Last Updated on 7th October 2021 by Steve
A growing number of skiers and snowboarders are looking into public transport when they come to arrange their winter holidays in Swiss ski destinations.
Some are researching inexpensive links from local airports while others may be aiming to cut down on their carbon footprint.
We’ve made five picks of ski areas in Switzerland with a railway station (or stations!) along with a few other options at the end of the article…
Getting to Swiss Ski Resorts By Train
The Swiss rail service SBB is renowned for its punctuality and service – they even offer a service where you can check your luggage in abroad and get it delivered to your accommodation on the day of arrival.
And, of course, it is the home of renowned historic train lines such as the Glacier Express.
Nevertheless it is impressive that this country in the heart of the Alps has by far the greatest number of ski resorts with their own train stations.
Andermatt
The up-and-coming ski resort of Andermatt in Central Switzerland is a stop on the famous Matterhorn-Gotthard railway line which connects the better-known winter destinations of St Moritz and Zermatt. Now it is fully linked to the neighbouring ski area of Sedrun (also with a railway station) and part of a combined ski area with 120km of slopes it has been attracting increasing attention in the travel press.
More information: www.skiarena.ch
Davos & Klosters
Davos is probably best-known for being the haunt of the wealthy and journalists during the World Economic Forum, while neighbouring Klosters tends to feature in the society pages when members of the British Royal Family make their regular visits. The two villages link to form an underrated ski area which is one of the largest in Switzerland and both have railway stations (eash ski resort actually has two) which allow arrival by train.
More information: www.davos.ch
Jungfrau Region – Grindelwald, Mürren & Wengen
Of course, the mountainous Jungfrau region above Interlaken is criss-crossed by trains, funicular railways and cable cars connecting the ski resorts in the winter months. The three main ski resorts – Grindelwald, Mürren and Wengen – all have train stations and, as pictured above, the rail links even continue up onto the ski slopes. (Although, to be fair, the rail link to Mürren is a combined service including a cable car along with the train.)
More information: www.jungfrau.ch
St Moritz
The famous and somewhat ritzy ski resort of St Moritz is served by two railway line – the Bernina, which runs over the Italian border to Tirano, and the Albula line, which connects the eastern Swiss town of Chur. The rail service to Italy also stops near various smaller ski areas covered on the St Moritz ski pass, such as the Diavolezza and the Lagalb.
More information: www.engadin.ch
Zermatt
Zermatt is served by the previously-mentioned Matterhorn-Gotthard railway line and the Glacier Express train. The ski resort is also linked to the town of Täsch by a regular train shuttle service, from where the railway connects to normal Swiss services at Visp. Like other historic Swiss ski resorts, Zermatt also has its own funicular railway leading to the ski slopes at the Gornergrat.
More information: www.zermatt.ch
Other Swiss ski towns and villages with their own rail connections include Arosa, Champéry, Engelberg, Gstaad, Meiringen and Villars.
Swiss Railways: www.sbb.ch
Classic Swiss ski resorts – discover more about some of Switzerland’s most renowned ski areas…
