Arrival Zurich and Train station

Hi Cheryl, there is a station in the Zurich airport (ZurichFlughafen). Follow the signs to it from the arrivals hall. There are direct trains to Luzern every hour at 47 after the hour, like 9:47, 10:47,etc. In between there are trains with a change at the main station ( Zurich HB). Have your passes validated by the agent at the airport train station before you board that train.

Here's the airport map:
http://www.zurich-airport.com/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-79/ Customs is at the airport, not the train station. Some of the gates at Zurich are far from the entrance - it has been measured, in fact, as having the second longest distance, from the entrance to the farthest gate, in Europe. We had quite a walk to the gate this summer, and were flying British Air. I would ask US Airways which gate you arrive at, if it's not on your travel plan. You can go direct from the airport train station to Lucerne by train. Buy your ticket there at a machine, if you are using a rail pass validate it at the airport rail station. If you buy in advance make sure it's Zurich Airport. There's no reason to go into town (although it's lovely) as it's the opposite direction from Lucerne. You should be arriving at Bahnhof Luzerne, downtown. http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/railcity-luzern.html has all of your options there, including left luggage storage. You will need quite a bit of time to get off the plane, collect luggage, go through customs/passport control, get to the train station, and have your pass validated. There are lots of trains to Lucerne as it's a short hop away. Have a great trip!

To elaborate on the prior post, Luzern is spelled that way in German, and Luzern is in the German speaking area. Lucerne is the English selling. There is no Luzerne. The station you will be arriving in is the main station in Luzern so it is referred to as the Hauptbahnhof. Bahnhof is train station, Hauptbahnhof is the main train station. Hauptbahnhof is abbreviated as Hbf.

Tut mir leid, Nigel! Ich gebucht haben sollte und meine Rechtschreibung nicht beleidigen.

Dennis - what are you and Nigel whispering about? Translation please.

I think he is trying to say he posted too soon and didn't check the spelling, but it is a bit garbled. There seems to be a dangling infinitive at the end.

@Elaine...you want to know what the German means. "Tut mir leid, Nigel"..."I am sorry, Nigel" "Ich gebucht haben sollte"..."I ought to have booked/reserved".. the word order is off. "und meine Rechtschreibung nicht beleidigen." ... "and don't insult my spelling."

Cheryl, I just travelled through Zurich a few days ago, and it's a very easy process. In the same situation, I wouldn't be too concerned about the time as it will vary depending on a number of factors (ie: number of flights arriving at the same time, how many Immigration Agents are on duty, etc.). Once you've retrieved your luggage, get your Railpasses validated and then take the next train to Lucerne. Whether it has a change at the Zurich Hbf isn't really a problem, as it only takes ~10 minutes to get to the main station. You may want to have a look at the SBB website to get some ideas on the departure times and train specifics. If you'll need to transit through the Zurich main station, I'd suggest NOT using the S-Bahn trains to get there, as they arrive a couple of levels below track level. Although there are Escalators, as you'll be hauling luggage it's a good idea to make the process as easy as possible. Happy travels!

@Ken Actually there are lifts or elevators as you call them there too, but they are not well indicated and are very easy to miss. A better suggestion if you find yourself on the S-Bahn is to go the opposite direction along the platform and come up at the other end, you will then be directly below the tracks for the regional trains and when you come out on the platform you should find yourself about in the middle of the train, so it should be easy to find seats.

She arrived 2 days ago, so hopefully Cheryl figured it out.

@Jim, Yes, I noticed the Lifts but when hauling luggage, I prefer to make the process as easy as possible. That's why I suggested not using the S-Bahn in that particular case. As you noted, the Lifts are not always well marked and could be missed by a traveller that's tired after a long international flight. I was also in Bern about a week ago (prior to my stop in Zurich). It's a beautiful city! Cheers!