Interrail Validity within Switzerland

[peterblue]

I will be travelling to Switzerland and Italy soon using Interrail.

I assume in Switzerland it is valid on the short train from Lucerne to Alpnachstad to connect with the Mount Pilatus Funicular. This is just a 'normal train' as far as I can tell.

I query fares for Mount Pilatus on its official website, I find a pricing list as follows. It details that Swiss Interrail passes get a 50% discount on this attraction - does this discount also apply to Global Interrail passes? https://shop.e-guma.ch/pilatus-bahnen/en/tickets/alpnachstad-kriens-single-trip-3465175

 

[Flying Snail]

I will be travelling to Switzerland and Italy soon using Interrail.

I assume in Switzerland it is valid on the short train from Lucerne to Alpnachstad to connect with the Mount Pilatus Funicular. This is just a 'normal train' as far as I can tell.

I query fares for Mount Pilatus on its official website, I find a pricing list as follows. It details that Swiss Interrail passes get a 50% discount on this attraction - does this discount also apply to Global Interrail passes? https://shop.e-guma.ch/pilatus-bahnen/en/tickets/alpnachstad-kriens-single-trip-3465175

The train to Alpnachstad is included, from there interrail gets 50% discount.

This map shows which Swiss transport is fully valid or discount for interrail

https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/infrastruktur/trafimage/karten/karte-geltungsbereich-InterRail-EuRail.pdf

 

[30907]

This map shows which Swiss transport is fully valid or discount for interrail

https://www.sbb.ch/content/dam/infrastruktur/trafimage/karten/karte-geltungsbereich-InterRail-EuRail.pdf

And yes, this applies to Global and one-country equally. Essentially, free travel covers the whole "normal" rail network (except to Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald/Wengen/Mürren for some reason - I don't think anything else is missing) plus some lake steamers.

 

[dutchflyer]

There should also be a ticket that combines both the funicular and the rack-steam train-but perhaps this rackline is not operating this time of year or not your choice?
About any HTL (and even the YH hostel) will give guests a free local transport ticket for the (trolley)buses-perhaps these also reach this lower stop?

 

[duesselmartin]

The lack of acceptance on BOB surpised me as it serves local communities and is not just a tourist railway.

 

[Gerald Fiennes]

50% discount these days on BOB, used to be zero! Purely a commercial matter for the JB system...

 

[30907]

There should also be a ticket that combines both the funicular and the rack-steam train-but perhaps this rackline is not operating this time of year or not your choice?

The OP misdescribed the Pilatus line: it is not a funicular, but a very steep rack railway, and there is a cable car on a second route. I don't think steam has operated since the line was electrified pre WW2 (unlike on the Rigi system).

 

[rvdborgt]

50% discount these days on BOB, used to be zero! Purely a commercial matter for the JB system...

25% only, see the link to the map posted earlier (and the footnote on the map).
Swiss day passes are valid until Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald/Wengen/Mürren (50% discount when travelling further) and normal tickets have reasonable fares. Only once you want to travel further, it gets very expensive.

 

[Gordon]

And yes, this applies to Global and one-country equally. Essentially, free travel covers the whole "normal" rail network (except to Lauterbrunnen/Grindelwald/Wengen/Mürren for some reason - I don't think anything else is missing) plus some lake steamers.

This is entirely due to the Jungfrau railway management knowing that they have a 'captive market' of tourists so desperate to see the 'theme park' (sorry Jungfraujoch and surrounding area...) that they will pay up.

The same used to apply on the Furka Oberalp (FO). In my far off student Inter Railing days (late 1970s) I could never go for a round trip including the FO unless I was on a Swiss holiday card. FO (MGB) later relented

 

[Re 4/4]

Essentially, free travel covers the whole "normal" rail network

There are some more exceptions - I think the train from Zurich up the Uetliberg, despite being a "normal" train in many ways (standard gauge, rolling stock, S-bahn number) is still excluded as SZU isn't part of the agreement.

Free travel does extend to the RhB and the ships operated by BLS, as well as their trains of course.

 

[eastwestdivide]

An alternative for the wider Grindelwald area is the Bernese Oberland regional pass including trains buses and some cable cars:

Ticket for the Bernese Oberland / Berner Oberland Pass

Free travel with the Berner Oberland Pass - the best ticket by train, bus, boat and mountain railways. More information on public transport, attractions and discounts.

www.regionalpass-berneroberland.ch

Includes an area Bern to Brig, Gstaad to Lucerne, with the Brienz-Rothorn Bahn and the Jungfrau railways except for the very last stretch up to Jungfraujoch (special rate for that)

Also a somewhat smaller area on the Jungfrau Pass:

Jungfrau Travel Pass – a ticket for everyone

Jungfrau Travel Pass: the ticket for the Jungfrau Region. Unlimited travel for three to eight days on all railways to Jungfraujoch and at a special price.

www.jungfrau.ch

 

[30907]

There are some more exceptions - I think the train from Zurich up the Uetliberg, despite being a "normal" train in many ways (standard gauge, rolling stock, S-bahn number) is still excluded as SZU isn't part of the agreement.

Yes, and I've just spotted that, as well as the whole SZU, the Forchbahn from Zurich is also excluded. Fortunately neither are likely to be top priorities for Interrailers!

 

[duesselmartin]

If one has to research what trains to take and what not takes the attractiveness out of the ticket.

I am surprised by Switzerland as its known for its integrated system.

 

[Re 4/4]

The integrated system in Zurich means that the local trains are operated by SBB, SZU, FB or whoever on behalf of ZVV, the transport union. Trams and buses are operated by ZVV directly as far as I know, boats are ZSG but also associated in some way with ZVV. So when you buy an ordinary zonal ticket, the money goes through ZVV and everything just works.

The issue with interrail is that ZVV has no part in it, you can still take SBB local S-bahn trains because of the SBB-interrail agreement, but that doesn't help you with SZU.

Of course, ZVV is involved with the Swiss Travel Card, a slightly more expensive alternative to one-country interrail that does include SZU, FB and others.

 

[Gordon]

The integrated system in Zurich means that the local trains are operated by SBB, SZU, FB or whoever on behalf of ZVV, the transport union. Trams and buses are operated by ZVV directly as far as I know, boats are ZSG but also associated in some way with ZVV. So when you buy an ordinary zonal ticket, the money goes through ZVV and everything just works.

The issue with interrail is that ZVV has no part in it, you can still take SBB local S-bahn trains because of the SBB-interrail agreement, but that doesn't help you with SZU.

Of course, ZVV is involved with the Swiss Travel Card, a slightly more expensive alternative to one-country interrail that does include SZU, FB and others.

ZVV is a tariff area, not an operator, so I'm afraid little of the above comment is relevant.

Unfortunately one of the problems with the German language 'Verkehrsverbund' is that it doesn't translate well into English, so you get translations such as 'public transport network' which can be read as 'operator' if one is unaware of the way European tariff areas work.

Zurich urban trams and buses are operated by VBZ, but also it is important to realise that other tram lines that have co-ordinated route numbers and may or may not share track with VBZ trams are not necessarily VBZ, such as the Glattalbahn built in 2008 - 10 (routes 10 and 12) and the brand new Limattalbahn lines.


It is worth noting that the lead paragraph in English Wikipedia for ZVV could be misread, but the entry does go on to list the "operators that make up the ZVV" which I think is reasonably accurate:

Aargau Verkehr
Busbetriebe Bamert
Dolderbahn
Forchbahn
Luftseilbahn Adliswil-Felsenegg
Polybahn
PostAuto Schweiz Region Zürich
Schifffahrts-Genossenschaft Greifensee (SGG)
Schneider Busbetriebe
Sihltal Zürich Uetliberg Bahn
Stadtbus Winterthur
Südostbahn (SOB)
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB)
THURBO
Verkehrsbetriebe Glattal (VBG)
Verkehrsbetriebe Zürich (VBZ)
Verkehrsbetriebe Zürichsee und Oberland (VZO)
Zürichsee-Schifffahrtsgesellschaft (ZSG)