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The same view for less: the ordinary train on Europe's famous scenic lines

The famous panoramic trains run on ordinary railways, and ordinary trains run on them too. We priced four of the best-known against the everyday train on the same track, and on three of them the everyday train is the better buy.

By The Better Trip Editorial TeamPublished 24 October 2026Last checked: October 20265 min read

The Bernina Express passing the turquoise Lago Bianco under a blue sky, with Ospizio Bernina station in the background.

The short answer

On the Bernina line from Chur, the ordinary train is CHF 40 to 44 cheaper than the Bernina Express and up to half an hour quicker. On the Glacier Express route it saves the CHF 54 seat reservation, which no rail pass covers, for about 33 minutes more and four changes. Over the Glenfinnan Viaduct, ScotRail's £19 day return does the same run as the £76 Jacobite. The GoldenPass Express is the exception: the saving is CHF 10 to 20, and the direct train is worth it.

What only this guide tells you

What we worked out

Swiss fares follow the route, not the train, so the famous trains charge the same ticket as the everyday ones and add a compulsory seat reservation on top. We read the operators' own fares and timetables on 19 October 2026 for four lines and set each famous train against the ordinary service on the same track: the price, the time, the changes and how often it runs. The surprise is the Bernina line from Chur, where the hourly InterRegio with two changes beats the Bernina Express on both price and time.

Four famous trains against the ordinary one

Is the Glacier Express worth it?

The famous train on the left, the ordinary train on the same track on the right. Prices are full adult fares in second or standard class, read on the operators' own sites.

The views are the same, because the track is. What the premium buys is a panoramic carriage with windows into the roof, a reserved seat for the whole way, food at your seat and, on the Glacier Express, no changes for eight hours. What the ordinary train gives you is a choice of departures every hour, the freedom to get off anywhere, and windows that open.

The famous train and the ordinary train on the same line
Line	Famous train	Ordinary train	You save	What you give up
Zermatt to St. Moritz	Glacier Express: CHF 220 with the compulsory seat, 7 h 47 min, 1 or 2 a day	CHF 166, about 8 h 20 min, every hour, 4 changes	CHF 54	Panoramic windows, the meal service, one seat all day
Chur to Tirano	Bernina Express: CHF 106 with the seat in low season, 4 h 32 min, 1 or 2 a day	CHF 66, 4 h 02 min to 4 h 25 min, every hour, 2 changes	CHF 40 to 44, and up to 30 minutes	Panoramic windows, the stop at Alp Grüm
St. Moritz to Tirano	Bernina Express: CHF 65 with the seat, 2 h 14 min to 2 h 30 min	CHF 33, about 2 h 12 min on the RE9, almost every hour	CHF 32	Panoramic windows
Montreux to Interlaken	GoldenPass Express: CHF 76 with the recommended seat, 3 h 16 min direct, 4 a day	CHF 56, 3 h 43 min to 3 h 47 min, every hour, 2 changes	CHF 20, or CHF 10 with a seat	The direct train, and about half an hour
Fort William to Mallaig and back	The Jacobite: £76 day return, steam, June to October	£19 Off-Peak Day Return, 1 h 22 min to 1 h 25 min each way, all year	£57	Steam, and the stop at Glenfinnan

The famous train and the ordinary train on the same line. Full adult fares, second or standard class, read on 19 October 2026 from glacierexpress.ch, rhb.ch, gpx.swiss and mob.ch, National Rail and West Coast Railways. Swiss times from the 2026/27 timetables; the Bernina Express seat costs CHF 44 from Chur between 2 May and 25 October.

Line by line: which one we would take

Is the regional train as good as the Bernina Express?

Each line is a different case, and on one of them the famous train wins.

Bernina, from Chur: the ordinary trainThe hourly InterRegio with changes at Samedan and Pontresina reaches Tirano in 4 h 02 min to 4 h 25 min for CHF 66, against 4 h 32 min and CHF 106 or more on the Bernina Express. The Rhaetian Railway itself compares the two on its blog. In summer 2026 open-air carriages ran on three regional trains a day from St. Moritz, which no panoramic train can match for photographs.
Glacier Express: the ordinary train, unless the day is the pointHourly regional trains cover the whole route on the ordinary ticket, with four changes at Visp, Andermatt, Disentis and Reichenau-Tamins. They also run when the Glacier Express does not: it stops from 11 October to 4 December 2026. Pay the CHF 54 if eight hours in one seat with lunch served is the holiday.
GoldenPass: pay for the direct trainThe saving is only the reservation, CHF 20, or CHF 10 if you reserve on the ordinary panoramic train too, and the direct GoldenPass Express is about half an hour quicker with no changes at Zweisimmen and Spiez. This is the one we would book.
The Jacobite: steam, if steam is what you came forThe ScotRail train crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct on the same rails, all year, for £19 return from Fort William. The Jacobite costs £76 and gives you a steam engine, heritage carriages and a pause at Glenfinnan. Pick it for the steam; pick ScotRail for the view.

With a rail pass, the gap is the whole premium

Does the Swiss Travel Pass cover the Glacier Express?

The Swiss Travel Pass, Eurail and Interrail cover the ticket on all three Swiss lines, but not the reservation on the famous trains. On the ordinary trains there is nothing more to pay, so with a pass the ordinary train is free and the famous one is not. No rail pass covers the Jacobite, which West Coast Railways sells separately.

What a rail pass holder still pays
Line	Famous train	Ordinary train
Zermatt to St. Moritz	CHF 54 seat reservation	Nothing
Chur to Tirano	CHF 40 to 44 seat reservation	Nothing
St. Moritz to Tirano	CHF 32 seat reservation	Nothing; a seat is optional at CHF 5
Montreux to Interlaken	CHF 20 seat reservation, recommended	Nothing; a seat is optional at CHF 10
Fort William to Mallaig	£76, no pass accepted	Covered by BritRail and Interrail passes

What a rail pass holder still pays. Reservation prices read on 19 October 2026. Passes cover first or second class according to the pass.

How to ride the ordinary train

Do you need to book the regional trains in Switzerland?

Ordinary Swiss trains need no booking: buy the ticket for the route, or use your pass, and get on.

Ask for the route, not the fastest trainLeft to itself, the SBB planner sends Zermatt to St. Moritz through Bern and Zurich in about 6 h 40 min, missing the Alps in between. Set the route via Andermatt and Filisur to stay on the Glacier Express line.
Sit on the right sideOn the Bernina line, sit on the right heading south for the Landwasser Viaduct, the Morteratsch Glacier and Lago Bianco. On the Mallaig line, sit on the left from Fort William for the Glenfinnan Viaduct. On the ordinary trains seats are not reserved, so you choose as you board.
Break the journeyAn ordinary ticket lets you stop on the way, which the famous trains do not. On the Bernina line, get off at Alp Grüm for the Palü Glacier and take the next train an hour later.

The catch

Changes, and no guarantee of a seat
The ordinary Glacier route has four changes in about eight hours, and the regional trains on the busiest summer days fill up, with no reserved seat unless you pay for one where that is possible.
What to do. Travel early in the day, outside July and August if you can, and keep your luggage light for the changes.
No panoramic windows
The regional trains have ordinary windows, so you see less of the peaks straight above you. Photographers often prefer them because the windows open, but the famous trains' glass roofs do show more sky.
What to do. If the mountains overhead are the point, take the famous train on the one line that matters most to you, and the ordinary train elsewhere.

Questions people ask

Good questions about The same view for less: the ordinary train on Europe's famous scenic lines

Is there a cheaper alternative to the Glacier Express?

Yes: hourly regional trains on the same line, Zermatt to St. Moritz in about 8 h 20 min with four changes, on the ordinary ticket of CHF 166 and without the compulsory CHF 54 reservation. With a Swiss Travel Pass they cost nothing more.

Is the Bernina Express worth it?

For the panoramic windows and one seat all the way, yes. On price and time, no: from Chur the ordinary InterRegio with two changes reaches Tirano in 4 h 02 min to 4 h 25 min for CHF 66, against 4 h 32 min and CHF 106 or more on the Bernina Express.

Can you see the Glenfinnan Viaduct without the Jacobite?

Yes. The ordinary ScotRail train from Fort William to Mallaig crosses it all year, from £9.20 single or £19 Off-Peak Day Return, against £76 for the Jacobite steam train in season.

Does the Swiss Travel Pass cover the Bernina Express?

It covers the ticket but not the compulsory seat reservation, CHF 40 to 44 from Chur or CHF 32 from St. Moritz. The ordinary trains on the same line are covered in full.

Is the GoldenPass Express better than the regular train?

Yes, for most people: it is direct, about half an hour quicker, and costs only the CHF 20 reservation more. The ordinary route changes at Zweisimmen and Spiez.

Sources we read (10)

Last checked: October 2026

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Image credits: Kabelleger / David Gubler (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Kabelleger / David Gubler (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Daniel Kraft (CC BY-SA 3.0)