Golden Pass - Cars full

I don't know what day your looking at, but when I look at June 26, I see that out of 62 total seats between 1st and 2nd class, 10 have been reserved on the Interlaken to Zweisimmen section of the route. That is just two cars worth. one 1st class car and one 2nd class car. The empty cars seem to represent optional cars they can add as more reservations have been taken, or just cars they are not taking reservations for and using for open seating passengers. It is not totally intuitive, but it works for them. Trains taking reservations are actually unusual for Swiss. They're used to just showing up and getting on the train. Its not just tourists on the train, locals ride them too.

Ohhhh, I was not understanding. I see the potential of adding cars. We were simply trying to reserve seats on what Steves suggested fills up. We have a Eurail pass. Thank you.
We were hoping for the VIP car, but it looks like that is only in the afternoon. We have to take a morning train to reach Normandy that evening.

I also see from the schedule that the 10:25 departure from Zweisimmen - train 3115 goes to Montreux as Golden Pass, but looks to continue on to Geneve arriving 13:30. They only reserve to Montreux. I guess one can just stay on the train. But I was unsure of the connection in Geneve as this 3115 never shows up in the Baun schedule. Any insights there?

That would be very difficult to stay on the train past Montreux, as its wheels are meter gauge, and the tracks to Geneva are standard gauge. Ain't gonna happen.

Edit - The connection to the 12:20 train to Geneva (IR 1716) is only a 7 minute connection. The Golden Pass trains, being narrow gauge, stop outside the standard gauge main station platforms, so it is a tight a connection. If you have a ticket to Geneva, you can try to make it, because Swiss tickets do not restrict you to any particular train. Otherwise, the 12:47 train (IR 1818) will get you to Geneva in plenty of time to make the TGV to Paris Gare de Lyon.

If you are going to Normandy (Bayeux?), you will have to transfer to Gare St Lazare. Buy a subway ticket out of the machine (1.90 EUR) and take the No 14 Metro line to St Lazare. It is an express subway line that has elevators and escalators on each end to make luggage handling a lot easier.

OK, so I guess I'm not understanding the schedule they have posted at www.goldenpassline.ch/en/timetable/
Those must be other connections after Montreux.

See my edit.
The gray line under "Montreux" indicates that it is a transfer. The train to Geneva is actually 1 minute earlier per the current schedule.

Thank you Sam.

1) The panorama car reservations are optional (but recommended) for individuals and required for larger groups. Since you said that you're using a Eurail pass, then you do "have a ticket" that covers any train to Geneva. But you'll need a seat reservation for the 14:38 TGV Lyria from Geneva to Paris ($35 2nd class or $78 in 1st class) and that's the leg you can't afford to miss.

2) I do somewhat admire your ambitious, 15-hour, 7-connection travel plan, but if you don't take the Golden Pass route, then the faster connections would get you from Muerren to Bauyeux in 10 hours and 5 connections, using the 12:34 TGV Lyria from Basel to Paris (reservation fee $48 in 2nd class or $93 in 1st).

3) Or make 6 total connections and catch the 14:47 TGV from Strasbourg to Paris, then your seat reservation fee will be $14 (in either class) on a domestic TGV rather than an international TGV Lyria.

I enjoyed the Golden Pass quite recently, but I also think that another morning to eat your hotel breakfast and get another good look at the mountains from Muerren is a pretty good trade-off.

Looking Up Train Schedules and Routes Online gives you the Deutsche Bahn train schedule link and tips for using it.

Fun to talk to someone who's been there. Yes this particular leg got pinched. This section we split with my sister and decided to meet back up in Caen (Normandy) rather than Paris. We have 4 days in Murren thankfully. I know we need a reservation on the TGV 9774, but DB Bahn says we can't do it on the internet. I banking that when we get to Munich in late May that will be more than sufficient time to book.

Three Questions;

(1) On DR BAHN when I look at Montreux to Geneve we arrive 14:30 & the TGV leaves at 14:38, is that sufficient time?

(2) Would you recommend 1st class for the extra room?
(3) Any good lunch recommendation in Montreux, we'll have a little over an hour.

This is an excerpt from the schedule I see through DB:

Zweisimmen
dep 10:25

Montreux
arr 12:13, track 6, Transfer time 34 min.

Montreux
dep 12:47, track 1

Geneve
arr 13:48, track 4, Transfer time 50 min.

Geneve
dep 14:38

Paris Gare de Lyon
arr 17:52

[Edit] DB is suggesting the 12:47 departure from Montreux. Do attempt to catch the earlier one, in case it works. I'd leave the lunch plan to grabbing something portable right around either Montreux or Geneva station, whichever you end up having more time at. You could also pack snacks from the supermarket in Murren.

I would not particularly choose 1st class if 2nd class is available (and the nose-cone seats of the Golden Pass are not available). On the TGV Lyria, part of the higher 1st-class reservation fee covers a meal service.

Do you already have the Eurail pass in one class or the other? Unfortunately, Eurail has just laid down a rule on these international trains that "class of service must match" on the seat reservations. So even if they relax that later, the shopping cart is no longer showing 2nd-class reservations to customers who say they have a 1st-class pass.

Glad to know that you have a good amount of time in Muerren.

I must be doing something wrong on Bahn as I can find an 11:47 departure (doesn't work with 12:13 arrival) and the next one at 13:20. It does not show a 12:47 departure, which would be ideal. I also see on the Golden Pass Timetable a supposed transfer to a 12:21 train arriving 13:30 Geneve, but again it's not showing that when I use DB for Montreux to Caen on 27-6-18. IS it that these trains don't run every day?

If that's so is 8 minutes too tight? I left it at standard connections.

Also, even now on DB the 13:20 departure arrives Geneve 14:30 on Platform 3, but the 14:38 outbound has no platform listed.

Our Eurail passes are 1st class, I'm OK with that for 15 hours on the train. How many novels is that?

Thank you again Laura

Figured it out. I changed from standard transfer time to 10 minutes. This is more comfortable. Still don't have all the tracks, but this works. Thanks Laura. We are planning on setting up a consult on our trip.

You really should be using www.sbb.ch/en since you are talking about Swiss trains. Swiss think a 7 minute transfer at Montreux is doable. You walk down a stairway to the cross-over tunnel, walk about 100 feet then up a stairway to the platform for trains to Geneva. Failing that, you have another train 27 minutes later. SBB may have platform info for Geneva station. But you'll will have plenty of time with either of those two trains from Montreux. It will be posted when you arrive at Geneva.