Holidays to Switzerland Travel Podcast Episode 205 Transcript
7 Overlooked Scenic Train Journeys in Switzerland You Won’t Want to Miss
You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.
Carolyn Schönafinger: If you’re planning your first trip to Switzerland, chances are you’ve already heard of the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express, or perhaps even the Golden Pass Express. They’re famous all over the world and for very good reason. They offer some of the most spectacular scenery you’ll ever see from a train.But today I want to introduce you to a few rail journeys that don’t always make those must-do lists.
Some are only a short ride, others take a couple of hours, but every one of them offers beautiful scenery and a chance to experience a different side of Switzerland.
So sit back, relax, and let’s discover some of Switzerland’s hidden railway gems.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland Podcast. I’m Carolyn Schönafinger, your Switzerland destination expert and the founder of HolidaystoSwitzerland.com. Each week, together with my expert guests, I introduce you to the Switzerland that I know and love, and share inspiration and practical tips to help you plan your dream Swiss vacation.
Before we get started with today’s episode, I’d like to take a moment to thank our podcast sponsors.Switzerland Tourism and My Mountains, an award-winning Swiss tour operator specialising in expertly designed all-inclusive ski vacations in Switzerland, Italy, and France. Each My Mountains ski vacation is customised to suit your interests. So whether you prefer to spend your time at just one ski resort or a combination of resorts, each trip will be tailored just for you.
You can even combine your days on the slopes with panoramic train rides or city stays, all with an experienced guide on hand to assist you when needed. So if you’re ready to book an unforgettable ski adventure in the Alps, visit the link in the show notes where you’ll also find our exclusive discount code to get 5% off your My Mountains ski vacation. Now let’s get into this week’s episode.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Grüezi and welcome to the Holidays to Switzerland podcast. When most people think of scenic train travel in Switzerland, they usually imagine panoramic coaches with enormous windows, compulsory seat reservations, and famous names like the Glacier Express. But some of my favourite train journeys aren’t known as panoramic trains at all. They’re simply ordinary regional trains travelling through outstanding scenery.
They’re usually less crowded, more flexible because you can hop on and off as you wish, and in most cases they’re fully covered by your Swiss travel pass or regional rail pass without needing to pay any extra for seat reservations. So when you start planning your trip to Switzerland, don’t overlook these seven lesser-known scenic routes because they can be every bit as rewarding as those more famous trains. So let’s start with the Voralpen Express, which connects Lucerne and Saint-Gallen, taking around two and a quarter hours.
Unlike many famous Swiss rail journeys, this one isn’t about those soaring alpine peaks or glaciers. Voralpen means pre-Alps and they’re the smaller mountains at the foot of the true Alps. And this route showcases another side of Switzerland that many visitors never get to experience.
Carolyn Schönafinger: You travel through gentle green hills, farmland dotted with those traditional Swiss farmhouses and past picturesque lakes including Lake Zurich. One highlight on this trip is when you cross the impressive Sitter Viaduct, which at 99 meters high is Switzerland’s highest railway bridge. The coppery bronze-coloured trains of the Voralpen Express depart every hour in each direction, and while there are slightly faster services between Lucerne and St. Gallen, they usually require a change of train in Zurich, whereas you don’t need to change at all if you’re on the 4 Alpen Express.
On board, there are two bistro areas on the train with self-service drink and snack vending machines. All the carriages have large panoramic windows. There’s air conditioning, toilets, and barrier-free entry. And both first and second class carriages are available.
And for those traveling with children, there’s even a family compartment on board. I’ve done this journey a few times now, and what I really love about it is that it’s just a regular train. So you’ll see everyday people going to work, going between destinations, hopping on and off along the way.
Carolyn Schönafinger: So seat reservations aren’t necessary, which is wonderful and means that you could be so flexible. If you plan to take the train at 9 a.m and you’re running late and you don’t want to get there till 10, that’s perfectly fine. If you’re planning to visit both Lucerne and St. Gallen when you’re in Switzerland, I highly recommend taking this train route.
St. Gallen is a beautiful destination if you’re not familiar with it. It’s home to a UNESCO-listed abbey and library, which are well worth visiting. And riding on the Voralpen Express is also a great option if you’d like to visit Appenzell because it’s just another 40 minutes on from St. Gallen.
The trip on the Four Alpen Express is fully included with the Swiss travel pass and this route is also included in the original Grand Train Tour of Switzerland itinerary. So if you’re wanting to see something a little different, you’re in Lucerne and you want to visit St. Gallen or head into the Appenzell region, I highly recommend a ride on the Voralpen Express.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Next up is the Alpenrhein-Express and we’re continuing here through eastern Switzerland. So this train connects Saint Gallen and Chur through the Rhine Valley. So if you’re coming from Lucerne to Saint Gallen.
On that Voralpen Express, why not continue on the Alpenrhein-Express to Chur? The scenery on this route is constantly changing. One moment you’re travelling beside vineyards, then you’re going alongside the Rhine River, and then you pass medieval castles which are perched high up above the valley, and you also get great views across to neighbouring Liechtenstein.
If you’re wanting to again go into the Appenzell region, this train continues as another service called the S81 into Herisau, which is a gateway to Appenzellerland. So you don’t need to change trains. If you’re coming from Chur, you can stay on the train at St. Gallen and continue on Herisau and likewise in reverse.
Carolyn Schönafinger: The journey time between Chur and St. Gallen is just an hour and twenty two minutes, and it’s then an additional 10 minutes onto Herisau, and services operate hourly in both directions. The Alpenrhein-Express uses the same rolling stock or carriages as the Voralpen Express, so they’re those beautiful coppery bronze colour.
Again as you do with the Voralpen Express, you get air conditioned carriages, panoramic windows and all those other services. And of course you can travel in both first and second class. So if you’re planning to head further on into Graubünden, or you’re wanting to go to Appenzellerland, this is a great journey.
I was lucky to travel on the Alpenrhein-Express last year, 2025, and it actually only started service on December 24. And we traveled in the direction from Chur to St. Gallen and then continued on to Herisau. Well, where we changed trains and continued on to Appenzell, which I’ll talk more about shortly.
And again the Alpenrhein-Express is fully covered with the Swiss travel pass.
Carolyn Schönafinger: So route number three, is the trip from Herisau to Appenzell. Now this is definitely not a famous train. It just gives you a wonderful glimpse into traditional rural Switzerland. You travel through rolling hills, lush green pastures, forests, and small farming communities where cows graze peacefully right beside the railway line.
The landscape is so green that it almost looks fake. It looks like AI has created it, but believe me, it’s real. As you approach Appenzell, you start to see the colourful houses that make that town so distinctive. And it really is a very different landscape from the High Alps, but equally beautiful in its own way.
Appenzell has a really relaxed atmosphere and I often recommend it to travellers who want to experience somewhere that’s a little quieter and where Swiss traditions are firmly entrenched in everyday life. It only takes 32 minutes to travel between Herisau and Appenzell, and honestly, you’ll be so busy gazing out the window that the journey will be over before you know it.
Again, first and second class carriages are available on these trains. There are toilets on board and low floor access, but no food and drink vending machines on board. And again if you have a Swiss travel pass, you can travel for free.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, so now let’s move on from the east of Switzerland to central Switzerland and talk about journey number four, which is the Lucerne-Engelberg Express. Now, if you’re staying in Lucerne, one of the easiest scenic rail journeys that you can enjoy is the Lucerne-Engelberg Express. It’s operated by Centralbahn, the same company that operates the Lucerne-Interlaken Express, which is quite a bit more famous.
The journey from Lucerne to Engelberg takes just 43 minutes, so it’s perfect as a day trip, and again, services operate hourly in both directions.And this will increase to half hourly services on December 26. As you leave Lucerne, you’ll pass beside Lake Lucerne and then meadows and forests, and then you’ll start to see the high mountains.
And Engelberg is well worth visiting. It’s a typical alpine village that is home to a Benedictine monastery as well as lots of cheese dairies and beautiful traditional Swiss chalets. It’s also the gateway to Mount Titlis, and if you’re arriving at the station you can take a shuttle bus from the train station across to the cable car station which only takes a couple of minutes or of course you can walk between the two in around 10 minutes.
The Lucerne Engelberg Express train features panoramic windows, air conditioning and toilets, again, no food or drink on board. And you can travel in either first or second class. The Swiss travel pass, of course, covers travel on the Lucerne Engelberg Express, and the pass also gives you a 50% discount on the cable car to Mount Titlis.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Okay, number five. This is one of Switzerland’s shortest scenic train rides, I’d say, but it’s certainly one of the most memorable and it’s definitely one of my favourites. It’s the journey from Lauterbrunnen to Wengen in the Jungfrau region.
Now it only takes 11 minutes so you might be thinking, well, that’s hardly enough time to qualify as a scenic railway, but trust me, it really, really is. As soon as the train leaves Lauterbrunnen,it starts to climb steeply up above the valley floor and with every passing minute the views just become more spectacular. You look back across the Lauterbrunnen Valley with its towering cliffs and waterfalls and the tiny village below.
It’s one of those journeys where you’ll just spend the whole time looking out the window with your camera in your hand. And on that note, as you’re ascending up the mountain from Lauterbrennen to Wengen, try and sit on the right hand side for the best views back down the valley. When you get to Wengen, you can step out into one of Switzerland’s most charming Car Free mountain villages.
Or you can continue on towards Kleine Scheidegg and then on up to the Jungfraujoch. But I recommend that you hop out and have a bit of a wander around Wengen as well.
Carolyn Schönafinger: The train services between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen operate every 30 minutes in both directions and there are sometimes additional services during peak summer season as well. There are only second class carriages on these trains and no toilets on board.
If you do happen to be staying in the Jungfrau region and you’ve got the opportunity to take the train ride at different times of the day, I highly recommend that as well. The scenery is gorgeous during the day as I already mentioned, but seeing the lights flickering in the valley below at night time as you come down from Wengen is equally beautiful in my opinion.
I’ve made this journey dozens and dozens and dozens of times and it’s still one of my favourites. And of course the trip between Lauterbrunnen and Wengen is fully included with the Swiss travel pass.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Number six is the Centovalli Railway. And if I had to nominate one hidden gem that I think deserves a lot more recognition,it’s this one. It is regarded as one of the official panoramic trains by Travel Switzerland, but it’s still far less known to most visitors.
The Centovalli Railway connects Locarno in southern Switzerland with Domodossola in northern Italy. And Centovalli literally means 100 valleys, and you can easily see why when you’re on this train. Along the journey you cross more than 80 bridges, you travel through deep valleys, go past waterfalls, forests, and picturesque villages that seem untouched by time.
One of the things that I love most is how different the scenery feels compared to many of the other Swiss train routes that we’ve already talked about. The landscape has a really distinctly Mediterranean feel. And if you’re lucky enough to travel during autumn, the forests are just bursting with colour.
Carolyn Schönafinger: I’ve only traveled on this line once, back in summer twenty twenty four, and unfortunately it was raining for a fair part of the trip. We were still able to appreciate the scenery, but this is one of those journeys that I’d really love to do again so that I can hopefully really get the best of those views out the windows. The journey time between Locarno and Domodossola is one hour 49 minutes and you can again travel in both first and second class.
There are six services per day operated by this panoramic train which has low floor access, it’s got panoramic windows, a family compartment and toilets on board. Seat reservations are recommended, but they’re not mandatory on this train. So if you’re traveling during the peak summer season, probably recommended, but as I said, they’re not mandatory.
The Centovalli Railway is included in the original Grand Train Tour of Switzerland itinerary. And it’s fully covered by the Swiss travel pass. Now, one note here, do remember to carry your passport or ID with you. Have them handy if you’re traveling on this train as you will be arriving or departing from Italy.
There are plenty of restaurants right near the station in Domodossola where you can enjoy lunch or a drink before connecting to another train back into Switzerland. That’s only around thirty minutes to Brig from Domodossola and from there you can travel all over Switzerland.
Carolyn Schönafinger: Now the final train I wanted to mention today that I think is really worth considering is the historic train between Davos and Filisur, back over in Graubünden. And this one is all about nostalgia. It’s something quite special, and I was lucky enough to include this train ride in my visit to Switzerland last year.
So the train is quite small, there’s only a few carriages and it consists of nostalgic first and second class carriages with wooden seats and windows that you can open, as well as an open air scenic carriage which has no windows at all. It travels through the rugged Zugan Gorge. You go past Rolling Green Hills and over the Wiesen viaduct and you can also see the famous Landwasser viaduct just before Filisur from the train.
In total, you cross 35 bridges and pass through 14 tunnels during this 34-minute journey. You can of course travel between Davos and Filisur on regular hourly services, just the regular trains operated by Rhaetian Railway, but I think traveling on the historic train with these carriages from yesteryear really is quite special.
Carolyn Schönafinger: There are only two services each day in each direction, and it only operates between the end of May and the last Sunday in October. So it’s definitely a seasonal train ride. You don’t need to make seat reservations for this trip. And again the Swiss Travel Pass covers it, so it’s an added bonus.
If you’re a railway enthusiast or you’re just looking for something quite unique to do in Switzerland, this one is definitely worth considering. And it could also be done as a day trip from Chur. So it’s the perfect add-on again to that Alpenrheine-Express, or you could even do it as a day trip from St. Moritz.
I think one of the reasons that I love travelling around Switzerland by train is that no two journeys ever feel the same. One day you might be travelling through vineyards beside the Rhine, the next you’re climbing above the Lauterbrunnen Valley. Then maybe you’re winding through remote valleys on the Center Valley Railway, crossing famous viaducts or you’re riding in an open air carriage.
Carolyn Schönafinger: The Glacier Express and Bernina Express and those other well-known panoramic trains absolutely deserve their reputation. They’re fantastic journeys. But I hope that today’s episode has inspired you to look beyond those famous names and discover a few lesser-known railway gems With a Swiss travel pass in your pocket or on your mobile phone, as it may be, it’s really easy to travel all around Switzerland by public transport.
As always, you’ll find links to all of those journeys and experiences that I’ve mentioned today in the show notes for this episode. And if you’d love an itinerary design that includes some or all of the rail journeys that we’ve talked about today, reach out and let me know and I’ll connect you with one of my trusted Swiss travel partners who can create a trip just for you. You can get in touch by email at podcast@holidaystoswitzerland.com.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I’d love to hear if any of these trains have piqued your interest and you think they sound really interesting and worth including in your itinerary. You can also drop me an email to that email address and let me know.
Next week, when I’ll be back with more Swiss travel tips and inspiration. Tschüss!
You can see the full show notes and listen to this episode > here.
