Train Help: Zurich to Milan with Swiss Travel Pass

Carrie, the way this works, it is a Swiss train when running on Swiss rails, and Swiss rules apply; then it is an Italian train when running on Italian rails, and Italian rules apply.

Swiss rules: You do not need a reservation, all you need is your Swiss Pass, and get on and sit in any seat.
"I’m thinking they won’t let us on the train for the earlier portion without a ticket." - You have a ticket, your Swiss Pass. Nobody checks who gets on the train, they check onboard once the train is moving.

Italian rules: You MUST have a reservation. You need to buy a ticket (Swiss Pass not valid), which will be specifically for one train and will include a reserved seat.

What you need to do: Go to the Trenitalia (Italian Railways) site: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html
And buy ticket(s) for this train. This ticket will list train ID and seat numbers.
And then just get on the train at Zürich HB, and sit on any seat (hopeful you can get the seat reserved for your from Chiasso). The Swiss ticket inspector will want to see your Swiss Pass(es). At Chiasso there is a staff changeover, and when the Italians check. show him your Italian ticket(s).

P.S.: "where it will allow discounts for the GA," - GA is the same as a Swiss Pass. GA is the annual Pass for Swiss residents.

Thank-you so much Chris for the great information!!!

And now that you said it, I do recall you saying in previous posts that the train is a Swiss train when in Switzerland and an Italian train when in Italy. I got too wrapped up in my confusion and didn’t remember that.

And thanks for the info. that the GA discount is the same as the Swiss Pass discount. Very good to know.

Just a heads up, I am going to have a Basel train station question in the near future, but I haven’t gotten to that part of my itinerary planning yet.

Thanks again!! Two and a half months til our trip. We are so excited!!!!!!! 😊

Keep in mind, when leaving Switzerland, always try to book your train travel on the destination country train site. If you book through SBB you may find that you pay quite a bit more. Also, when searching for departure stations on Trenitalia, note their spelling as "Zuerich HB". Otherwise it will tell you invalid station if you spell as Zurich.

Thanks for the tips Mark!!

Just did some checking. For a random April weekday (April 15 in this case), the cost from SBB with a Swiss Travel Pass for the 11:10 EC train from Zurich Hbf is 20 CHF. Seat reservation is included. Then I checked the price at Trenitalia for the same train is 39 EUR for a "Smart" fare, with no STP. Smart fare is buy now non refundable. Then the same train from Chiasso to Milano Centrale and the "Base" price was 16 EUR and the "Super Economy" price was 9.90 EUR. Reservation is included with these.

So yes, buying the Italian portion at Trenitalia is the best price.

Thanks for taking the time to check the prices Sam!! I’ll purchase the tickets from Trenitalia (Chiasso to Milano Centrale) this weekend. I used the Trenitalia website a few weeks ago to purchase some tickets for our Italy trips without any problems. So, I know it will accept my credit card.

At Chiasso they will also check your passport as you will be entering the Schengen zone from a non-Schengen country (Switzerland).

Switzerland is a member of the Schengen Agreement.

Trenitalia will credit the Swiss travel pass, bringing the fare down to 17 € for the Italian portion. It is still cheaper to get the Super Economy fare from Chiasso to MIlan, but if that were not available, the through ticket would be a good option.

Second what Sam says, Switzerland IS a member of the Schengen Area. There are no systematic passport checks on Switzerland's land borders. There is technically customs (goods checks), as Switzerland is not in the EU, but that mostly only affects vehicles with cargo.