Zürich / Zurich to Chur by train

How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Chur.

SMTJ has compiled a list of the Europe's most epic journeys by regular express trains, but this Zurich to Chur rail journey didn't make the cut, because of is comparatively short length.
However, journeys by Intercity express trains of less than two hours don't get more fabulous than this!

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Routes

From Zürich HB / Zurich main station to Chur

Travel Information

Three of the daily departures, those which are usually scheduled to leave Zurich at 10:00 and 14:00 and 18:00, are by ICE4 trains that have travelled from Germany.

Final Destination: Chur

All trains also call at: Landquart
Connect at Landquart into RhB trains towards Klosters and Davos.

Departing From Zurich HB:

These trains will depart from the street level platforms/tracks at Zurich HB - gleis 3 - 18.

Arriving in Chur:

Connect at Chur into RhB trains on towards St Moritz and Arosa.

Also connect at Chur for buses to the Laax-Flims-Falera ski resort, check the Chur station guide to access more info.

From Zurich Flughafen/Airport:

There are now hourly direct trains between the station at Zurich Flughafen/Airport and Chur, but those trains take an indirect route via St Gallen.
So it's possible to save around 50 mins on a train journey from Zurich Airport to Chur, by changing trains at Zurich HB station.

Making the transfer will be much easier if you take a train from Zurich Flughafen to Zurich HB which uses the same part of Zurich HB station (platforms/tracks/gleis 3 - 18) that the trains on to Chur depart from.

So when taking a train from the airport target either;

  • the trains on route S24 heading to Zug - every 30 mins.
  • the IR trains to Luzern - every 30 mins.
  • the IR train to Basel via via Brugg - 1 x train per hour.

1 - 2 x trains per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes - If you book Supersaver tickets (more info is available on the the SBB ticket guide below)

You may need to search through the departures to find these 'Supersaver' tickets using the ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ button. So try and be flexible with your departure and arrival times.

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

If you will be making a return day trip to Chur from Zurich, be open to the possibility that Saver Day Passes are likely to be a cheaper option than booking return tickets

Seat reservations:

Seat reservations are optional on Swiss IC trains, so seats won't be assigned when booking online.

You can book reservations online for journeys by these IC trains, AFTER you have booked a ticket, by using the SBB (Swiss national railways) seat reservation service OR request a reservation when booking at a station ticket office.

Travelling with a rail pass:

Rail pass users can jump on any train, without having to make reservations.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
SBB *

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.

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Happyrail *

Happyrail 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.

Omio *

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.

On this journey

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsMountain views

Good to Know

The timetable is arranged so that connecting into the Rhaetian Railway (Rhb) trains on to St Moritz is a simple as possible.
The train from Zurich will arrive at an adjacent gleis (platform/track), so all that's required is to walk across the gleis to the St Moritz train, which will be awaiting departure, it will leave around 5 mins after the train from Zurich has arrived.

Lake Zurich comes into view as soon as the train exits a long tunnel Lake Zurich comes into view as soon as the train exits a long tunnel
From the left there are great views over Lake Zurich for around 15 - 20 mins From the left there are great views over Lake Zurich for around 15 - 20 mins
Leaving Lake Zurich behind, but the highlight of the journey is yet to come Leaving Lake Zurich behind, but the highlight of the journey is yet to come
The spectacular Walensee can also be seen on the left The spectacular Walensee can also be seen on the left
The final view of the Walensee The final view of the Walensee
Between Sargans and Landquart Between Sargans and Landquart

From the left of the train (when facing the direction) of travel, there are fabulous views over Lake Zurich... ~

and then over the Walensee...

...before the train makes its first station call in Sargans

Then between Sargans and Chur there are very pleasant views of distant mountain ranges from both sides of the train.

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