Glacier Express St. Moritz to Andermatt in 1st Class – Switzerland’s slowest scenic train

Most trains are built to get somewhere fast. The Glacier Express was built to do the opposite – it’s been called the world’s slowest express train, and that’s genuinely the point. It covers the roughly 180 miles between St. Moritz and Zermatt at an average speed of about 24 mph, crossing 291 bridges and passing through 91 tunnels along the way, purely so the panoramic windows have time to do their job.

This covers the St. Moritz to Andermatt leg in 1st Class – the scenery, the onboard dining, what the fare actually breaks down to – along with the overnight stop in Andermatt and the regional train connection onward to Zermatt.

So what actually is this train?

The Glacier Express first ran on June 25, 1930, connecting the two glamorous Alpine resort towns of St. Moritz and Zermatt. Nearly a century later it’s still doing the same job, just with better windows and a proper onboard kitchen. The full journey runs roughly eight hours, cutting through the heart of the Swiss Alps between the Engadin lakeland and the foot of the Matterhorn.

• 🚂 Running since 1930, connecting St. Moritz and Zermatt across the Swiss Alps
• 🌉 291 bridges and 91 tunnels along the full route
• 🪟 Panoramic windows built specifically for unobstructed Alpine views
• 🍽️ Fresh dishes cooked in an onboard kitchen and served directly at your seat
• 🎟️ Three classes: 2nd, 1st and the premium Excellence Class
• ⛰️ Crosses the Oberalp Pass, the highest point on the route at 2,033 meters (6,670 feet)

The route: St. Moritz to Andermatt

This particular leg departs St. Moritz at 9:38 AM and arrives in Andermatt at 2:58 PM – a little over five hours covering some of the most dramatic scenery on the entire line.

🌉 The Albula Line and the Landwasser Viaduct

The first stretch out of St. Moritz runs along the Albula Line, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed stretch of track built through some genuinely difficult terrain. The highlight here is the Landwasser Viaduct – a curved limestone viaduct that carries the train directly into a tunnel mouth cut into a cliff face, one of the most photographed rail structures in Switzerland.

🔄 Direction change at Chur

At Chur, the train changes direction as it switches onto a different section of track – a normal part of the Glacier Express route given how the Swiss rail network is laid out through this stretch of the Alps, and a good moment to switch which side of the carriage you’re watching from.

🏞️ The Rhine Gorge

Sometimes called the “Grand Canyon of Switzerland,” the Rhine Gorge is a dramatic stretch of eroded rock walls carved by the Anterior Rhine – a genuinely striking contrast to the glacier-carved valleys earlier in the journey.

⛰️ Oberalp Pass

The train’s high point, both literally and scenically – 2,033 meters (6,670 feet) above sea level, with sweeping views across the surrounding peaks before the descent toward Andermatt begins.

The classes – 1st, 2nd and Excellence

Glacier Express runs three tiers of seating, and the difference goes well beyond legroom.

🎟️ 2nd Class

Comfortable panoramic seating with the same large windows as the rest of the train, at-seat food and drink service available on request, and access to the same scenery as every other class – the main trade-off is seat configuration and a slightly less premium onboard experience.

🥂 1st Class

Wider seating in a mix of four-seat table bays and two-seat bays, at-seat dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner with a full choice of starters, mains and desserts accompanied by a wine selection, and the same panoramic windows throughout. This is the class most travelers choose for the full experience without stepping up to Excellence.

👑 Excellence Class

Introduced in 2019 as a “super-first” tier, Excellence Class runs in a single dedicated carriage with just 20 seats in a 1-1 layout, meaning literally everyone gets a window seat. It comes with a five-course meal with wine pairings, a dedicated concierge attending to the carriage throughout the journey, and access to the Glacier Bar for a cocktail before or after the meal. It requires a valid 1st Class ticket plus a mandatory seat reservation on top, and only runs on specific daily departures – it’s popular enough that seats sell out well in advance.

What it actually costs

For the St. Moritz to Andermatt leg in 1st Class, the total fare runs 246.4 CHF (about $330 USD / €263), broken down as the base ticket at 150.4 CHF, the 1st Class seat reservation at 54 CHF, and a 2-course onboard meal at 42 CHF. Reservations for the Glacier Express open 93 days ahead of travel, and it’s worth booking early – especially for Excellence Class, which fills up fast on its limited daily departures.

Onboard dining

Food is prepared fresh in an onboard kitchen and served directly at your seat on proper china with real cutlery – not a trolley cart situation. In 1st and 2nd Class, staff move through the train taking orders for coffee, tea, alcoholic and soft drinks, and a 2, 3 or 4-course lunch that can be pre-booked with the reservation or ordered on the day. Excellence Class steps this up to a full five-course menu built around regional ingredients, each course paired with a specific wine, plus afternoon tea-time treats and snacks available throughout the journey.

Andermatt – the overnight stop

Andermatt is a small, historic Alpine village sitting at 1,444 meters (4,738 feet) in the Urseren Valley, at the junction of the Oberalp, St. Gotthard and Furka passes. It’s a common overnight break point for travelers splitting the St. Moritz-Zermatt route across two days rather than riding it in one long sitting, with the village’s handful of hotels, bakeries and shops all within easy walking distance of the station platform.

Continuing to Zermatt by regional train

From Andermatt, the route to Zermatt continues on regional trains rather than the Glacier Express itself – first from Andermatt to Visp, then a connecting service from Visp to Zermatt. Zermatt itself is car-free, so the final approach into the village is by rail regardless of how the rest of the trip was booked. The reward at the end is the view of the Matterhorn from Zermatt’s various observation points – one of the most recognizable mountain silhouettes in the world, and the reason most people make this entire journey in the first place.

Best time to book and travel

The Glacier Express runs year-round, and the route looks genuinely different depending on the season – snow-covered valleys and frosted viaducts in winter, green Alpine meadows and clearer long-distance visibility in summer. Winter (December-March) brings the fairytale scenery but colder platforms and shorter daylight windows for photography; summer (June-September) offers the longest days and the clearest views of the surrounding peaks. Whichever season, book reservations as early as the 93-day window allows, particularly for Excellence Class or peak summer and Christmas/New Year departures.

Frequently asked questions

📹 Video by ST Travel