Glacier Express and Bernina Express: what you pay with a pass

Prices last checked: 27 October 2026 · Prices from glacierexpress.ch and the Rhaetian Railway (RhB)

Short answer: both trains need a compulsory seat reservation that no pass covers. With a Swiss Travel Pass the ticket is included, so you pay only the reservation: CHF 54 per person on the Glacier Express, and CHF 32 (St. Moritz–Tirano) or CHF 40–CHF 44 (Chur–Tirano) on the Bernina Express. With the Half Fare Card the ticket is half price and the reservation is paid in full. Everyone pays the full reservation, including children and pass holders.

Glacier Express (Zermatt – St. Moritz)

The total price is an ordinary ticket for the route plus the seat reservation. The reservation costs CHF 54 in 1st or 2nd class, for long and short journeys alike, and CHF 590 in Excellence Class.

Ticket CHF 166 (2nd) or CHF 284 (1st) for St. Moritz–Zermatt, plus the reservation, as listed on glacierexpress.ch. Half Fare rows are our own arithmetic (50% off the ticket only). *1st class and Excellence Class need a 1st-class ticket or pass.
Whole route, one way, adult	2nd class	1st class	Excellence Class
No card	CHF 220	CHF 338	CHF 874
Swiss Half Fare Card	CHF 137	CHF 196	CHF 732
Swiss Travel Pass (or an activated Flex day)	CHF 54	CHF 54*	CHF 590*
Saver Day Pass	day pass + CHF 54	1st-class day pass + CHF 54	1st-class day pass + CHF 590

Shorter sections cost less for the ticket, but the reservation is the same CHF 54:

Full-fare ticket prices from glacierexpress.ch; last two columns include the CHF 54 reservation.
Section	Ticket 2nd	Ticket 1st	With Swiss Travel Pass	With Half Fare Card, 2nd
St. Moritz – Brig	CHF 125	CHF 214	CHF 54	CHF 116.50
St. Moritz – Andermatt	CHF 92	CHF 157.20	CHF 54	CHF 100
St. Moritz – Chur	CHF 46	CHF 79	CHF 54	CHF 77
Chur – Zermatt	CHF 129	CHF 221	CHF 54	CHF 118.50
Chur – Andermatt	CHF 55	CHF 94.20	CHF 54	CHF 81.50
Andermatt – Zermatt	CHF 80	CHF 137	CHF 54	CHF 94
Brig – Zermatt	CHF 41	CHF 70	CHF 54	CHF 74.50

Which year are these prices for? glacierexpress.ch does not print a validity date next to its price table. The operator's 2026 sales manual (timetable 6 Dec 2025 – 10 Oct 2026) listed lower figures: CHF 159 / CHF 272 for the whole route and CHF 540 for Excellence Class. We quote the website, which is what the booking shop uses now. Confirm the total in the shop before you pay.

Glacier Express rules worth knowing

Booking windows: 1st and 2nd class reservations open 93 days before travel; Excellence Class can be booked for the whole timetable period. Tickets go on sale 6 months (180 days) ahead.
Pass holders: in the online shop, choose your pass under "Discount card", or pick "This passenger only needs a seat reservation".
No changes: reservations booked online cannot be changed or cancelled. You also cannot choose the direction of travel or the side of the train.
Excellence Class runs only on the full St. Moritz–Zermatt route. It needs a valid 1st-class ticket or pass, and the five-course menu is included in the reservation.
Travel time: about 8 hours for the whole route. Meals for 1st and 2nd class can be pre-ordered, and payment on board is cashless.
Seasonal break: the train does not run for several weeks each autumn. The 2026 sales manual gives 11 October – 4 December 2026.
Luggage: space is limited. The operator recommends at most one extra piece besides hand luggage, and does not carry ski bags, golf bags, oversized luggage, bicycles or e-scooters. Send big cases ahead instead (see SBB luggage forwarding).

Bernina Express (Chur / St. Moritz – Tirano)

The reservation depends on the train, not on how far you ride it: the long Chur–Tirano trains carry the long-route supplement even if you only ride part of the way. The supplement is the same in 1st and 2nd class.

Timetable 13 Dec 2026 – 11 Dec 2027: ticket Chur–Tirano CHF 69 (1st CHF 118), St. Moritz–Tirano CHF 35 (1st CHF 60), from the RhB sales manual. Half Fare and pass columns are our arithmetic.
One way, adult, 2nd class	No card	Half Fare Card	Swiss Travel Pass
Chur – Tirano, low season	CHF 109	CHF 74.50	CHF 40
Chur – Tirano, high season (24 Apr – 3 Oct 2027)	CHF 113	CHF 78.50	CHF 44
St. Moritz – Tirano, all year	CHF 67	CHF 49.50	CHF 32

Until 12 December 2026 the tickets are a little cheaper: Chur–Tirano CHF 66 (1st CHF 113) and St. Moritz–Tirano CHF 33 (1st CHF 57). The reservation supplements are the same in both years; in 2026 the high season ran 2 May – 25 Oct 2026. The connecting Bernina Express bus Tirano–Lugano also needs a reservation: CHF 16 in low season, CHF 18 in high season.

Bernina Express rules worth knowing

Booking windows: reservations can be made for the whole timetable period; RhB usually opens the next period for online booking between mid and late October. Tickets go on sale 6 months ahead. A reservation stays valid even if you buy the ticket later, but you must show both on board.
No changes online: RhB says online reservations cannot be changed or cancelled.
Travel time: about 4 hours Chur–Tirano and about 2 hours 15 minutes St. Moritz–Tirano.
Busy days: RhB says weekends and public holidays are busiest, and Monday to Thursday quieter. From Friday to Sunday, morning trains going north and afternoon trains going south are in highest demand.
Italy: Tirano is in Italy, so carry a passport or ID card.
Luggage: there are luggage racks but space is limited; RhB points to its baggage delivery service for large items.
Autumn 2026 note: Bernina Express trains 951 and 952 are diverted via the Vereina tunnel from 29 October to 13 November 2026 because of engineering works.

The cheaper way to ride the Bernina line

Ordinary RhB regional trains run on the same Bernina line between St. Moritz and Tirano. On them a seat reservation is optional (CHF 5 per person), though RhB strongly recommends one because demand is high. With a Swiss Travel Pass, that turns a CHF 32 reservation into CHF 5 or nothing. You give up the panoramic carriage and the at-seat service, not the scenery outside the window.

Children

On both trains, children under 6 travel free and children from 6 to their 16th birthday pay half the ticket. The reservation is paid in full by everyone. A child under 6 only gets a seat of their own with a reservation. On the Glacier Express, the Junior Travelcard and the free Swiss Family Card (for parents with a Swiss Travel System ticket such as the Swiss Travel Pass) are accepted, so children under 16 travelling with a parent then pay only the reservation.

Is a Swiss Travel Pass worth it for these trains?

On a Glacier Express day the pass saves you the CHF 166 ticket (2nd class), which is a large share of a 3-day pass (CHF 254). That alone does not justify the pass. It depends on what else you do on your other travel days. The Half Fare Card (CHF 150) saves CHF 83 on the same trip. To see which option wins for your whole trip, add the panoramic train in the calculator as a journey: choose "Other" and type the full ticket price from the tables above. Leave out the reservation, because you pay it whichever card you choose. Then read Swiss Travel Pass vs Half Fare Card for worked examples. If you use a Swiss Travel Pass Flex, the panoramic train day must be one of your activated days.

Sources

Every price and rule above was checked against these official pages on 2026-10-27. If something has changed, the operator's page is right and we are wrong. Please tell us.