How to take the stunning rail journey from Basel to beautiful St Moritz

Don't be put off by the length of the journey and the need to change trains, this is a fantastic ride particularly once you have passed through Zurich.

Though as trains don't depart from Basel for Chur in every hour, in some hours the only option is to make an additional co in Zurich.
However Zurich HB is an exceptionally easy station in which to change trains.

The connection in Chur:

If you have booked an end-to-end ticket or will be travelling with a rail pass, including a Saver Day Pass, try to target the trains which depart Basel at 33 mins past the hour.
Those trains from Basel have a 4 min connection into the trains at St Moritz, but that connection is virtually guaranteed.

To enable a stress-free transfer at Chur station the train on to St. Moritz will depart from the opposite side of the same platform that the train from Basel will have arrived at.

Though if you'll need to buy a tickets for the train on to St Moritz when you arrive in Chur, try to target the trains which leave Basel at 07 mins past the hour; you'll then have more then 30 mins to make the connection.

Though if you will be travelling with a 2nd class ticket/rail pass, time is on your side AND you want to experience the best of the journey between Chur and St. Moritz, not rushing to make the connection between trains can be worth considering.
The RhB trains to St.Moritz can be busy, but to make the most of the journey, you'll want to be in a window seat on the right-hand side of the train

On arrival at Chur you may see a Glacier Express that's about to depart for St Moritz; and your tickets or pass won't be valid on The Glacier Express.
But ordinary coaches, in which your tickets or pass will be valid are usually attached to the Glacier Express trains as it travels between Chur and St. Moritz, so you may need to hurry along the platform/track to find these coaches.

Booking Tickets:

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

SBB and Trainline will sell tickets for this end-to-end journeys which involve taking a SBB train + the train(s) on to St Moritz which are operated by RhB
‘Point-to-Point’ tickets can be used on any train(s) on your travel date, but they tend to be comparatively expensive.

Supersaver tickets are cheaper, the portion of the journey by the SBB train can be discounted by up to 50%, but these tickets are train departure specific.
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 Saver Day Passes (see below) – they might save you money and can also allow for a less stressful journey.

Using Saver Day Passes:

Now that the Swiss Transfer tickets have been discontinued 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 are often cheaper if you will be making a day return trip between Basel and St Moritz, even if you can book in advance.

They can be used on;

• the trains between Basel and Chur
• the trains between Chur and St Moritz (though not The Glacier Express)

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, if you'll be coming back to Basel at a later date,
However, 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.

Additional Information:

More general info is available on our GUIDE to taking the train to Swiss Ski Resorts.