I will be travelling by train from Milan to Lucerne. When I go to the trenitalia website, it only shows one option for this journey. When I go on the Swiss train website, many options are listed. I am fine ordering tickets through the Swiss site. My concern is whether there will be any issues boarding and travelling on a train originating in Italy with tickets purchased through the Swiss site. Has anyone done this or know if this is an issue? Thanks.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
If they are print-at-home tickets, you'll be fine. If the Swiss site requires pick up in a train station, you won't be able to get them in Italy. They will not be mailed to you. Don't pay until you have confirmed the procedure. The Italian site cannot sell connection trains that are wholly inside Switzerland and also requires international tickets to be picked up at an Italian train station.
Posted by
Firenze, Italy
1702 posts
As far as I remember, there is only one direct train between Milan and Lucerne; all other trains require a change, usually in Arth-Goldau. Probably trenitalia is showing only the direct train.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Chad,
There are a couple of different ways you could approach this. Some options to consider......
- Buy an advance ticket for the segment Milano Centrale to Arth-Goldau, using the Captain Train or Trenitalia websites. Two of the quickest runs will be departures from Milan at 08:25 or 10:25. That train will have compulsory seat reservations. You should have no trouble buying that online and printing the ticket at home. For the segment from Arth-Goldau to Lucerne, you could either try to buy the ticket online OR simply buy at the station when you arrive in Arth-Goldau. It's only about a 30 minute trip from there to Lucerne, so even if you can't connect with the next train leaving there will be another one along shortly.
- Buy an advance ticket for the entire trip from the SBB website, and hope that you'll be able to print it at home, so that you don't encounter the issues that Laura mentioned.
Good luck!
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
lachera has it correct. Trenitalia can only sell tickets on trains which travel within, to and from Italy. SBB (Swiss Railways) can sell tickets for Swiss trains. Either company can sell you tickets for cross-border trains. There are few through trains from Milan to Luzern, you usually end up getting one of the more frequent Milan - Zürich trains and changing at Arth-Goldau to a local Swiss train to Luzern. It is perfectly OK to buy the Milan - Luzern ticket from Swiss railways.