Trains: Do I need to buy the full distance ticket? Zurich to Interlaken

Posted by DK (St. Albert, Canada) on 02/06/26 05:11 AM

I'll be getting the Bern Oberland Pass for our time based in Lauterbrunner and Murren - the thing is, the distance from Luzern to Interlaken is covered by the BOP, according to their new validity map:
https://www.berneseoberlandpass.ch/assets/Uploads/BLS-BO-Pass-M-26-WEB.pdf

Therefore, will I need to pick up a Zurich to Luzern ticket only? (either at full or half fees, not sure yet, haven't decided if I'm getting Half Fare Card yet for the other Swiss travel), Then let the BOP take care of the rest of the trip? If that is correct, would I just stay on the same train - showing the regular ticket when the conductor comes by outside Zurich, and then the BOP outside Luzern?
Thanks in advance..

Posted by Kenko

Citizen of the World

02/06/26 06:58 AM

3866 posts

You will only need to buy a ticket from Zurich to Lucerne and they start at about CHF 16. You can also take a train directly from Zurich’s airport to Lucerne if you’re flying into Zurich. That train ticket can be bought at the airport. For the train rides included in the Berner Oberland Pass, you just show the conductor your pass and passport on board the train when requested.

Posted by DK OP

St. Albert, Canada

02/06/26 08:02 AM

79 posts

Thank you, that's great.. As it is, we will be flying into Zurich but will spend a few days there before going to the BO.. after a few days there split between Lauterbrennen and Murren as bases, we will go to Luzern. Our next stop after that is Munich, so I'm trying to calculate all the train costs to see what is best for passes while in Switzerland (Half Fare/Swiss Travel Card).

Also, I believe I've got it right that since Interlaken to Luzern is also part of the Golden Pass route, I shouldn't need to purchase anything more for that, unless I want to make a reservation for a panoramic seat, right. But if I'm understanding Rick's book correctly, the panoramic trains for the Golden Pass Express leg are not the same as the regular commuter trains? Are there specific times or instructions I have to follow to book that on our Luzern to Munich trip? Yikes! :)

Posted by Sam

Green Bay

02/06/26 08:53 AM

23048 posts

All the trains on the hourly Luzern-Interlaken Express are panoramic type carriages. "Golden Pass" is simply a marketing concept for the trains running Luzern-Interlaken-Zweisimmen-Montreux. There are some special Golden Pass Express trains going Interlaken-Zweisimmen-Montreux that are through trains with special bogies to allow them to travel on both narrow gauge (Zweisimmen-Montreux) and standard gauge (Interlaken-Zwesimmen). But you are not going that way, apparently.

There are 3 separate private rail operators of the Golden Pass route, Zentralbahn for Luzern-Interlaken, BLS for Interlaken-Zweisimmen, and MOB for Zweisimmen-Montreux. SBB ticketing covers all of these.