Glacier Express - Switzerland

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good Evening,

I may be going on a trip to Switzerland that may include a through trip from Zermatt to St. Moritz on the Glacier Express. As I prefer to have a seat by the window and facing the direction of travel on the Longest part of the journey, IE Brig to Chur, would I be correct in assuming that the train reverses at Brig & Chur where extra carriages will be added/taken off, so in fact I should sit backwards for the 1st part of the journey from Zermatt, as from what I recall the train would reverse at Brig & again at Chur.?

 

[Gordon]

No.

Brig station was rebuilt a few years ago and the line now goes straight through, so you can sit on the right hand side from Zermatt and get the best views all the way to Chur

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

No.

Brig station was rebuilt a few years ago and the line now goes straight through, so you can sit on the right hand side from Zermatt and get the best views all the way to Chur

Oh Ok thks, the last time I was in Brig was about 2008 and the Glacier express trains went from the street level outside the station, and when going to Zermatt or Chur departed in the same direction, then the Chur line curved sharply to the right, going underneath the main rail lines before going towards Andamatt.

 

[ji459]

Whatever you do, remember to take sunglasses. I went on it from Brig to Chur in February 2009 and was completely blinded by the sun reflecting off all the snow!

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Whatever you do, remember to take sunglasses. I went on it from Brig to Chur in February 2009 and was completely blinded by the sun reflecting off all the snow!

Thanks, that is a very good tip. If this does work out, I may also going on the Bernina Express which goes from Chur and St. Moritz to Tirano which is just in Northern Italy and for a small part of the journey near there goes along the streets as does the train from Chur to Arosa which is a good little trip.

 

[Squaddie]

It's not necessary to travel on the Glacier Express itself to experience this glorious journey. The normal trains along the route have extremely comfortable first class accommodation, which is usually almost empty and which has windows that open for you to take photographs.

I travelled this route east to west in the summer and was able to get a local train all the way from Klosters to Disentis, then another from Disentis to Andermatt (which was the most impressive section), from Andermatt to Brig and finally from Brig to Zermatt. Being Switzerland, the connections were easy and stress-free of course.

The observation cars of the Glacier Express are nice, but the trains can get very full and there are always reflections on the windows making photography difficult.

Zermatt is disappointing - it's a real tourist trap, overrun with tour groups, and is expensive even by Swiss standards.

You can easily take in several very scenic lines in a few days using a normal Swiss Pass. Chur to Zermatt; then Zermatt to Lugano via Brig, Domodossola and the Centovalli; Lugano to Tirano by Postbus (SFr12 supplement) and then Bernina Express from Tirano back to Chur.

 

[radamfi]

Does anyone here take advantage of the 'Happy Birthday' offer? I've done it for the last two years now and I think I'll make it an annual event.