works for you.

Unless you plan to buy a super saver ticket, the ticket you buy will be good for any train option going from Geneva to Lausanne.

Thank you so much!

Also, if I pick the one that just says Lausanne, it has a bunch of different directions, like Brig, Luzern, etc. Which one should I pick?

That is because the journey is a short one and the train continues after its stop to go further. What you see is the final destination.

Brig is beyond Lausanne, and so is Luzern. Other common end points for trains from Geneva and passing through Lausanne are Bern and Zurich.

You just need it to list a stop in Lausanne. Because the train stops only a short while and then resumes its journey you need to be ready to get off when approaching Lausanne. There will be announcements and if you plan ahead or follow the journey on your SBB app you will know when that is.

It is good to take a note of the "direction" of a train, as that is how you find it.

Departure boards in Switzerland do not mention train numbers (nobody is interested in those). They mention departure time, destination, and as many intermediate stops as will fit. That means that not all intermediate stops are often shown. But if you now the departure time and the destination of your train you can always find it.

Susanna,

The rail trip from Geneva to Lausanne is very easy, and only takes about 45 minutes. Have a look at the SBB website for more details and times. You could also check the German rail website, Bahn.de for information.

Are you making the trip to Lausanne directly after arrival at Geneva airport? Note that there are several rail stations in Geneva. Also, are you planning to buy the ticket online (using your phone?) or when you arrive in Geneva?

It is good to take a note of the "direction" of a train, as that is
how you find it.

If you have the SBB app on your phone, this will tell you what platform your train will be at. It will also tell you where to stand for 1st and 2nd class train cars. I also like to double check the platform info. with the boards at the train station—both the big board and again at the platform.

Picking up on Ken's good points - if you are indeed arriving at Geneva airport and going straight on to Lausanne, there are many trains which originate at the airport and stop at Lausanne eliminating the change in Geneva.