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is Bernina Express included in the EURAIL PASS?


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hi everyone..thank you in advance for your insights..we will be traveling around Europe in April-May. We are planning on catching a train from Milan to Tirano and from Tirano, italy take the Bernina Express...And get off in St Moritz and catch a train until we arrive in Lucerne, Switzerland.

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Best answer by Angelo 18 January 2023, 15:36

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Thanks a lot, it was some system issue,I have successfully reserved a seat.

Userlevel 7
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No, you don't have to enter any pass number. Your pass will be checked onboard the train.

Maybe the website was/is under maintenance, it can happen regularly around midnight. Try a bit later.

Looks like there are only 3 seats left, none are window seats. Around Christmas and New Year is a really busy period.

If you wish to travel in one of the panorama carriage go for it but otherwise there are these 2 options :

- reservation-free carriages at the front : probably less busy, pull-down windows so better for pictures !

- hourly regional trains on the same route : either you change in Samedan and Pontresina (straightforward connections like usual in Switzerland) or you make the small detour via St. Moritz.

Questions welcome !

EDIT : I've also just tried booking so "my" seats won't be available for 15 min. Try a bit later.

is it required to enter the euro rail ticket number to reserve the seat?.

am traveling on 3 Jan 2024 from chure to Tirano.Portal is not going forward while paying. even after entering the required fields

 

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Are you using this page ? https://shop.rhb.ch/en/bernina-express

If it doesn't work let us know the travel date (+ direction) and we'll have a look.

It's always possible to board this train using the reservation-free regular carriages at the front.

Hi,when I try to book a reservation in Bernina Express with my euro rail pass is shows invalid voucher.Kindly help me with the correct process

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Yes it has reservation-free coaches, see : https://www.vagonweb.cz/razeni/vlak.php?zeme=RhB&cislo=951&rok=2023

In the worst case that there is a last-minute change, you could also take the 08:58 train with connections in Samedan and Pontresina (all easy) and arrive in Tirano only 11 min later, at 13:00

Edit : sit at the very front of the train and you'll be able to see the cab ! There are pics on the above link

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I plan to take the BE with Eurail 1st class and no additional reservation.

Does every BE train have a seperate non-reserved (and non-panoramic) normal section too? In particular, I want to take the 0828 Chur to Tirano direct train. 

It is sold out for res on the BE website, but no problem then if there definitely is a seperate train section.

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You know that you can travel on the Bernina Express without reservation, but that will be in 2nd class. If you want to take nice pictures I have heard that the reservation free coaches are the best as you can open the windows and the coaches also should run just behind the engine so that you can get nice pictures of the whole train.

 

RhB no longer use separate engines for the Bernina Express, it is a number of panorama coaches hauled by a high power multuple unit. There is a 1st class section in the 3-4 car units that haul panorama coaches, only the panorama coaches are reservable with the additional fees.

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thank you.i will weigh my options. with the seat reservations inbetween countries, is it better to do it in advance? do you have to stick to the time that you have reserved?sorry if this question is not so related to the topic

If you have made reservations that are mandatory you need to stick to them or make new reservations. If you have made reservations for trains with optional reservation you can just take any train and travel without reservation.

 

For trains with mandatory reservations you best make the reservations as soon as you know which train you want to travel with. 

 

You know that you can travel on the Bernina Express without reservation, but that will be in 2nd class. If you want to take nice pictures I have heard that the reservation free coaches are the best as you can open the windows and the coaches also should run just behind the engine so that you can get nice pictures of the whole train.

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thank you.i will weigh my options. with the seat reservations inbetween countries, is it better to do it in advance? do you have to stick to the time that you have reserved?sorry if this question is not so related to the topic

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As far as I know the upgrade costs 48 CHF. 31 CHF is the price for a regular 2nd class ticket with Halbtax. 

 

Upgrading just Chur-Tirano is certainly cheaper than the price difference between 2nd and 1st class passes, but in perspective not that much: for adults upgrading the pass ranges between about €70 (4 day pass) and €250 (3 months pass), for youths and seniors the difference is even less. If you find 48 CHF (= about €48) worth upgrading that single leg, you'll probably also want to upgrade all other travel days.

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Thank you Anna. If in case we just do the point to point upgrade, how is it done? I mean thru the train station?thru the mobile app, etc?

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Yes to sit in first class you need a first class Eurail Pass valid in Switzerland. Also possible is to buy the price difference between standard 2nd class tickets and 1st class tickets, but this would cost much. 

I think that a point to point upgrade from 2nd to 1st class for the travel on the Bernina Express is cheaper than the price difference between a 1st class and a 2nd class pass. I checked the price for an upgrade from Chur to Tirano next Wednesday and the price was 31 CHF. But you need check the different prices and do the calculation yourself to see what is cheaper.

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Thank you

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Yes to sit in first class you need a first class Eurail Pass valid in Switzerland. Also possible is to buy the price difference between standard 2nd class tickets and 1st class tickets, but this would cost much. 

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hi Brendan, apologies if my question it is a bit confusing.

What I have done is, I reserved a seat for the Brenina Express even if I have not bought a Eurail Global Pass. That’s the reason why I asked if when I buy the Eurail if it should be first class since I reserved our seats in the Bernina as 1st class. 😊

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What do you mean by “ do i have to book my eurail pass as 1st class as well?”?

It’s a bit confusing terminology.

You need to add every journey you undertake to your Pass. You do this by saving the trains you want to take/plan to take in “My Trip”. When you’re ready to board, a bit before departure, you need tap the ledger, so that the QR-code generates in “My Pass”; The pass is now your valid ticket for that trip.

Only a seat reservation is not enough on the Bernina express dedicated coaches (and many other trains with mandatory reservations), you always need a valid ticket with it (an activated pass, with active travel day in your case).

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i reserved seats for the bernina as 1st class, fldo i have to book my eurail pass as 1st class as well?

Yes. You could maybe upgrade just that trip through SBB, but I expect that to be probably nearly as expensive as the difference between a 1st and 2nd class Eurail pass - and with that you can travel the whole period in 1st class.

You could obviously have booked 2nd class seat reservations instead.

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hello everyone. sorry i forgot to ask this question. 

 

i reserved seats for the bernina as 1st class, fldo i have to book my eurail pass as 1st class as well?

 

thank you

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Check out this map: https://sbb.interrail.eu/content/dam/pdfs/SBB-Interrail-Eurail-S-20-WEB.pdf

it shows the validity of Interrail/Eurail in Switzerland.

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thank you so much for all your help

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How to use the pass:
https://www.eurail.com/en/eurail-passes/eurail-mobile-pass/getting-started

Information per country:

https://www.eurail.com/en/get-inspired/top-destinations

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where can I get information on how to use the pass?like activating it in the places/countries that we want to go to?Thank you

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Eurail includes the majority of trains in Europe, local, regional, intercity, high speed. Most of it is included in the pass. Although some require reservations, but reservation free alternative trains exist in most cases.

The train Interlaken-Brienz (Zentralbahn) is included. No need for reservations. Just add the journey to your pass and board. But you probably shouldn't waste a travel day on it if you only do that on one day, only for that it's only a short distance.

InterRAIL/EuRAIL is only valid for trains. (or an rare, occasional ferry and some rail replacement buses, in case something goes wrong or engineering works).

The trains to Grindelwald (BOB) and Jongfraujoch are not included in the pass. 

But discounts exist, you don't need to activate a travelnday for that. 

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