What is the difference between the GoldenPass "classic" cars & GoldenPass "panoramic" cars? Considering using a Swiss Travel Pass for Lausanne to Montreux & then the Golden Pass from Montreux to Interlaken & Interlaken to Lucerne?

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Thank you for your question, JJ.

The Swiss Travel Pass does cover trains from Lausanne to Montreux, as well as the full route of the GoldenPass scenic route from Montreux to Lucerne. The GoldenPass route from Montreux to Lucerne would just involve changing trains twice along the way; once in Zweisimmen and then once in Interlaken.

Trains from Lausanne to Montreux don't accept reservations, so the Swiss Travel Pass is all you would need to board.

On the GoldenPass route, it is really only advisable to have reservations on the 'Panorama' or 'Classic' trains between Montreux and Zweisimmen. Reservations aren't necessary on the trains from Zweisimmen to Interlaken and the trains from Interlaken to Lucerne.

The GoldenPass 'Classic' trains only run on the segment of the GoldenPass route from Montreux to Zweisimmen. GoldenPass 'Panorama' trains also run this segment, as do regular trains. The regular trians are technically not considered actual GoldenPass trains even though they do run the same route. The coaches on the GoldenPass Classic trains have a vintage turn-of-the-century Belle Époque look, whereas the GoldenPass Panorama trains and the regular trains have a more modern look. GoldenPass Classic trains also have 'wine cellar' coaches, which offer a wider selection of wine than would be offered in the bar cars on the GoldenPass Panorama trains. Food is available for purchase on the GoldenPass Classic trains and the GoldenPass Panorama trains but not any of the regular trains. GoldenPass Classic trains and regular trains both have large windows, but the windows on the GoldenPass Panorama are more panoramic, as the name suggests.

While all three types run from Montreux to Zweisimmen, the trains for the segment from Zweisimmen to Interlaken are all regular trains, and the trains for the segment from Interlaken to Lucerne are all GoldenPass Panorama trains.

For travel with a rail pass, you would purchase reservations by clicking on 'Book your Rail Pass Reservations' on our homepage, entering the cities, and indicating the type of rail pass you'll be traveling with when you're prompted. If you decide to purchase reservations for the entire route of the GoldenPass, you would just break up your search once in Interlaken. Therefore, you would do one search for the segment from Montreux to Interlaken and another search for the segment from Interlaken to Lucerne. Otherwise, you can just purchase reservations for the segment Montreux to Zweisimmen, and the rail pass is all you would need to board a connecting train from Zweisimmen to Interlaken and a train from Interlaken to Lucerne.

For planning purposes, you can just check schedules for the non-reservable trains from Lausanne to Montreux by clicking on 'Find Fares & Schedules' on our homepage (instead of 'Book your Rail Pass Reservations') and not indicating that you'll be traveling with a rail pass.

Generally, the GoldenPass trains can only be booked within 90 days of an intended date of departure. Since your intended travel falls outside of this time frame, you would just enter an earlier date, some time within the next 90 days, to get an idea of the ticket costs and view schedules when searching the route on our website in the meantime.