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Genève / Geneva to Luzern / Lucerne by train
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Accessing the multitude of scenic railways in the Luzern area is easily done on a day trip from Geneve thanks to the hourly direct trains between the two cities.
Though for those who want the highlight of their day to be the journey to Luzern / Lucerne, there is the option of travelling the full length of the very scenic 'Golden Pass' route.
Routes you can take to go from Genève / Geneva to Luzern / Lucerne
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can use the info to decide which is best for you.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: taking a direct train
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
3hr 1min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x train per hour
Purchase Tickets
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Trainline Guide
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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.
Other Ticket Providers
SBB Guide
SBB is the main national rail operator in Switzerland, but tickets for journeys by the other significant operators including BLS and SOB can be be booked on the SBB website.
SBB also sells tickets for journeys to many destinations which involve a combination of SBB trains and services provided by the many independent operators who serve the Alpine resort towns.
However, if you will be making a long-distance return day trip, look out for he possibility of SaverDay passes being cheaper than tickets.
Though if you download the SBB app, booking tickets on SBB's mobile services can be simper than using the website.
Also watch out for the fact that booking international tickets can be comparatively quirky.
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.
Travel Information
These trains on IR route 15 commence their journeys at Geneve-Aeroport station, it takes the trains around 5 mins to travel from there to the main station in Geneve before they then head off to Luzern/Lucerne.
Final Destination: Luzern
All trains also call at: Bern
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Note that the trains used on the Geneve to Luzern/Lucerne route are designated as IR services, so seat reservations aren't available and these trains do not convey restaurant cars.
Journey description:
This journey showcases the fact that you don't have to travel on one of the scenic Swiss mountain railways, in order to see a spectacular vista from a Swiss train.
From the right of the train (when facing the direction) of travel there are some incredible views over Lake Geneva when the train departs from Lausanne.
It's worth travelling on the upper deck, if available, in order to see these views at their best.
This part of the train ride is so fabulous that it merited a place on the list of the 15 Most Beautiful Swiss Train Journeys.
The train then travels across a pleasing landscape with mountains on the horizon, on it's way to Fribourg.
Then for some of the final part of the journey, the railway line is beside a lake named the Sempachersee; and this lake is over to the left.
Tickets
Online bookings open: up to six months ahead of the travel date
Book early and save: Yes, If you book Supersaver tickets
You may need to search through the departures to find these 'Supersaver' tickets using the ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ buttons.
Seat reservations are not available on these IR services between Geneve and Luzern.
Route Information
Via stations: Montreux and Interlaken Ost
Option: taking the Golden Pass route
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
6hr 45min - 8hr (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
4 x connections per day
Purchase Tickets
SBB Guide
SBB is the main national rail operator in Switzerland, but tickets for journeys by the other significant operators including BLS and SOB can be be booked on the SBB website.
SBB also sells tickets for journeys to many destinations which involve a combination of SBB trains and services provided by the many independent operators who serve the Alpine resort towns.
However, if you will be making a long-distance return day trip, look out for he possibility of SaverDay passes being cheaper than tickets.
Though if you download the SBB app, booking tickets on SBB's mobile services can be simper than using the website.
Also watch out for the fact that booking international tickets can be comparatively quirky.
Travel Information
Taking the more scenic 'Golden Pass' route from Geneva to Luzern / Lucerne has become much easier since the launch of the Golden Pass Express service.
As a result this journey option now involves only making two connections - in Montreux and Interlaken
The trains from the main station in Genève / Geneva, which have connections of around 25 minutes on to the Golden Pass Express trains, are those which usually depart at 06:09; 08:10; 11:10 and 13:10.
The connection in Montreux station is typically as simple as walking across the platform from one train to the other.
The transfer in Interlaken Ost station also involves crossing the platform between trains and is usually an easily timed 14 minutes.
This journey is made up of 2 changes.
Train 1
Between Genève/Geneva-Cornavin and MontreuxYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Brig
Seat reservations are not available on these IR trains, but it doesn't matter at all as the overall service is so frequent that seats will be available.
Choose to sit on the right-hand side when facing the direction of travel, for the views over Lake Geneva, which are particularly special to the south of Lausanne.
After Lausanne there are some great views over Lake Geneva, from the right of the train.
Train 2
Between Montreux and Interlaken OstYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Interlaken Ost
The trains also call at: Interlaken West
Take care to not leave the train at this station, Interlaken Ost is the next station call.
The alternative to taking the Golden Pass Express
The Golden Pass Express is operated by MOB and it takes a route through Zweisimmen and Spiez.
However, MOB also operates hourly trains which travel from Montreux to Zweisimmen, which have easy connections there with regular trains on to Spiez - and then in Speiz yet another train heads on to Interlaken.
Some of the trains which operate between Montreux and Zweisimmen are more special than the norm, as MOB operates its Belle-Epoque trains, with retro styling, and its Panoramic trains, with larger windows, over this route
If you will be travelling with a rail pass, this route with connections is cheaper than taking the Golden Pass Express because you can hop on and off any train.
The most spectacular part of this journey taken by trains operated by MOB, the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway, is the ascent when heading east from Montreux, up from Lake Geneva.
The railway has to snake as it climbs up to Chamby station, so there are spectacular views of this part of the route from both sides of the train.
The views over Lake Geneva are similar to those which can be enjoyed on the Lausanne <> Fribourg journey (route 11), but what earns this journey a higher ranking on this list is that those lake views aren’t the only spectacular sight to be seen from these trains.
The trains, which depart once per hour, typically take a little under two hours to travel the inland part of the route between Chamby and Zweisimmen and virtually the entire length of this part of the journey is delightful.
When heading east from Montreux as far as Gstaad, the best of the views are on the right, but if spare seats are available, move over to the left hand side of the train at Gstaad station (so flip this, if you will be travelling towards Montreux).
As the trains depart from Gstaad station and head east towards Saanen, the railway line is elevated slightly, which provides for great views down the valleys - from the left when heading towards Zweisimmen.
Then another highlight is just to the west of Zweisimmen station, as the railway descends/ascends to the village.
For most of the journey between Zweissimen and Spiez the railway follows the River Simme through a dramatic valley
North of Oey-Diemtigen station the train will briefly travel through a rocky gorge, though between Zweissimen and Erlenbach the river is on the right.
What makes the final part of the journey particularly special is that between Spiez and Leissigen the railway is at an upper level to the shore, which provides magical views down on to the lake.
The most spectacular of these is over the village of Faulensee, it is a wow moment which can be seen just to the south of Spiez station.
Train 3
Between Interlaken Ost and LuzernYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination Luzern
Connect in Brienz for the steam trains up to the summit of Mt Rothurn
For the Pilatusbahn connect in Sarnen for a local train on to Alpnachstad.
When joining the train at Interlaken Ost sit it on the right (when facing the direction of travel) for the best of the views.
From this side of the train no less than four lakes can be seen - the train will reverse direction on departure at Meiringen, so you won't need to switch to the other side of the train for the views over the Lungernsee and the Sarnersee.
Tickets
Because the Option 1 route from Geneva to Luzern is so much faster, the SBB websites assumes that anyone travelling between the two locations will want to take it.
So when looking up the journey to book tickets, it doesn't off this route with the connection in Montreux and Interlaken Ost as an end-to-end journey.
Though the journeys from Geneva to Montreux and Montreux to Luzern can be looked up separately - the Golden Pass Express typically departs from Montreux at 07:34; 09:34,; 12:34 and 14:34.
Booking tickets on SBB won't give access to making a reservation on the Golden Pass Express, which is highly recommended as all of the window seats on each departure can be booked from weeks ahead.
The reservations can be booked separately on the Golden Pass Express website - and rail pass users will need to reserve.
The steps which need to be taken are explained on the Train Guide for the Golden Pass Express.
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