nrr

Every now and then, one can purchase such cards on sbb.ch and they don't require a half-fare card--but you have to pick the date you will use one, possibly far in advance.

Reindeerflame

A cardinal rule for the use of almost any rail pass is that it must be validated before boarding the first train. Validation is typically accomplished at a station, where railway staff enter the expiration date of the pass and the passport number of the user.

But what if the holder of a Swiss Pass enters Switzerland on an international train, and wants to use the Swiss Pass immediately as the train enters Switzerland? My thought on a previous trip was to have the pass validated by another country's rail staff, but that was thwarted when German Rail officials at Frankfurt Airport declined to do so ("Swiss Passes can only be validated by the Swiss"). Indeed, Swiss Passes are not Eurail Passes issued by an international consortium, so the same rules may not apply. (On that trip, I paid a 1-hour time penalty for standing in line at the Interlaken ticket office to get the pass validated, with the 10 minute connection to the Lauterbrunnen train being insufficient.)

In searching the Internet on this question, there was lots of conflicting anecdotal information, much from people who hadn't personally experienced the situation. Some respondents said the conductor would validate, while others claimed the conductor would not do so and might even impose a fine. One person claimed that the conductor might let you ride to the ending station of the border-crossing train without validating the pass, but at that station there might not be enough time to get the pass validated without missing a connection. One person claimed a non-Swiss rail ticket office had actually validated her pass.

I did consult the Swiss Travel System (STS) webpage, which is the agency that issues the Swiss Pass. In one of their FAQs, they mention that while passes normally must be validated before first use, there is an exception when a user enters the country on an international train, in which case the train attendant will validate the pass on board. This seems clear enough, except that with all the equivocation on the Internet and the tendency of some items to be out of date (STS, for example, continues to refer on their site to the Elipsos Barcelona-Zurich train, which was discontinued in 2012), I sought additional confirmation.

I posed the question to STS in another form, asking whether I, as a passenger entering Switzerland on an international train, needed to enter the date of travel on a Swiss flexipass before the train attendant validates the pass (it is another cardinal rule of pass use that one needs to write the date on the pass before boarding the train, or at least before the conductor stops by, but it is also a rule that one shouldn't write anything on a pass before it is validated). Here is the prompt response from STS, saying, in essence, "wait for the conductor":

"Dear Mr. R:

Thank you for your email and the interest in our Swiss Travel System.

Please note that you are required to validate the Pass before your first journey. International trains are the exception – if you are entering Switzerland by train, the train attendant will validate your Swiss Pass by writing the actual date on it. Then it is valid for the same day until midnight. It does not matter how many times you have to change trains.

Your Swiss Flexi Pass is now valid 1 month and you get 50% reduction on almost all trains, bus and boats. On the next travel day, where you use your ticket as a Swiss Pass (=free travelling) you put the date on it.

We wish you a pleasant stay in Switzerland and many wonderful experiences by train, bus and boat.
Kind regards,

Swiss Travel System AG
Pinia Ziegler"

Thus, Ms. Ziegler's answer appears to be the up-to-date word on the matter, and confirms and builds upon the FAQ on the STS website. For my next trip, where I will be on a Eurail Pass boarding at Hallstatt, Austria at 650am, and hope to reach Muerren, Switzerland by 700pm, with 7 enroute connections, I am pleased to learn that I don't need to stand in some en-route ticket office line while my connecting train leaves.

Finally, as an aside, it appears that Swiss Passes issued directly by STS (available on line) come with the actual dates of validity printed on the pass, so that it could be considered validated without further action. However, in North America, these passes are typically issued by travel agents without dates...and there are shipping fees of around US $20 for dealing directly with STS.

greg5

Typically any SBB ticket that needs to be validated is printed on a ticket that you can put in the ticket validators at the station. I'm not sure about the Swiss pass though.

Reindeerflame

Pass validation is typically more complicated than what a platform stamping machine can do.

The beginning and end date of validity need to written on the pass in the space provided, as well as the passport numbers of the pass holder. Then, a validation stamp is also placed in a square printed on the pass.

greenythebeast

Alright, so just to confirm, I can get my Swiss Flexi Pass validated on the RailJet train from Innsbruck to Buchs SG, correct?

Reindeerflame

If you review the post under No. 32, this should be the case per the official pronouncement from STS. It's difficult to get more certainty than this, other than from someone who has actually been successful doing this.

Please post your actual experience on your return. I will do so as well, but my trip is not until June 19.

greenythebeast

I'm on the train now and asked the conductor if he could validate my Swiss Flexipass on board and he said no. So not sure what the real answer is at this point. I have 17 minutes at my first Swiss rail station so hopefully that is enough time to get the pass validated.

Reindeerflame

Was this the Swiss conductor? Please report on your complete experience so this can be reported to the Swiss authorities.

greenythebeast

It wasn't a Swiss train. It was an Austrian RailJet from Innsbruck to Zurich.

Reindeerflame

I would think, however, that even an Austrian train undergoes a crew change at the border, although perhaps that is no longer the case.

How did your situation end up?

ToGo

Yes at Buchs SG the ÖBB leave and the SSB hop on.

greenythebeast

Didn't know that about the crew switch. I thought you had to have the pass validated before using it in Switzerland so I didn't think that would work. I ended up getting the pass validated at the ticket office of Buchs SG with no problems.

Reindeerflame

Yes, I think you may have "jumped the gun" by approaching the Austrian crew, rather than waiting to be approached by the Swiss crew. Unfortunately, that does not give us a data point, which would have been useful, and the uncertainty continues.

ToGo

Normaly you dont have to get off the Train. I would be wait until the SBB Crew came.

greenythebeast

Well it's already done haha. I had to get off the train at Buchs SG anyway so it wasn't a big deal.