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Tickets and Passes

  • February 26, 2026
  • 6 replies
  • 49 views
H

Good day,

I have (iPhone) passes for me and my wife. We are planning a trip from UK throughout France, Switzerland into Italy in May. I have most of our train reservations in place (Glacier Express and Bernini Express not available in I/R site. Can I just use prints of the seat reservation “tickets” I have received via email? Or how do I add these journeys onto my pass? Also we are still waiting for two services in Italy to come on to the schedule, can I just board th4ese trains by showing our IR passes on our phone.
It is all very confusing.

Thanks for your help

Best answer by rvdborgt

You need to make a distinction between ticket and reservations.

The pass is your ticket. You always need a ticket, so you always an active travel day, which you get by adding journeys to your pass in the Rail Planner app.

Reservations are separate and additional. Most trains don't have them, some trains have optional reservations and some have mandatory reservations. You can print your reservations or show them on your phone. They cannot be added to your pass because they're separate from the pass.

    6 replies

    M
    Railly clever
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    • Marvin Heer
    • Railly clever
    • February 26, 2026

    Yes you can print the reservations(some of them have to be printed) if you want, most of them should also be valid if just shown on the phone.

    You add those journeys just like any other train to your pass. The reservation has to be shown separatly and is not linked to the pass.

    Glacier express has mandatory reservation which are pretty expensive (54CHF for Zermatt-St. Moritz) they can be booked  https://www.glacierexpress.ch/en/book-now you have to ticket and seat reservation and have add interrail at the end under Discount to just get the seat reservation)

    Regarding the Bernina express, only the panoramic coaches require a mandatory reservation (https://tickets.rhb.ch/en/routing/bernina-express/tickets ) 

    Both routes can also be done on regional trains for travellers on a tighter budget.(which i have done as 54CHF is more then i spend on my overnight stay including breakfast) 

    I speak german 🇩🇪, english 🇬🇧, and i understand a bit of french
      R
      Railmaster
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      • rvdborgt
      • Railmaster
      • Answer
      • February 26, 2026

      You need to make a distinction between ticket and reservations.

      The pass is your ticket. You always need a ticket, so you always an active travel day, which you get by adding journeys to your pass in the Rail Planner app.

      Reservations are separate and additional. Most trains don't have them, some trains have optional reservations and some have mandatory reservations. You can print your reservations or show them on your phone. They cannot be added to your pass because they're separate from the pass.

      Please ask questions in the community and not via a private message. That's the quickest way to get a response. I don't work for Eurail/Interrail.
      H
      • Hamish Beck
      • Author
      • Rail rookie
      • February 26, 2026

      Thanks for your replies.

      i have booked several seats/journeys via the IR website. However I do not understand how to get these on to our individual passes/apps. (2 people)

      I have booked Bernina and Glacier Express directly via those websites. 

      M
      Railly clever
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      • Marvin Heer
      • Railly clever
      • February 26, 2026

      You cant put reservation onto the pass, they are separate.

      In the App you can see the reservations made with your logged in account. If you want them on another device just share them as a pdf (if you open them in the app, you can share them as a pdf with the share symbol on the top right)

      If you get checked you just show the ticket code generated (once a day is activated) by the interrail app just like for any other train you added to your pass and then the reservation separatly. 

      I speak german 🇩🇪, english 🇬🇧, and i understand a bit of french
        G

        I wouldn’t book the Bernina Express. Our experience was that it was very crowded and you have to pay a fee. The only difference is the curved large windows. Catch the normal Bernina trains, they don’t require a reservation,  these have opening windows in some compartments so you can take photographs without the glass. You do have to change trains but this is easy and Swiss trains always seem to run to the second. If you catch an early train it will not be too busy. Johnny Hoovers YouTube channel has a good video on this.

        The reservations are separate as you have have noticed and you will need both. Paper or PDFs on your phone, both seem to work fine. Also check the Railway operators site, SNCF in France, the rail planner sometimes misses trains out. The operators site is definitive. If you email RailPlanner with the trains details they will sort a reservation for the ‘missing’ train.

        You have to have at least one journey set up in a day when you want to activate the pass. It doesn’t seem to matter what journey that is! It’s the reservation that determines the validity not the Pass. The inspection is only of the QR code.

        If you are starting in the UK remember the Journey from your home station on day one and back to your home station is included. These don’t need a reservation unless you are using the one of the sleeper services. The app may show a reservation is needed but in the depth of the web site you will find that none of the UK train companies need it. It might still be advisable long distance, I make my reservation directly with LNER and they accept the pass number as a booking reference.

        If you were thinking of First Class, it about £50 extra more for a senior, you can get Food on the home leg and a meal on Eurostar.

        The high speed and InterCity Italian trains need reservations. You can make these on the fly from your phone. Italian local trains are very inexpensive so check if its worth using a day of the pass or just paying locally. The Trenitalia web site asks for passenger details so strange as it seems I find it easier to use Trainline for same day bookings in Italy.

        M
        Railly clever
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        • Marvin Heer
        • Railly clever
        • February 26, 2026

        Best place to get reservation for italy (without fees on top of the reservation cost) is ÖBB. (Works for Fresciarossa (13€) and intercity(3€) trains).

        You have to select Interrail Pass under Discount to buy the reservations.

        I speak german 🇩🇪, english 🇬🇧, and i understand a bit of french
        D
        Full steam ahead
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        • Danhiel
        • Full steam ahead
        • February 26, 2026

        I wouldn’t book the Bernina Express. Our experience was that it was very crowded and you have to pay a fee. The only difference is the curved large windows. Catch the normal Bernina trains, they don’t require a reservation,  these have opening windows in some compartments so you can take photographs without the glass.

        Please note that the Bernina line is currently experiencing overtourism. During peak periods, access to stations may be restricted without reservations. Reservations are now also available for regional trains.

        The information I provide may contain errors and are not official responses from Eurail/Interrail.
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