Is Switzerland’s ULTRA LUXURY Train Worth the $300 Price Tag?

Is Switzerland’s ULTRA LUXURY Train Worth the $300 Price Tag?

This video is in Partnership with 
Klook and the Swiss Travel Pass. Today we’re back in Switzerland 
to take one of the MOST SCENIC, LUXURIOUS and EXPENSIVE 
train journeys in the world! The Glacier Express winds its way through 
some of the most breath-taking landscapes Europe has to offer – so come along with 
me and let’s experience it all together! Today’s trip starts in the millionaire’s playground of St.Moritz – one of the 
most exclusive resorts in the country. The town is nestled on one edge of the Albula 
Alps range in South-eastern Switzerland, at an elevation of 1,800m (5,900ft) 
above sea level being – overlooked by the majestic Piz Nair mountain which 
stands at over 3,000m (10,000ft). Let’s head to the station 
to get this journey started. Bahnhof St.Moritz is located 
about a 1km (0.6mi) walk from the centre of the town, and dates back to 1904. There is a small supermarket located in the 
main building. This is ideal for grabbing a reasonably price breakfast – as the prices 
for food onboard the train are quite steep. There are tickets machines here, 
but you’re going to want to buy on-line in advance for today’s 
trip, as I’ll explain later on. The trains in this part of Switzerland 
are operated by the Rhaetian Railway. The RhB network is 385km (239mi) in total length of 1,000mm (3ft3in) narrow gauge 
track, as seen here on this map. Switzerland really is the BEST places 
in Europe for scenic train journeys and this route is arguably the pinnacle of all those! Our train is already here, so 
let’s head to the platform now. We will run with the Inter-regio 
38 service as far as Chur, hence the platform display here – but our stunning 
Glacier Express coaches are a separate consist. Our first loco today will be this 
RhB GE 4/4 II electric locomotive. These have a power output of 1,650kW 
(2,210hp) and a top speed of 90km/h (56mph). Before we depart, let’s check out today’s route. We wind our way north from St. 
Moritz, before reversing at Chur, and then heading west to the summit 
of the line, before arriving at Brig. Boarding is not level, with 3 steps up from the platform – however ramps 
are available upon request. We’ll be travelling in First Class today, 
which is laid out in a 2+1 configuration. I’m sure you’ll agree – it looks VERY stylish! We will check the seats and amenities out in more detail once we get going – however 
my first impressions are excellent! All your luggage can be stored on the large 
stacks which are at the end of every coach. There is even this wardrobe 
area to hang your coats. We depart on-time, at 7:02am. The full route of this service from St. Mortitz to Brig covers 244km (152mi) and 
takes 6 hours and 38 minutes. The train may be called the Glacier ‘Express’ 
– but in reality it is far from fast. *Other services extend further to Zermatt – but 
my top tip is that this service to Brig gives you 90% of the full experience, but is usually 
MUCH quieter, proof of which we’ll see today. *On some trains, there is even a super luxury option called ‘Excellence Class’ 
– which I’ll show you later on. Prices are quite high, but I 
will show you some great tips on how to make your Switzerland 
trip much more affordable soon. The First Class fare is 204 Swiss 
Francs (£191, €220, $256), or it’s 119 Francs (£111, €128, $149) 
for Second Class – then there’s a mandatory seat reservation fee of 
54 Francs (£50, €58, $68) for either. But did you know Switzerland has some 
AMAZING travel pass options which can easily save you hundreds on the regular prices? The best, in my opinion, is the Swiss 
Travel Pass – which is available through today’s video sponsor Klook 
– and the benefits are HUGE! The base fare on both the Glacier and 
Bernina Expresses is included in the pass, along with all of Switzerland’s other Panoramic 
train routes – you just buy the seat reservation. And on top of this, you can you take 
unlimited rides on nearly -all regular intercity and local trains, trams, 
buses and ferries in the country. No pre-booking required, just turn up and 
ride by showing the pass on your phone! And if this STILL wasn’t enough – it also 
includes free entry to more than 500 museums and exhibitions, and either free or discounted 
access to mountain railways and cable cars too! Klook have an amazing offer right now 
on First Class Swiss Travel Passes, with 1 day free on 4 day passes, 
and 2 days free on 8 day passes. Book before 30th November 2025, 
and travel until 31st March 2026! When you consider that a 3 hour, First 
Class Intercity journey can cost 157 Francs, you will easily save big by 
using the Swiss Travel Pass. Klook are offering my viewers a special 
deal today. New Users get 10% OFF, and existing users get 3% OFF. Use Code: NONSTOP Just click the link above now, 
or in the description below. OK, let’s check out the seats here in First Class. They are well padded and have soft 
headrests and adjustable armrests. Legroom is good, but this 
support bar is quite annoying. The fixed tables have a folding 
section, and are very sturdy. These also include cup holders, 
a light, and an integrated bin. Each seat has access to a single 
Swiss/Italian style power socket. Headphones are provided so you can plug in to the audio system to listen to the onboard 
commentary in your preferred language. The seats also have a small recline which is activated by pulling this 
lever and sliding forward. Overall, it’s a very comfortable and 
spacious seat, with good amenities. An information booklet and comprehensive menu 
is also available in the seat area – I will put a link to this in the description below 
if you want to check it out in more detail. This is the famous spiral section where 
we loop around ourselves 4 times. Look down to the valley below to see the 
line we will shortly be travelling on. The Albula Railway includes 55 bridges, 39 tunnels and a change in altitude of 
1,000m (3,300ft) over a 61km (38mi) distance. There are also many shelters to protect the 
track from heavy snowfall or avalanches. I love watching the train snake off in to the distance around all the 
tight curves – it’s so amazing! Just look at these stunning #TrainWindowViews! We are now approaching the most iconic 
infrastructure on today’s journey – The 125 year old Landwasser Viaduct, which we will 
cross as soon as we exit the next tunnel. This 6-arch curved limestone structure 
is 136m (446ft) long and stands at 65m (213m) over the valley below. I’ll 
let you enjoy the crossing in full. I’ve now ridden along this 
line a total of 7 or 8 times, and it never gets any less spectacular. I mean 
how could you ever get bored of these views? If you want AD-FREE early access to every 
video, great perks and to help me to do BIGGER & BETTER reviews, then become a Patreon 
or Channel Member from just £1.99 per month. Just click the link above now, or the 
join button in every video, thank you! Let’s go and check out the rest of the train now. Toilets can be found at the ends of every coach. These were all fully functional. The water worked, 
and the soap and hand towels were stocked up. They were also exceptionally clean! In between First and Second Classes is a 
kitchen and shop area. There’s no dining car, so your order is brought to your seat. Now here’s a look at Second Class, 
which is in a 2+2 configuration. The seats are similar to First Class, but narrower and with less legroom. 
Otherwise all the amenities are the same. The train is still very empty now, but 
it does fill up quite a bit at Chur. I love how we can peak through 
the front window at our loco too! Here is my breakfast, which I bought 
at St. Moritz station. But I did order a coffee which cost 5.50 Swiss 
Francs (£5.17, €5.95, $6.95). We will check out some more of the 
menu options later on in the trip. A couple of hours on, and we 
are now on the approach to Chur. This railway is quite unique in Europe in 
that it runs some mixed freight services, with local trains also taking 
goods up to the mountain villages, such as these supermarket containers seen here. There is also a large RhB depot and 
sidings complex just before the station, along with the company’s headquarters. This is also an interchange with mainline SBB (Swiss Railways) services on to the 
standard gauge, long-distance network. As mentioned before, we will detach from the 
Inter-regio service we were running with from St. Moritz, and also change direction 
and continue west with a new locomotive, as these guys are currently sorting out. 
It’s the same model as the first one. Onboard announcements can be 
heard in both German and English. On departure from Chur, we firstly run 
alongside The Rhine, Europe’s 2nd longest river and then fork right to join one of 
its main tributaries, The Vorderrhein. Look at the beautiful, fresh 
and clear alpine water here! Free WiFi is available to all passengers onboard. When working, this was fast, 
however there were some blackspots, which is to be expected on 
a mountain railway I guess! We are now starting to climb again, with the section between Chur and Disentis 
including a 500m (1,640ft) elevation gain. The impressive snow-covered peaks of the Swiss Lepontine Alps are just visible 
though the low hanging cloud. At Disentis, we have to change locomotives 
for the final time on this trip – not because we’re changing direction, but because we need a 
more powerful and cog-wheel drive equipped one. I’ll show you this in action shortly. This is also where RhB hands over 
operations to MGB — the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn — who both jointly 
operate the Glacier Express services. If you want to see my video on 
Switzerland’s other main tourist, scenic railway, The Bernina Express, then click 
the link above now, or in the description below. Let me know in the comments which is your favourite – Glacier or 
Bernina? I really can’t decide! The majority of the line is single track, with passing places located at 
stations and other strategic positions. I don’t remember us being held up anywhere for more than a minute – that is 
the efficiency of Swiss railways! We have now entered the cog, or rack and pinion 
section of the route, which runs for 24km (15mi) to its highest point, and down the other side – 
as the adhesion of the trains wheels alone is not sufficient to deal with the gradients involved 
here, which can be as steep as 12.5% or 1 in 8. The speed on the cog section is 
limited to a maximum of 40km/h (25mph). Now we have reached the summit of the line, at the Oberalp Pass which is a 
2,033m (6,670ft) above sea level. But my oh my, gazing out at the snowy 
vistas from the warmth inside this panoramic carriage with white as far 
as the eye can see – it’s magical! It might have been 20 degrees 
when we left Chur 2 hours ago, but now it’s down to just 
3 degrees at this altitude! We even get a chance to stretch 
our legs and take some photos, with a 5 minute stop before we start our decent 
down and enter the final stretch of the journey. These views really are 
picture postcard Switzerland! OK, as promised let’s have a look at the 
highest class of service on the Glacier Express. Excellence Class is available on just 
one train per day, in each direction, numbers 902 and 903, running the full 
route between St. Moritz and Zermatt. This is in a 1+1 configuration and includes 
champagne and a 5 course gourmet meal. The views out the window are the 
same – but the price very much isn’t You can use the Swiss Travel Pass to 
cover the required First Class fare again, but the seat reservation fee is a whopping 
540 Swiss Francs (£508, €584, $681). The food better be amazing for 
that price, that’s all I’m saying! Anyway, let’s now order some of the 
regular food and check that out, shall we? I wasn’t massively hungry so I just got 
a pot of the artisan vanilla ice cream, which came with a biscuit, and a Zermatt 
Matterhorn beer. The things I do for YouTube, eh? They were both absolutely delicious 
– and they certainly should have been for 14.50 Swiss Francs (£13.66, €15.70, $18.32). Ok, the final noteworthy piece of infrastructure 
of this line, is the Furka Base Tunnel. This dates back to 1982, and runs for 15.4km 
(9.6mi) under the Lepontine Alps and is a very important link in the region, especially 
during the winter months, when the much higher altitude road connection on the mountain pass 
is frequently closed due to excessive snowfall. All types of vehicles are transported through the tunnel on specially adapted 
roll-on roll-off wagons. In the background here is the 280m 
(918ft) long Goms Suspension Bridge, which crosses the valley above the River Rhône, from the railway station to the village on the 
far side – a vital link to the local community! Next, we see the impressive Mt. Breithorn – 
tallest peak in the Breithorn Massif. It’s a very popular mountain to climb, or ski down, as a cable 
car is available nearly all the way to the top! We are now fast approaching the end of today’s 
epic journey, so let me take a moment to summarise this trip from St. Moritz to Brig, onboard 
the famous Glacier Express in First Class. What an absolutely fantastic trip! 
It’s certainly up there in the Top 5 of the MOST SCENIC train rides I’ve ever taken. Yes, it is quite expensive, but I believe it’s 
absolutely worth it. A Once in a lifetime travel experience that I would highly recommend, 
even if you’re not that much in to trains. Remember to check out Klook, and use 
Code: NONSTOP, and you can save up to 10% on the Swiss Travel Pass – and get 
the base fare for this journey included! The train is immaculately clean, and very 
comfortable, the staff were super helpful and friendly with the whole 6 and a half 
hour trip flying by in no time at all! The Glacier Express trains stop 
outside the main SBB building, at a station designated as ‘Brig Bahnhofplatz.’ Unsurprisingly, we arrive in Brig 
exactly on-time to the minute, at 1.40pm. Have you been on any scenic trains 
in Switzerland before? If so, which ones and on which routes? How did you 
find them? Let me know in the comments below! I’m always open to new video ideas, so if you 
have something you’d like to see on the channel, then drop me DM on Instagram, BlueSky or Twitter. Don’t forget to subscribe, thanks for watching 
to the end, and I’ll see you in the next video!

Use Code: NONSTOP and Get 10% OFF the Swiss Travel Pass with #Klook: https://www.klook.com/en-GB/activity/11366-swiss-travel-rail-pass

Today we’re back in Switzerland to ride one of the MOST FAMOUS Trains in the World!

We’ll travel on the STUNNING Glacier Express route for 6.5 hours through some UNBELIEVABLE Scenery in Absolute Luxury… So come along with me and let’s check it out together!

#GlacierExpress #Switzerland #StMoritz #Brig #Chur #Zermatt #TrainWindowViews

Date of Filming: 4/5/25
Camera: GoPro Hero 12 Black
Operator: Rhaetian Railway and Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
Departure: St. Mortiz, Switzerland
Arrival: Brig, Switzerland
Cost: First Class – 204 Swiss Francs (£191, €220, $256)
Second Class – 119 Francs (£111, €128, $149)
Plus Seat Reservation – 54 Francs (£50, €58, $68)

Here is the link to my review on Switzerland’s Other Amazing Scenic Tourist Train, The Bernina Express: https://youtu.be/dsx3N7LWnVQ

Become a valued Patreon member to get access to great perks:
https://patreon.com/nonstopeurotrip

Become a valued YouTube channel member to get access to great perks:
https://www.youtube.com/nonstopeurotrip/join

A HUGE thanks to my Valued Patreon & Channel Members:
Mark Jaynes – amillionbookes – Geo Dov – Holdymar V Arndt Jr – Will Getz – Westy331 – Oliver W – eng91755 – Sam Jennings – Rick Sipes – Peter Harrison – Peter Tuck – Chris Winchell – Debbie Winchell – Severity One – Roy Parker – Peter Russ – Luke211286 – Test – Robert S – Co Akker – 太Reddit派了 – Djsaccess – Kilian – Teemu Lokka – Robert Heywood – Clark Olson – Sacha Reichmuth – Lois Johnson – Harry Hopkinson – Gene Bowker – John Doughty – Ingmar Vatvedt – Ana Lämä – Daniel Young – Shay – Joern Petersen – Thomas Shenstone – Anders Bergendorf – Fabricio Renovato – Dean Shaw – Patiperro Sobre Rieles – Her little – daanski82 – Maximilian Zwicker – Gary Gravelle – Lina Vainomae – Onur Ayçiçek – Regmount – m – John Michael Dornoff – Mark Johnson – Snowrita Levinthal – Roy Meister – Thomas Roell – Wayne H – Petr Mikoláš – Avirup Some – František Lukeš – Aaron ching – Ben Fraser – Elcapratama – Muhammad Nur Ihsan – Luigi – Oskar Purkiss – Soul Recovery with Awareness – Stuart Robertson – Clarence Moore – Gora Choudhury – paulvaultguy – Namık Kemal Doğmaz – The Insiderchannel – Sumit J – Daniel Rezeki Marpaung – Brian Ignacio Saavedra Vargas – Ian Stern – Adam Mezey – Adrian Buciu – RK – mhtheo – Sean Bowen – Symphony – naygoobs – Mikael Petersen – Dorothy Bird

00:00 – Intro
01:12 – Arrival at St. Mortiz Station & Tour
02:05 – Route & Train Info
03:05 – Boarding & Departure
04:42 – Pricing & The Swiss Travel Pass!
06:38 – First Class Seat Tour
07:45 – The Amazing Albula Spirals
09:00 – The Spectacular Landwasser Viaduct
10:25 – Exploring The Train
11:50 – Breakfast Time & Calling at Chur
13:32 – Running alongside the Rhine
14:42 – Ascending High Into The Alps
15:30 – Change to Cogwheel Locomotive: 12.5% Climb!
16:50 – Reaching The Summit: 2,033m
18:00 – Photo Stop! And Descent…
18:45 – A Look At ‘Excellence Class’
19:30 – Ice Cream, Biscuits Beer…
20:00 – 15km Furka Base Tunnel Transit
21:16 – Trip Summary
22:22 – Arrival in Brig & Outro