Swiss Rail Pass Locarno to Lucerne

What kind of Swiss pass do you have? If you have a flexi-pass, you need to get the pass dated and initiated for that particular date of travel.

Once you have your Flex pass validated, you write in the dates yourself, before you board the first train of the day. If using a Swiss pass, no need as the dates are consecutive. And yes, when using either type of pass, you just go and get on the train, in a car marked with the appropriate class ( 1st or 2d). You do not need reservations for travel within Switzerland.

At this time I am not sure what kind of Swiss Rail Pass we have, it is for 4 consecutive days. I will have to get back to you. Thank you.

Thank you Lola.

Nancy, what other trips don you plan in Switzerland? If you are based in Locarno, you can also ride the scenic Centovalli railway on the Swiss Pass.

Nancy, As you have a "consecutive day" pass, it's not a Flex Pass. That means that as soon as you start using it, "the clock is running" and when four days have elapsed, it's done. Whether you'll need reservations will depend on which train you decide to use. For example, using the bahn.de website and a departure from Locarno at 09:03, one leg indicates "Subject to Reservation" (that route has one change in Bellinzona). Total travel time is only 2H:38M, so it's an easy trip. You could certainly take the scenic Cento Valli Railway, but that terminates in Domodossola (Italy), so you'd likely have to pay separately for the trip from there to the Swiss border (where your Railpass would again be valid). Happy travels!

I find it better to use the Swiss rail site for travel in Switzerland. That 9:03 departure goes to Bellinzona on an " urban train" or commuter train, no reservations possible. The it goes Bellinzona to Luzern on an IC train, reservations possible, but not compulsory.

Domodossola is in a strange place. It is most certainly in Italy but Swiss passes are valid there. The F.A.R.T. (Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi) who are the company running the Centovalli route accept the Swiss pass in both the Swiss and Italian parts of the route. Domodossola is also on the route between Brig and Milano, and the BLS and SBB accept Swiss passes from there to points north into Switzerland. Eurocity trains between Switzerland and Italy have mandatory reservations in Italy, like all IC, EC and faster trains in Italy. Swiss trains within Switzerland do not require them. As it is Swiss crews and rails north of Domodossola it is treated as a domestic Swiss train and the reservations are offered but not mandatory. Domo also has milk trains to Brig and north run by BLS, same deal, uses the old line, second class only, no ressies offered or possible.

If you would like a map of coverage of the Swiss pass, see the synoptic map: http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/fileadmin/pdf/STS-G-PASS-S-07-GZD01.pdf You will see that Locarno to Domodossola and Domodossola to Brig are both fully covered with a Swiss Pass. But Nancy actually asked about using the pass to travel from Locarno to Luzern. The CentoValli railway was just a suggestion I made, in case they were based in Locarno and looking fo rother routes covered on the Swiss pass.

Nigel, I always chuckle a bit when I see the abbreviation for the Ferrovie Autolinee Regionali Ticinesi. Aside from that, the trip on the Cento Valli is awesome and the scenery fantastic (I've done it a couple of times). Thanks to you and Lola for the clarification on the use of a Swiss pass from Domodossola (I'll file that for future reference). That's why I used the term "likely" in my first reply. The trip via Cento Valli would be slightly longer than the other route to Lucerne, but if time permits it's a good option to consider. Cheers!

Thank you for all the helpful tips. We will be in Zermatt for a day and night and then leave for Locarno for 4 days. Zermatt to Locarno we will be taking the Centovalli train from Domodossola to Locarno.

Nancy, One point to mention. The station for the Centovalli train is underground at both Domodossola and Locarno. When you disembark from the "regular" train, head downstairs to find the Centovalli.