Seems a busy summer is expected on the scenic trains. Specifically, the attached article has hints for success in booking the Glacier Express. https://www.myswissalps.com/blog/glacier-express-reservations/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter%20en%2020240218
Posted by
Bern, Switzerland
1043 posts
There are four or five regional trains doing the same route every day. And as far as I'm concerned the Glacier Express is the most expensive and over rated route we have here in Switzerland, so I would recommend just taking the regional trains on this one.
Posted by
OP
Forest Grove, OR
11775 posts
I agree, Jim. In fact the article mentioned the regional trains followed the same route.
Posted by
Green Bay
21140 posts
Perhaps the Glacier Express is a Veblen Good
What is a Veblen Good?
Veblen good is a type of luxury good named after American economist Thorstein Veblen. It shows a positive relationship between price and demand, and thus an upward-sloping demand curve.
The demand for a Veblen good rises (drops) when its price increases (decreases). A Veblen good generally is considered a high-quality exclusive product and a status symbol. When the price goes higher, its status symbol makes the Veblen good more desirable to consumers with high social and economic standing. Some common examples of Veblen goods include luxury cars, wines, handbags, fine jewelry and watches and even sneakers.
You can put Rolex's in that category, and sometimes I think, the whole country of Switzerland.
Posted by
3 posts
But if I already have a 1st class Eurail pass, it's only an extra 49 CHF for the seat reservation. Isn't that worth it?
Posted by
Green Bay
21140 posts
The discussion is securing that seat reservation for the day you want. There are only so many seats, especially in 1st class, every day.
Posted by
Washington DC
28062 posts
To me CHF 49 (over $50 US) seems like a lot of money for a seat on a train when I've already paid for the ticket (whether directly or via purchase of a rail pass). However, it may well be the case that demand will be so high this year that a seat reservation will be essential to guarantee yourself a seat on the fancy trains with panoramic cars. Are there aisle seats in the first-class carriage? You probably don't want to be stuck with one of those.
I'm going to take the Centovalli train this summer. Seat reservations for that one cost only CHF 5 (or just over CHF 6.50 for the departure with the newer carriages). It hadn't occurred to me I might need a seat reservation on that train, but there are a lot more people traveling these days than the last time I took that train, which was probably in the early 1990s.
Posted by
Green Bay
21140 posts
Are there aisle seats in the first-class carriage? You probably don't want to be stuck with one of those.
First class, like other first class carriages has a row of single seats on one side of the aisle and a row of double seats on the other side, so on the single seat side, you get both a window and an aisle seat. All of the seats are across a table from one another.
Example of what we are talking about. On May 21, there are only 2 available 1st class seats that day out of 3 trains running, both on the 7:52 departure to Chur. Now the next several days out to May 27 (the last day booking is currently available) have plenty of seats. So book as soon as your day becomes available.
Posted by
Wengen
2492 posts
To me CHF 49 (over $50 US) seems like a lot of money for a seat on a
train when I've already paid for the ticket
The fee is not just a reservation, it is a surcharge. You cannot board the Glacier express without it, even if there are free seats.
It is just a way to get around the way Swiss ticketing works.