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.
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
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.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Omio | * | |
Trainline | * | |
Happy rail | * | |
Trainline | * |
Because of their additional station calls the IR trains are typically slower than the IC trains by around 15 minutes.
From the left of the train (when facing the direction) of travel there are some incredible views over Lake Geneva, as the train approaches Lausanne.
It's worth travelling on the upper deck in order to see these views at their best - the video was filmed from a train travelling in the opposite direction.
This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.