Luzern (Luzern / Lucerne)

Luzern train station houses both mainline trains operated by SBB and trains operated by Zentralbahn (ZB).

The gleis (platforms/tracks) used by both train services are linked to the same departure concourse, so making connections between trains at Luzern simply involves waking from one platform to another.
However, if you don’t have luggage etc, a quicker route when changing trains can be using the passage way that runs beneath the platforms.
Though it can be easy to miss, there are stairs leading to and from it approximately halfway along each gleis (platform/track).

The main station in Lucerne is in the heart of the city, the old town and the iconic Kapellbrucke wooden bridge are within 5 minutes walk.

The Lake Luzern cruise boats depart from easy to find piers that are located in front of the station
As you exit the station by the main entrance you will see a bus station and an archway, the boat piers are on the other side of this archway.

For the gondola station in Kriens (first stage of the Golden Round Trip to the summit of Mt Pilatus) take Trolleybus Line 1 from the front of the station (direction Obernau Dorf).
Then at the Linde Pilatus stop you can connect to bus line 15 which stops directly in front of the gondola station at Pilatus-Bahnen.

For travel to the Swiss Musuem of Transport, one option is take a local (S-Bahn) train to Lucerne Verkehrshaus station on line S3 (direction Brunnen).
However, this service departs hourly, so if you have to wait more than 45 mins for the train, it will be quicker to take trolleybuses Line 6 (direction Buttenenhalde) or Line 8 (direction Wurzenbach) from the bus station in front of the station.

When the typical train timetable is available, the usual pattern of train service from Luzern is:

• 2 x IR trains per hour to Zug - Thalwill (connect for Chur) - Zurich HB
• 1 x IC or EC train per hour to Olten - Basel
• 1 x IR train per hour to Olten - Basel
• 1 x IR train per hour to Bern - Fribourg - Lausanne - Geneva - Geneva Airport
• 1 x IC train every other hour to Arth-Goldau - Bellinzona - Lugano
• 1 x IR train every other hour to Arth-Goldau - Goschenen - Airolo - Faido - Biasca - Bellinzona - Locarno
• up to 2 x EC trains per day to Arth-Goldau - Bellinzona - Lugano - Chiasso - Como - Milano Centrale
• 1 x IR train per hour to Arth-Goldau - Rapperswil - St Gallen (the Voralpen Express)
• 1 x train per hour to Giswil - Meiringen - Brienz - Interlaken
• 2 x trains per hour to Alpnachstad - Giswil
• 1 x train per hour to Engelberg

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Hence ShowMeTheJourney has partnered with the innovative accommodation portal, Stay 22, to offer three options for discovering your optimum accommodation:

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The Zentralbahn (ZB) railway shares the main station in Luzern with the mainline trains.
It operates three types of service from Luzern:

1. Local trains including the route to Giswil, which calls at Alpnachstad for connection to the Pilatusbahn
2. The Luzern to Engelberg Express
3. The Luzern to Interlaken Express
   This train service offers access to these onward connections;

• At Meiringen connect to the MIB trains to Meiringen-Aplbach station, which is the closest station to the funicular, which gives access to the Reichanbach waterfalls.
• From Brienz station the steam trains on the BRB line head up Mount Rothorn.
• At Interlaken Ost station connections are available into the BOB trains to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen, which in turn connect with trains to Wengen and Jungfraujoch.

The Pilatusbahn is the world’s steepest cogwheel railway and it operates from mid-May to mid- November, between Alpnachstad and the spectacular summit station, Pilatus-Kulm, on Mount Pilatus.

Alpnachstad station is served by ZB (Zentralbahn) trains on the local service from Luzern to Giswil.

The Pilatusbahnis one part of The Golden Round Trip to/from Luzern - the timetable is here.

When travelling from Luzern for the gondola station in Kriens (the first stage of the Golden Round Trip to the summit of Mt Pilatus) take Trolleybus Line 1 from the front of the station (direction Obernau Dorf).
Then at the Linde Pilatus stop you can connect to bus line 15 which stops directly in front of the gondola station at Pilatus-Bahnen.

Or travel the opposite direction and make the first stage of the journey, taking the train from Luzern to Alpnachstad; though another more scenic option is to take a lake cruise boat from the piers outside Luzern station to Alpnachstad.

Using Rail Passes

Eurail and InterRail = 50% discount on the Pilatusbahn and on the gondola to Kreins.
Discounts are also available on the complete  Golden Horn Round Trip, that also includes the buses between Kriens and Luzern and the boat between Luzern and Alpnachstad.

Swiss Travel Pass and Saver Day Pass = free travel on the entire Golden Horn Round Trip.

Two different railway routes, both of which are operated by the Rigi-Bahn (RB) ascend up to the the summit of Mt Rigi.

• Its blue line begins at Arth-Goldau station, which is served by trains from Luzern which depart at least hourly
• While the more spectacular red line connects with the cruiser boats, which leave from outside Luzern station, in Vitznau.

However, the ultimate experience, which won't take much longer than a return journey on the red line route, is to take a circular tour in this direction:

1. train to Arth-Goldau
2. blue line train to Rigi-Klum
3. red line train to Vitznau
4. cruiser boat to Luzern.

The reason for going this way round is that the red line views are only spectacular from one side of the train, on the left when ascending and on the right when coming down.
At Vitznau people pile on to the trains when the boats arrive, but the trains wait awhile at the summit station before heading back down, so you can board early at Rigi-Kulm and ensure you're on the optimum side of the train.

For added thrills, leave the train to Vitznau at the intermediate station of Rigi-Katbad and take the cable-car down to Weggis, the boats to Luzern also call at Weggis.

The Rigi-Bahn sells day passes, which include unlimited railways on both of its routes, the cable car and the cruise boat to Luzern.
Swiss Travel Pass and Swiss Day pass users can travel the entire route at no additional cost including the train between Luzern and Arth-Goldau.
Eurail and InterRail users can travel for free on that train journey and obtain a 50% discount on the Rigi-Bahn day ticket.

Cruise boats, which depart from the piers by Luzern station can convey you to the pier named Kehrsiten-Burgenstock for an easy transfer to the funicular which leads to the spectacular mountain summit.

Take care not to take a boat which is only going to the main pier in Kehrsiten, which is named 'Kehrsiten-Dorf', or to leave a boat there, this pier is around a 15 - 20 min walk away from the funicular base station.

The Tell Pass, named after William Tell, can be a great value pass if you will be spending an extended period of time in Luzerns
It covers rail travel, buses, lake boats and many of the cable cars and funiculars in Central Switzerland, including most routes to/from Luzern - the summer map of validity; and the winter map of validity.

Lines and routes covered by the Tell Pass include:

• The Golden Round trip up and down Mt Pilatus (not winter)
• Journeys on the PliatusBahn railway (not winter)
• the Mt Rigi Railways and cable cars
• the boats on Lake Luzern
• the trains between Luzern and both Interlaken and Engelberg
• the cable car route between Engelberg and Titlis, including the unique rotating cars
• the steam railway up Mt Brienz
• the Stoosbahn - the world's steepest funicular railway + the buses on route 501 between its base station and Schwyz rail station
• the boat and funicular to Burgenstock
• the railway between Luzern and Goschennen and on to Andermatt
• the trains between Andermatt and Realp; connect for the Dampfbahn-Furka-Bergestrecke steam railway - not covered by the pass
• the railway between Andermatt and Oberalp; arguably the most scenic section of the Glacier Express route.
  

The Tell Pass is available for unlimited travel, for 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 days in 2nd class, with children's passes a flat rate of 30CHF.
It can be booked online or at a travel desk in Swiss stations, or from tourist offices.
Prices are cheaper in winter, as some of the mountain railways will be closed.
As with the other passes for Switzerland, whether a Tell Pass will save you money depends on how it's used.
As a comparison a 2nd class Adult Tell Pass valid for 2 days, costs around 7CHF more than a Golden Round Trip on Mt Pilatus + a return rail trip to the summit of Mt Rigi, so you would only need to take one more journey, such as the lake boat, for the Tell Pass to be cheaper.
If you want to do the Golden Pass Trip + a return journey by train and cable cars between Luzern and Titlis, using the Tell Pass will be a money saver!

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