Looking over Lake Geneva #1

Bern to Lausanne by train

How to take the rail journey from Bern to Geneva/Genève

Bern is connected to Lausanne by two train services, both of which depart hourly:
1: The IC trains are double-decked, have a restaurant car and seat reservations are available.
2: The IR trains are single-deck (usually) don't convey restaurant cars and seat reservations aren't bookable, but you can virtually guarantee that seats will be available.

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Routes

From Bern to Lausanne

Travel Information

Final Destination: Genéve-Aeroport

All trains also call at: Fribourg

The IR trains also typically call at Romont and Palézieux where connections are available to Gruyères and Montvobon.

2 x trains per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes - If you book Supersaver tickets (more info is available on the the SBB ticket guide below)

You may need to search through the departures to find them using the ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ buttons; so try and be flexible with your departure and arrival times.

Though the Supersaver tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on these IC trains on this route; they are usually much more likely to be available on the alternative slower IR trains.

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

Seat reservations:

Seat reservations are optional on Swiss IC trains, so seats won't be assigned when booking online.

You can book reservations online for journeys by these IC trains, AFTER you have booked a ticket, by using the SBB (Swiss national railways) seat reservation service OR request a reservation when booking at a station ticket office.

Seat reservations aren’t available on the alternative service of IR trains.

Travelling with a rail pass:

Rail Pass users can target the faster IC trains, though it's possible to hop on any train on this route.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Omio *

Omio Guide

Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.

The three key advantages of using Omio are

  • it offers prices in multiple currencies
  • it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
  • when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.

The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Happy rail *

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake views

Good to Know

Because of their additional station calls the IR trains are typically slower than the IC trains by around 15 minutes.

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