Originally Posted by
abhilife2001
Thanks Nrr.. one clarification needed..the entire Gottard line u speaking abt is the William tell express right ?? I read tht we need to have a 1st class swiss pass for this , whereas u say its free with all passes ?? I guess u r saying something quite recently updated since I am planning to take the William tell express from Locarno - Airolo - Gosh - Fluelen on day 4 if its free or valid with a Swiss 2nd class pass..
There are lots of trains between Locarno and Arth Goldau (and point north), some require NO change others require changing in Bellinzona, these are listed at sbb.ch/en--the official William Tell Route utilizes some of this plus a boat ride. The train ride itself does NOT require first class, but if you want to do the official route (which includes lunch on the boat), then you may need a 1st class pass--you can duplicate the route in sections and avoid the extra expense. [In the summer season lots of boats navigate the lake.]
The boat ride alone is about 3 hours, very scenic, but thats a big chunk of the day to be on a boat--especially with your limited time in Switzerland.
You should make heavy use of sbb.ch/en in your planning.