Zürich / Zurich to St. Moritz by train

How to take the fabulous rail journey from Zurich to St Moritz

You don't need to be a member of the elite to take one of the most wonderful rail journeys on planet earth.
St Moritz is a fabulous destination for a day trip from Zurich.

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Routes

From Zürich HB / Zurich main station to St. Moritz

Journey Summary

Travel Information

The connecting time between trains at Chur station will only be around 4 mins, but this is Switzerland so making the connection can be virtually guaranteed.

To enable a stress-free transfer at Chur station. the train on to St. Moritz will depart from the opposite side of the same platform that the train from Zurich will have arrived at, so all you will have to do is walk across the platform from one train to the other.

If you will be travelling with any type of rail pass, including Saver Day Passes, you can just jump on the train to St. Moritz.
If you opt to travel with tickets, definitely book tickets for the end2end journey on SBB's booking service you won't have time to book tickets for the next RhB train to depart, on arrival at Chur station.

Though:

  • if you will be travelling with a 2nd class ticket/rail pass
  • time is on your side
  • and you want to experience the best of the journey between Chur and St. Moritz
    then it can be a good idea to hang back and take the next train on from Chur.
    With only 4 mins to elapse before departure, 2nd class on the RhB train to St. Moritz can be crowded, so you'll be lucky to find a window seat if you rush to board in Chur.

Also if you see a Glacier Express train at Chur station, your tickets/passes won't be valid on the Glacier Express, but regular coaches, in which your tickets/passes will be valid, may be attached to the Glacier Express train.
So you may need to hurry along the (gleis) platform/track to find them.

1 x connection per hour

Change trains in: Chur

Tickets

Booking Tickets:

Tickets can be booked online for this end-to-end journey which involves taking a SBB train + the train(s) on to St.Moritz which are operated by RhB.

‘Individual tickets’ can be used on any train(s) on your travel date, but they tend to be comparatively expensive.

Supersaver tickets are cheaper, the portion of the journey by the SBB train can be discounted by up to 50%, but these tickets are train departure specific.

If you book a Supersaver ticket and a flight delay etc, causes you to miss a train you are booked on to, you will have to book another full-price ‘Individual Ticket(s).
You can then apply for a refund of the Supersaver ticket, but the application costs CHF 10.

Hence it’s worth comparing the ticket price of a journey with the price(s) of those Saver Day Passes; they might save you money and can also allow for a less stressful journey.

Using Saver Day Passes:

Now that the Swiss Transfer tickets have been discontinued a Saver Day Pass may save you money, if you can book at least a couple of weeks ahead (usually), so that you can obtain the pass at a discounted price.

They can be cheaper than tickets for the end-to-end journey, though they are more likely to be a money saver if you will be making a day return trip between Zurich and St.Moritz even if you can book in advance.

They can be used on;

  • the trains between Zurich Fughafen/Airport and Zurich HB station
  • the trains between Zurich HB and Chur
  • the trains between Chur and St. Moritz.

They are not train specific, so can still be used in the event of a journey to Switzerland being delayed.
Though they’re only valid for one day’s travel, the clue is the name, so if you will be travelling back on another date, you’ll need to purchase another Saver Day Pass for your return journey.

However, they need to be booked at least a day ahead of your travel date, so won't be an option if you book tickets at the station on arrival in Switzerland.
They're also cheaper the further ahead that you book.

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

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.

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.

Journey Features

Scenic - YesLake viewsMountain views

Good to Know

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

Departing From Zurich HB:

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

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.
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.

Train 2

Between And
St. Moritz
Image coming soon...
St. Moritz

Journey Features

Scenic - YesMountain views

Good to Know

Final Destination: St. Moritz

All trains also call at: Filisur (connections to Davos); Samedan (connections to Scuol-Tarasp and Pontresina)

Heading south towards Filisur Heading south towards Filisur
Crossing the Landwasser Viaduct Crossing the Landwasser Viaduct
On the other side of the Landwasser Tunnel On the other side of the Landwasser Tunnel
After Filisur station After Filisur station
Ascending from Filisur towards Bergrun Ascending from Filisur towards Bergrun
Near Bergrun station Near Bergrun station
From the spirals the train uses to descend to Samedan From the spirals the train uses to descend to Samedan
Another view from the spirals Another view from the spirals

Step on board for a journey on the incredible Albula Railway!

Sit on the right (when facing the direction of travel) when joining the train at Chur and face forwards for the best views of the Landwasser Viaduct and tunnel.
The video was taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction.

Overall the best of the views are from the right of the train, but you'll still experience an incredible journey if your seats are on the left hand side.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge

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