Originally Posted by
Q-STO
I fully agree with you: the GoldenPass Panoramic line offers some magnificent winter scenery. To travel through the snow landscape is truly a wonderful experience.
On the Zweisimmen-Montreux leg I also had this particular 1st class car with VIP seats.
However those VIP seats did not require any extra cost. Maybe I was just lucky (the train was nearly empty), maybe it was due to the fact that they were "backwards" seats i.e. not in the direction of travel.
The day I took this route, there was a "barrier" separating these special seats (which faced in the direction of travel) which noted a "fee" (I forgot the exact wording) to ride in them.
If the seats faced in the wrong direction, you would only be looking into the train and not seeing any of the scenery.
PS: On afternoon trips on this line, particularly on Sundays, even the first class cars fill up--weekend skiers are returning home.