Hi!
Does anyone know if 19 minutes would be sufficient to change trains in Lucerne?
We are traveling from Lugano to Bern and this is what Rail Europe has listed as one of the schedule options.
1 InterCity #668
07:02 Lugano
Sun 05 May
09:41 Lucerne
19 minutes interchange
2 InterRegio #2516
10:00 Lucerne
11:00 Bern
The station isn’t that big. Should not be a problem. F I’m not mistaken there are only 5 platforms.
No worries- Five minutes is enough time to change trains in Lucerne.
Actually the Luzern station has 15 tracks, according to the station map.
https://www.sbb.ch/en/travel-information/stations/find-station/lucerne-station.html
If one uses SBB.ch instead of Rail Europe to look up train schedules, they will see that the train from Lugano arrives at platform 7, and the train to Bern departs from Platform 8, so it is not a difficult transfer. Six minutes would be enough; 19 minutes is plenty.
If Lola is right about tracks 7 and 8, then you'll probably just have to walk across the platform?
never mind :)
No, it is not across the platform. Tracks 7 and 8 are adjacent to one another, but they are served by different platforms. You have to cross both tracks to go from one train to the other. That means either going down the steps, ramp, or escalator to the lower level and up the next set of steps to the platform serving track 8; OR just walk on the same level to the head of the trains and around to the next platform.
That station map is a bit confusing but if you look at it carefully you will see this. Or look at the map of the actual walking route that SBB shows. I will post the link but it is a long one:
ah yeah, sorry my bad. Dyslexia strikes again? I definitely saw the map wrong :)
19 minutes is enough the have a quick look at the Chapel bridge between trains.
MCT at most stations in Switzerland is 3 to 5 minutes. Only Zurich Hb has a longer one, with 6 minutes.
Note that you should use www.sbb.ch, not Rail Europe. RailEurope will overcharge you. And don't worry about connections. Trains are mass transit. If you miss one you just take the next...
19 minutes?......Cake walk. No worries. You'll have plenty of time. Enjoy your trip.
19 minutes is plenty of time for a one-platform change, but this is good advice for any change.
A train is not like an aircraft; you don't have to remain seated until the train stops at the platform. In fact if you do wait, in order to get off, you'll have to fight in the aisle with passenger coming on at the station and you'll be like a salmon swimming upstream.
Pay attention to the time and the schedule and listen for the announcements. When you know you are coming into the station, get up, gather your belongings, and proceed to the door. When the train stops, the boarding passengers will let you get off before getting on.
Once you get off, locate the nearest stairs and proceed to them. They won't be difficult to find; most everyone who got off will be going there too. It will help if you already know the platform number for your connecting train, but you might want to check the departure board on the platform just to make sure. In 30 weeks of European train travel in the last 40 years, only once did a train depart from a different platform than the scheduled one. My travel was in Germany; I imagine the Swiss are at least as good at keeping to the schedule. The Italians - I wouldn't be so sure. I understand that the Italians never know at what time the train is going to arrive or what platform will be available when it does, so they just wait and see.
As long as you get to the platform with everyone else, others will be boarding, and the conductor is not going to release the train until everyone on the platform has boarded. Just don't dally, stay with the herd.
First, the IC train from Lugano will be in the station for 13 minutes, so you can exit the train at your leisure.
Second, only a handful of people will be transferring to Bern. For most, I suspect, Luzern will be their final destination. Other people to different destinations on different Tracks. As others have said, this is a very easy connection at one platform over on the adjacent Track. The IR train to Bern has a final destination of Geneva Airport. It originates in Luzern, so it might not even be spotted yet on the platform when you get there.
Third, it will be in Bern station for 4 minutes, so yes, be ready to exit the train quickly.
The Italians - I wouldn't be so sure.
One issue in Italy is that sometimes there are multiple platforms with the same number. Eg. Milano Rogoredo has a bunch of terminal tracks numbered 1 - 5 and a bunch of through tracks also numbered 1 - 8...
Has caught me unaware the first time that happened.
In Switzerland tracks for connecting trains will be announced in the train itself, and the conductor will do that in English too. So pay attention to announcements. And if there is a track change, the SBB app will normally show that too.
One last thing: Do not bother with train numbers in Switzerland. They are not on the departure boards. When you look up trains online you should pay attention to the departure time, and the final destination (what is shown under "direction"). That is how you find the train on the departure board.
