Glacier and Bernini express v. Local trains

Yes, you understand correctly. The Bernina Express bus departs Lugano at 10 am and arrives at Tirano at 13:00, connecting to the “official” Bernina Express train #974 departing at 13:17. Reservations required for both.

https://tickets.rhb.ch/en/pages/bernina-express

There are also regular regional trains using the same tracks, with the same scenery, departing Tirano at 13:00 (you won’t make that), 13:41, at 15:00, plus more in between those times with a change at a station along the way. These regional trains do not take reservations.

For the Glacier Express, you can duplicate the route with unreserved regional trains, but it involves getting off and changing trains on the way (I think twice but I didn’t confirm that).

The named trains are indeed different, with special “panoramic” windows and a special “first class” experience if you want to pay for it. These are promoted as tourist experiences and are included in many commercial tours of Switzerland. As to whether they are worth the extra expense of the reservation fee, I cannot say, as we have only ridden regional trains along both routes. They are more convenient, schedule-wise, and more suited to our travel style.

I’ve read RS Swiss chapter about the Bernini express. I’m confused. He states “for the best Lake Como views, sit on the right side of the bus going westbound (from Lugano) or the left side going eastbound (to Lugano)”. Firstly, going from Lugano you’re going east, not west. Somebody just didn’t proofread very well?. And is that left or right side, facing the front of the bus or as you get on?

I’m also confused about whether you can get off on all four of these “express” trains that you get a reservation for? I would think not but it seems i’ve read contradictory info. So for example if we are going from st. Moritz to Zermatt, 2nd class, and we pay 49 CHF Each for the reservation on the Glacier Express, is lunch included and can we get off for an hour or so at one of its stops along that route sight see and eat for an hr or two at a restaurant and then get back on a train to zermatt? Or do we just stay on the train the whole time? Im guessing we could get on another train going that way but it would be a regional train and we would no longer have a res (and in fact wouldnt need one cause its regional). Kind of a waste of res money to get off the express right? Are the regional trains just as fast (about 8 hrs) on that st moritz to zermatt route as the “express” train, other than the sightseeing/lunch time at the stop of course?

Also, on the official tourist glacier express train, are there also other non-res cars that you dont pay for? From the pics i’ve seen, i dont think so but it sounds like on the Bernina Express train they have a combination of express cars and Regional cars.

Your reservation on the Glacier Express is for that train only. If you leave the train, you can catch a regional train on the same route with your ticket or pass, but you cannot board another Glacier Express.

According to the Glacier Express brochure, you can order your lunch on board (they recommend doing so in advance to be sure of getting what you want). The meal will be served at your seat. In second class, you pay for the meal (it is not included in the reservation or the ticket price).

Here is a look at the menu, with prices:

https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/travel-planning/gastronomy-1/

The Glacier Express is an “express” in the sense that it makes limited stops, unlike the regional trains which stop at all the stations along the route. It also is an”express” in that it goes the whole way on one train. To ride the regional trains from St. Moritz to Zermatt, you would have to change trains several times (3 or 4, I believe). Depending on how the schedules of the different trains on the route line up, you could spend a lot of time at one of the stations waiting for the next train.

Can someone please help me out? Ive got the SBB mobile ap and have tried various routes but really cant figure out what routing i need to take to get from Pontresina to lausanne leaving pontresina around 8 in morning on a STP. I dont want to go on the glacier express but i want to go on the regional trains that go on the same route or at least the prettiest part of it. What’s the itinerary i should be looking at? Seems like so many trains go to zurich or bern which seems like they would have nothing to do with the glacier express route. They are way out of the way.

In order to stay on the Glacier Express route on regional trains, not the actual Glacier Express, you will need to change trains multiple times, and take care to avoid the GE on each segment. This is because the train companies and train type change, with rack railway segments for the steep sections, and only the Glacier Express trains can handle the transitions. (That is the short explanation).

The major change points are Andermatt and Brig or Visp, but to stay off the GE, departing Pontresina close to 8 am, you might need to change at Samedan, Reichenau-Tamins, and Disentis to reach Andermatt. That will take 4 hours 20 minutes, but is the only route I see on SBB that does not put you on the GE at some point. The journeys using the GE may have only a single connection, at Samedan or St. Moritz, but may take 5.5 hours to reach Andermatt, and you need reservations for the GE segment.

After Andermatt, it becomes easier, and you can reach Lausanne with a single change at Brig. But in any case, it will take a long time, as the schedules may not line up well.

The SBB mobile app wants to send you to your destination by the fastest possible route, which is usually through Zurich. You have to tweak the app by putting in "via" points, like Disentis/Muster. In your case, that is all you need to do. Leave Pontresina at 8:02 and you will be in Lausanne at 4:39 pm, an 8 1/2 hour journey. Without doing that, it will send you through Zurich, taking only 5 1/2 hours.

There you go. An 8.5 hour journey with 5 changes along the way.

Has the Man in Seat 61 been consulted?

I’ve taken the Glacier Express route and the Bernina Express route— was in regular train carriages— not in the special Observation carriages that the Panoramic trains are equipped with.
I’m a photographer, so whatever seat/ side of the train/carriage car can offer the chance at the best photos is what I gravitate to.
On a regular train, you are able to open the windows for photos— thereby bypassing the reflections, refractions and optical distortions the domed ceilings of the “Special Observation carriages” tend to create. There is no chance of opening up the ceilings in these Observation cars. That means photos can be affected by optical interference which you will be unable to change.
The other advantage of the regular trains is that you can be seated in a seat on the LEFT side taking pix. and are free to cross over to an empty seat on the RIGHT side of the train, provided another passenger has not reserved the seat and is seated in it.

It may be possible to have some flexibility on the Bernina Express with their Panoramic carriages, but
I suspect it may be quite difficult to find an opportunity to be as flexible in taking photos the regular trains offer.
The Bernina Express route begins in Chur and ends in Tirano, Italy, and takes about 4.75 hrs to complete. The most spectacular section ( about 2.5 hours) is between St. Moritz and Tirano. If you have a chance to get off the train at Alp Grum—take it. The scenery is spectacular and you can hop on the
next train when traveling with a Swiss Travel Pass on regular trains.
The actual route of the Bernina Express is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It’s repeatedly listed as one of the top 5 most spectacular rail routes worldwide. Be sure to experience it.
While the Glacier Express route from Zermatt to St .Moritz is beautiful, it’s not as breathtaking as the Bernina Express route, in my estimation. The Glacier Express also takes 8 hours to complete which — if you’ve not yet taken an 8-hour train ride—is quite a long period of time. Were I to choose between the two routes— I would pick the Bernina Express route hands down.
Have a wonderful time in Switzerland!

I've always thought that splitting the Glacier Express trip in half would make sense with an overnight along the way

Phred, It would be great to split the trip over 2 days. However, the seat reservation fee on the “Glacier Express” special trains more/less compel you to complete the journey in one day on the same train. If you could split the journey over 2 days, you would need two separate seat reservations at $110 in addition to the cost of the 2nd class train fare of $170. Yikes!
The way around this price-wise is to— if possible— buy a SaverDay Pass and use it to travel on the regular trains that travel the route of the Glacier Express. You don’t need reservations on the regular trains and a SaverDay Pass can sometimes be had for as little as $55.

Sure, there are several changes of trains involved, but a lot of travelers would be interested in a strategy that makes it possible to see the route of the Glacier Express —even if it’s not on an official “ Glacier Express” train— for $55 instead of $280.
Cheers!