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Golden pass and regional trains

Posted by (Northern California) on

Question about the Golden Pass route riding May 21, 2023 between Zweissman and Montreaux; Not interested in Panoramic or Belle-Epoch train, just Regional trains.
I see on SBB and MOE timetables that Panoramic Train runs every hour starting at 8 am to 17:02 (5 pm). There are a two specific Regional trains running 6 am and 7 am, and two Regional 1800 and 1900.

Do the Pano Trains ever have coaches attached that you dont reserve a seat? That is what I am trying to figure out and can’t tell. Or is it that you can take a chance and just sit on a Pano Train if there is no one sitting on a reserved seat?

I don’t want to be “locked in” to a certain reserved time / be more flexible - but also don’t want to not be able to ride the train if we arrive there around 2 pm or so…. I definitely want to take the route between Zweissman and Montreux on the “golden pass” route.
Hope this makes sense! Thank you in advance.

Posted by
20085 posts

I definitely want to take the route between Zweissman and Montreux on the “golden pass” route.

If you are in Zweisimmen and want to go to Montreux, the "Golden Pass" route is your only viable option. I doubt if there will be no seats available. Only groups reserve seats generally.

Posted by
977 posts

A reservation is not required, however it's a Sunday, so you can expect that we Swiss will be out travelling (often for free) as well so it is advisable to make a booking. Many of the Swiss bookings will only come in on the Saturday as people will wait to see what the weather is like. I don't think I ever booked longer than 2 hours before travelling - and some times it was too late.

From the MOB site, it looks like the 9:02, 10:02 & 10:02 is full in first class and is filling up in second [50%], and the 10:30 is fully booked,

Posted by
61 posts

Thank you all for good info and replies. The local angle is really helpful too. I’ll plan to book soon as to ensure a spot on this beautiful route.

Posted by
20085 posts

Booking soon has nothing to do with getting a seat. Purchasing a seat reservation guarantees you a seat

Posted by
4402 posts

Actually, you'll probably be catching the train in Interlaken, or perhaps Spiez?

Posted by
61 posts

I understand the difference between booking and reserving a seat. We have the STP so just need to reserve a seat.

We are coming from Gimmelvald - Interlaken - Spiez.. Looks to be about a 2.5 - 3 hour train ride (if we don’t miss a connection or stop and visit a town. Totally doable to get a 1600 train from Zweisimmen to Montreauz. Get into Montreaux around 6 pm.

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