We will be traveling to Switzerland in mid-late June. We plan to travel by train from Milan to Tirano, and then switch trains to Swizz rail to travel from Tirano to St. Moritz. We plan to use regular trains instead of the Bernina Express.
Do we need to make reservations for the regular trains?
Are there any significant negatives to using regular trains for this journey? We understand that the regular trains won't have panoramic windows and will stop in more places.
Thanks!
You never need reservations on Swiss trains (except the four named tourist trains, including the Bernina Express). Most trains do not accept reservations. The system is not designed that way, it is designed as a "turn-up-and-go" service.
You will still see the same mountains out of the windows.
The actual company running these trains is the RhB (Rhätische Bahn / Rhaetian railway): https://www.rhb.ch/en/home
You can get train times for all railway companies in Switzerland from the SBB (Swiss Federal Railways) website: https://www.sbb.ch/en
Although the windows are not "panoramic" they are huge by comparison with the little tiny windows on Amtrak trains.
Using the regular trains is fun, beautiful and very relaxing.....
We did this a couple of years ago, traveling in the opposite direction. Not only are there no "negatives", we found a positive benefit. Our 2d class carriage (unreserved) was so uncrowded that we could freely move from side to side to take in the best views.
It is my favorite Swiss train ride.
Also you can open and close the windows, so if taking photos, no glare off the panorama windows like on the fancy train.
