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One Night on a Sleeper (Dresden to Zurich)... only on a Global Pass??? Bernina Express??

  • 5 July 2023
  • 6 replies
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J
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I’m looking to get around small distances over just a week or so.  Successfully did more than two months last year with a Eurail pass for the two of us, but different mode of travel this time… so all I want is to get from Milan to Verona to St Moritz to Leipzig, to Dresden and back to Leipzig to get the overnight train to Zuirch. *over 7 days*

 

Is it worth getting a rail pass, if I can’t get a seven day pass for the overnighter… 

 

What about the Berlina Express?  

Ta

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Best answer by thibcabe 5 July 2023, 07:40

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We can't say whether the pass is worth it or not but it usually is good value as you're going to Switzerland. A 4, 5 or 7 days within a month pass may be enough -> only the departure day of the night train counts. Of course you wn't be able to take trains the following morning.

Milan - Verona : 13€ seat reservation for the Frecciarossa (no booking fee on ÖBB) but regional trains don't take much longer.

Bernina Railway :

- Bernina Express : panorama carriages (26 CHF seat reservation) or regular carriages at the front, warning : those to St. Moritz have less seats than those to Chur

- hourly regional trains on the same line : less crowded, pull-down windows and some carriages are even open-air in summer !

Unless accommodation is already booked in St. Moritz, I'd consider staying elsewhere in the Engadin Valley. St. Moritz just is a resort for rich people and finally not that beautiful. There are prettier villages like Zuoz.

Seat reservations are not necessary or even possible in Switzerland. In Germany optional but recommended :

- 3€ per train on ÖBB

- 4.90€ per journey on DB

Btw the night train from Prague to Zurich also stops in Dresden. However it is very popular so book well in advance, use nightjet.com

J
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Thanks for that… I just have the hankering to go to St Moritz… but at looking what’s to do there, it may well be “getting there” that’s the most interesting part; and not investing my time (and money) in a couple of nights’ accommodation is a better option.  

 

Yes, I think I need to price all the train legs, without a Eurail pass and see if it’s justified.  I just wish it was easy to find out what’s excluded… but I guess it’s a hit and miss with so many trains and destinations available.  Some of the “reservation fees” we paid as extra last year, I’m sure eroded a lot of the supposed savings.  But it sure beats transfers to airports and miles of corridors between gates, to get around, for sightseeing purposes IMHO! 

 

I’m having to go backwards a bit because of commitments with others and their free time compared to my travel dates.  LOL.

 

jqqls
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It's simple : all trains are included except Interlaken - Grindelwald/Lauterbrunnen, a few mountain peaks (Jungfraujoch) and low-costs companies like Flixtrain in Germany. Passes should be good value as tickets are expensive. Switzerland and Germany are also great countries for them as you have full flexibility -> reservations not needed (Switzerland) or cheap and optional (Germany).

For the former two examples you usually get a 25-50% discount.

Yeah I would visit St. Moritz but stay in a nearby village.

J
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Several days later of itinerary planning and I’ve struck a problem I can’t seem to resolve on my own.  So help, please.  

Have got the night train sorted from Leipzig to Zurich (ready to book that is)… looks like the train from Prague arrives early in Leipzig, sits around for a couple of hours then “hooks up” with the night train coming from Berlin to continue the no-changes route to Zurich.  Both routes leave Leipzig at the same time, and arrive in Zurich at the same time!!! 

Anyhoo… it’s the other end of things I’m struggling to sort out… getting to Leipzig from Milan via St Moritz over two days (factoring in an overnight stay somewhere “scenic”) 28th/29th August.  

If I push the buttons in one way all I get is Chur > Zurich > Leipzig… one time/one train/ one arrival at 9:10pm.

If I try and tweak things… I can get Chur to Munich and several earlier time options to arrive in Leipzig. But do I want to stay in Chur?? 

So ~ If I take the Bernina Express *to* St Moritz… (leaving from Milan); can I leave luggage, to walk the streets for just an hour or so, and then get an *ordinary* train to somewhere to overnight; to get to Leipzig earlier?  

Oh, yes… I’ve priced my “legs” and it looks like the 7 days in one month Eurail will take care of all my expected train travel in Europe… and at this stage I’m not planning on using it in UK, where I’m way happier driving. 

 

Thanks, for any and all help.  I certainly appreciate forums like this… although my “train journey bible”, to a certain extent is Man in Seat61; he doesn’t cover this query! 

jqqls
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Yes it's common for night trains to have 2, 3 or even 4 origins/destinations and to be shunted during the night.

Which tool do you use for planning ? Rail Planner is quite limited and I much prefer bahn.com, DB Navigator app or SBB app. Try searching shorter legs too.

Of course on a pass day you can take as many trains as you'd like. Your journey will look as follows :

- R Milano Centrale - Sondrio

- Bus Sondrio - Tirano (due to engineering works, pass valid)

- R Tirano - St. Moritz (or the Bernina Express but reservation-free seats are limited to St. Moritz, as opposed to Chur)*

- etc.

*Take the hourly regional train imho, it's less crowded and has pull-down windows :)

Zuoz, Zernez or pretty much all villages in the Engadin Valley are beautiful options to overnight. The next day either you double back to Samedan to take the Albula Railway to Chur (worth it) or the faster Vereina Tunnel.

There are hourly IR trains between St. Moritz and Chur + a few more via the Vereina Line to St. Moritz. From Chur trains are at least hourly to Leipzig (except the Zurich - St. Margrethen - Munich EC running every 2h). More than a dozen options to get to Leipzig easily, trains are plenty in that area ! :)

J
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I use a variety of sites to look at train journeys…  usually the DB web-site (I hate using APPS, unless I absolutely have to, on the iPhone).  

 

I hope they’ve ironed out some of the kinks off the Eurail APP from my many aborted uses of it last year!! 

 

Thanks so much for your help, I do appreciate it. Hopefully I can take your advice and work with it to get the results I need.

 

J

 

 

 

 

jqqls

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