Our time in Zermatt was short and after 24 hours we were back at Zermatt Bahnhof to head to our final destination, Zurich. Unlike our five train trip from Badenweiler to Montreux, this trip would be relatively painless. An hour on the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn from Zermatt to Visp and a quick transfer to a regional train to Zurich should make for an easy travel day.
We arrived at the station at 1:20p for our 1:35p train. The train consisted of some older and newer cars and we walked down the platform and took some seats in one of the newer cars with larger windows. In true Swiss efficiency, the train departed the station right on schedule and we started our journey down the mountain to Visp.
Our ride down the mountain was just as gorgeous as our ride up. I couldn’t help but marvel at the feat of engineering it took to build this railroad and the views out the window made me sad to be leaving.
The journey took about an hour but thanks to the scenery the time flew by. We arrived in Visp with 10 minutes to change trains which was more than enough time as we only had to move over a couple of platforms.
We waited on the platform for a few minutes and soon our train to Zurich was pulling into the station.
We boarded the double-decker train and headed upstairs. Though the train was fairly full in 2nd Class, we managed to find seats in the first car with enough space for our luggage. We ended up in a pod of 4 seats that were arranged in a 2-2 layout facing each other. The seats were comfortable and Mrs. ATX was asleep a few minutes after leaving the station.
After departing Visp, I walked through a few of the train cars and headed back to the restaurant car. All of the seats were taken and there wasn’t an easy way to get counter service so I continued to explore the train. There were a few sets of seats still open and they were fairly spacious for 2nd Class though they could definitely use a cleaning.
The seats on this train weren’t the only thing in need of a cleaning. I took a visit to the restroom which smelled awful and could use a good scrubbing. This was especially surprising given the fact that we boarded at the second stop of the journey. The walls were covered in a panoramic photo of the Swiss countryside which was a nice touch in an otherwise unpleasant space.
Back at our seats, I passed the time alternating between looking out the window and working on this trip report. Large sections of the line between Visp and Bern are tunneled, including a long stretch through the Lötschberg Base Tunnel. When we weren’t in the tunnel, the scenery was nice and we paralleled the shores of Lake Thun, passing through Spiez. Unfortunately, the windows were filthy which made it hard to get any decent pictures.
After a stop in Spiez, it was a quick ride up to Bern. We waited in the station for about 10 minutes before starting the final leg of our trip to Zurich.
The trip from Bern to Zurich was quick and we arrived at Zurich Hauptbahnhof just before 5:00p. Our train came in on one of the underground, pass through platforms and we headed up into the main hall after disembarking.
We followed the sighs towards the Bahnhofstrasse and headed off towards the hotel to begin our stay in Zurich.
Summary
While each trip we took with Swiss Federal Railways was pleasant, this one ranked towards the bottom. The dirty train coupled with the crowded cars made me happy to be in Zurich. The trains were on time and made it easy to get from Zermatt to Zurich and there’s still no better way to travel around the country.
In This Trip Report
