Bernina Express · booking and reservingTickets & reservation

What you have to buy for the Bernina Express

There is no such thing as a dedicated “Bernina Express ticket”. You buy:

1. A ticket for the route – for example Chur – Tirano for CHF 66 in 2nd class. This is a normal public transport ticket. The Swiss Half Fare Card (Halbtax), GA, day pass, Swiss Travel Pass, Interrail and Eurail are valid.
2. The seat reservation for exactly one train: CHF 32 from St. Moritz, CHF 40 or 44 on the long route from Chur, depending on the season. It is compulsory and must be paid in full by everyone – including children and pass holders.

All amounts, with worked examples, are on the page Bernina Express prices. Prices are in Swiss francs (CHF), not euros.

Booking the Bernina Express: three ways

Online with the Rhaetian Railway

In the RhB webshop you choose route, date and train and book ticket and reservation in one step. If you already have a travel document – GA, Swiss Travel Pass, day pass – you select that you only need the seat reservation. For timetable and reservation RhB also links to sbb.ch; there you will find every connection with changing times.

By phone

RhB’s Railservice can be reached on +41 81 288 65 65. This is the only place to book wheelchair-accessible seats and groups of ten or more. Anyone who splits a group across several bookings in the webshop risks subsequent cancellation, according to RhB.

At a railway ticket office

According to RhB you can get the reservation at all railway ticket offices in Europe – so also at a travel centre in Germany or Austria.

Reservation: how early do you need to be?

Reservations are possible for the whole of the current timetable period. The period ends in early to mid-December each year – the current one on 12 December 2026. RhB releases the trains for the next period in the webshop between mid and late October. Tickets are generally available six months before travel.

Rule of thumb: First the seat, then the ticket. RhB itself writes that seats are often booked up well in advance and that the ticket can easily be bought later. You must show both when you board.

RhB also says when it gets full: at weekends and on public holidays. From Monday to Thursday demand is generally lower. From Friday to Sunday the morning trains are in demand heading north, and the afternoon ones heading south. In the online timetable and the SBB app, heavily booked trains carry a note.

From Chur, summer

08:17 · 13:34

From St. Moritz, summer

09:17 · 13:17 · 16:14

From Tirano to Chur

08:06 · 14:24

From Tirano to St. Moritz

10:06 · 13:17 · 16:06

Those are all the Bernina Express trains in the summer timetable from 2 May to 25 October 2026 – five in each direction. There are no more seats than that; which explains why the reservation is the bottleneck and not the ticket.

Rebooking, cancelling, missed the train

The reservation is valid for the train chosen. For the reservation on the Bernina line regional train, RhB states explicitly: as a rule no refund, except where inability to travel is proven. The last-minute offer is entirely excluded from exchange and refund. For the normal Bernina Express reservation we found no refund rule on the pages we checked – look at the conditions in the webshop before paying, or ask the Railservice.

Last-minute tickets: from six days before travel

RhB sells remaining seats as a package for a return journey in 2nd class including both reservations: Chur – Tirano – Chur for CHF 125 (with Half Fare Card CHF 105), St. Moritz – Tirano – St. Moritz for CHF 107 (CHF 87). Online only, no earlier than six days ahead, valid only on the trains booked. In summer the offer does not apply to trains 951 and 952.

Sold out – what now?

Then you travel anyway. RhB regional trains run on the same tracks in the regular timetable, more frequently through the day. Your ticket is valid on them with no supplement. Instead of panoramic cars there are normal carriages with windows that open; there is no catering or infotainment.

• Between Chur and the Engadine there is no reservation on regional services – you simply get on. According to RhB the Albula line is served hourly in both directions.
• Between St. Moritz and Tirano you can optionally reserve a seat on the regional train: CHF 5 per person per journey, 1st or 2nd class. RhB strongly recommends this because of demand.
• That quota is gone too? Then you may travel without a reservation. RhB points out that when trains are very busy there may be longer waits – above all in Tirano and St. Moritz.

Honestly: For many people the regional train is not the fallback but the better choice: no supplement, a free choice of train on the day depending on the weather, open windows for photography. What you give up is the guaranteed seat from Chur, the at-seat service and the through journey without changing.

Be careful with tickets from third-party sellers

RhB itself warns: with sales partners and private ticket sellers, regional trains on the Bernina line are sometimes called “Bernina Express” in translations. If terms such as “Bernina Red Train” or “Trenino Rosso” appear in the listing, it usually means the regional train. That is not a bad train – but you should know what you are buying, and compare the price with the RhB fare: Tirano – St. Moritz and back costs CHF 66 there.

A day tour as an alternative

A complete package makes sense if you are in Milan and want to organise neither the journey to Tirano nor the reservation yourself. How to do it on your own is described on the page Bernina Express from Milan.

“I’m in Milan and want to be sure of a seat in the panoramic car.”

From Milan: St. Moritz and Bernina Express Tour

12.5 hours · day tour · ★ 4.5 from 3,801 reviews

from, per person€138

Check availability on GetYourGuide

Honestly: The provider advertises a guaranteed panoramic car – check that in the description of what’s included before you book. You only travel the section between Tirano and St. Moritz, not the Albula line. For a single day from Milan it is still the most convenient way.

“I’m in St. Moritz and want to pay in advance in euros.”

From Saint Moritz: Bernina Red Train to Tirano

Return ticket · ★ 4.4 from 125 reviews

from, per person€63

Check what’s included on GetYourGuide

Honestly: “Red Train” means: regional train. The same ticket costs CHF 66 return with RhB – work out the day’s exchange rate before you buy here. It is only an advantage if booking in English and in euros matters to you.

Which seats to choose when you reserve is under seats and panoramic cars.