GoldenPass Line

The GoldenPass route runs from Lucerne through Interlaken and Zweisimmen to Montreux on Lake Geneva. Since 2022 a variable-gauge through service has removed the change at Zweisimmen. It is fully covered by the Swiss Travel Pass.

The engineering that made it possible

For a century this journey meant changing trains at Zweisimmen, because the line north of it is standard gauge and the line south is metre gauge — two incompatible railways meeting head on. The GoldenPass Express, introduced in December 2022, uses carriages with bogies that physically change width as the train rolls slowly through a gauge-changer, while the wheels are also raised or lowered to match the different platform heights. Passengers stay in their seats throughout.

It is the only service of its kind in the world, and it is the reason this route is worth singling out from the many scenic lines in Switzerland.

What you see

The journey covers more variety than any comparable Swiss route: the lakes and cliffs around Lucerne, the Brünig Pass, the two lakes at Interlaken, then the Simmental farmland and Gstaad, before dropping through terraced vineyards to Lake Geneva at Montreux. It ends in a distinctly different Switzerland from where it started — French-speaking, mild, and a good deal less alpine.

Practical detail

The full run takes a little over five hours. The Swiss Travel Pass covers the whole route with no supplement for ordinary seats, which makes it one of the better value scenic journeys in the country — unlike the Glacier and Bernina Express, there is no compulsory reservation fee on the standard service, though reserving is still sensible in summer.

Prestige Class, at the Montreux end of the train, has raised seats behind the driver’s cab and does carry a supplement.

More pictures

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