Zürich / Zurich to Luzern / Lucerne by train

How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Lucerne/Luzern

Luzern/Lucerne is only 50km from Zurich, so the trains between the two cities are popular with commuters, but few commuter routes are as pleasant as this.
Luzern station and its surroundings offer very easy interchanges with the trains on to Engelberg and Interlaken, as well as the cruise boats for journeys across the Luzernsee.

Routes

From Zürich HB / Zurich main station to Luzern

Journey Summary

From

Zürich / Zurich

The frontage of Zurich Hb station by the Bahnhofplatz tram stops

Zürich HB / Zurich main station Rail Station Guide

Luzern / Lucerne

The frontage of Luzern station - you can use these escalators to avoid crossing the road in front of the station

Luzern Rail Station Guide

Travel Time

41 - 50min

Frequency

Daily

Travel Information

Final Destination : Luzern

All trains also call at: Zug

The trains are on routes IR 70 and IR 75, the trains on route IR 70 are slightly faster as they only make one other station call.
At Zurich HB trains on both routes typically depart from the gleis (platforms/tracks) 3 - 18, which are accessible from the street level concourse.

From Zurich Flughafen/Airport:

There are now direct trains between the station at Zurich Flughafen/Airport and Luzern.
You no longer have to change trains at Zurich HB station.
The trains usually depart from Zurich Flughafen hourly at 15mins passed each hour.

2 x trains per hour

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes*

*Cheaper ‘Supersaver’ tickets (those with a % symbol on a red button) are available on most of these IR trains between Zurich and Luzern.
On the SBB website look for IR in the ‘travel with’ column and the red % button in the 'Fare' column.

You’re most likely to find these Supersaver tickets if you book around 2 – 8 weeks ahead.

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

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. How to Book Tickets on the SBB website This step by step guide shows how to use the SBB, Swiss Railways website, to buy Swiss train tickets, so that you can book and save with confidence! How to Book Tickets on the SBB website Buying and using tickets for Swiss rail travel This guide will help you save money, time and confusion. Buying and using tickets for Swiss rail travel
Trainline	*
Trainline Guide Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service What to look out for when using Omio, SaveATrain, HappyRail, Trainline and RailEurope (UK) when booking train tickets for European rail journeys Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service
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. Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service What to look out for when using Omio, SaveATrain, HappyRail, Trainline and RailEurope (UK) when booking train tickets for European rail journeys Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service
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. Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service What to look out for when using Omio, SaveATrain, HappyRail, Trainline and RailEurope (UK) when booking train tickets for European rail journeys Booking Train Tickets with an Independent Ticketing Service

On this journey

Travelling On

An IR service on the Brig - Geneve route

IR (Switzerland) Train Guide

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake views

Good to Know

Looking over Lake Zurich from the left of the train

Looking down on the lake as the train ascends after Thalwill

The view over Lake Zug after the train has departed from Zug

Distant views over Lake Zug can be seen for around 10 mins

From left of the train (when facing the direction of travel) there are views over Lake Zurich and Lake Zug, so it can be worth ascending up to the top deck of the double-deck trains used on this route.

The general guide to Swiss rail travel Discover what's good to know about riding the trains, taking popular journeys, using the major stations, booking tickets and travelling with rail passes.

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