How to take a rail journey from Zurich to Andermatt

The connecting time between trains at Goschenen will be around only 5 minutes; but this is Switzerland so those connections are virtually guaranteed.

However, as the connecting between trains is so short, booking the entire end-to-end journey prior to departure is recommended.
You particularly want to avoid booking the ticket for the MGB train on to Andermatt against the clock on arrival at Goschenen.

There are typically direct trains from Zurich to Goschenen in the even hours.
But if these timings don't suit in the odd hours the end-to-end journey involves:

• taking the EC / IC train to Arth-Goldau; the train will be heading to Lugano or Milano
• taking a Traverso train from Arth-Goldau on to Goschenen
• connecting in Goschenen on to Andermatt.

Using Saver Day Passes:

Now that the Swiss Transfer tickets have been discontinued; if you will be booking 24 hrs ahead a Saver Day Pass is likely to save you money.

They can be cheaper than tickets for the end-to-end journey, particularly when the discounted Supersaver tickets aren't available; and will almost certainly be a money saver, if you will be making a DAY RETURN trip between Zurich and Andermatt.

They can be used on;

• the trains between Zurich Fughafen/Airport and Zurich HB station
• the trains between Zurich HB and Goschenen
• the trains between Goschenen and Andermatt.

They are not train specific, so can still be used in the event of a journey to Switzerland being delayed.

Though as they’re only valid for one day’s travel, the clue is the name, you’ll need to purchase another Saver Day Pass for your return journey.
a Saver Day Pass is likely to save you money.

Though they need to be booked at least a day ahead of your travel date, so won't be an option if you book tickets at the station on arrival in Switzerland.
They're also cheaper the further ahead that you book.

Booking tickets:

Tickets can be purchased online for this end-to-end journey which involve taking all of the multiple trains on this route.

Online bookings open: up to six months ahead of the travel date

‘Point-2-point tickets’ can be used on any train(s) on your travel date, but they tend to be comparatively expensive.

Supersaver tickets are cheaper, most of the journey can be discounted by up to 50%, but these tickets are train departure specific; see our Swiss Tickets guide for more advice on how to book these tickets

If you book a Supersaver ticket and a flight delay etc, causes you to miss a train you are booked on to, you will have to book another full-price ‘Point-to-Point Ticket(s).
You can then apply for a refund of the Supersaver ticket, but the application costs CHF 10.

Hence it’s worth comparing the ticket price of a journey with the price(s) e of those Saver Day Passes; they might save you money and can also allow for a less stressful journey.