We have collated answers to the most important questions on group journeys, group tickets and seat reservations in Switzerland for you.
In Switzerland, ten or more people can travel as a group. Groups benefit from discounted fares. To calculate the price, we take certain travelcards and the age of the people travelling into account. Group journeys must be booked in advance. For the journey, you will need a group ticket. It includes a free seat reservation.
We offer single and return group tickets for 1st and 2nd class.
A group ticket enables you to benefit from a discount of 30%.
The following people count as part of the group (and benefit from the group ticket discount):
Passengers without discount (30% discount on the full fare).
Passengers with a Half Fare Travelcard (30% discount on the half-fare price).
Passengers with a GA Travelcard, Modular Travelcard or Point-to-Point Travelcard (whole route must be included) (travel for free).
Children and young persons aged at least 6 and under 25 (30% discount on the half-fare price).
Children under 6 (travel for free).
The following people do not count as part of the group:
Adults, children and dogs with a Day Pass.
Young people with a GA Night Travelcard.
Accompanied children with Junior Travelcard or Children's Co-Travelcard.
Companions of passengers with a Disabled Passenger’s ID Card.
The easiest and most convenient way to calculate and/or book your group journey is online from the comfort of your home – avoid having to rush or queue.
Ideally you should name one person as group leader for your group journey. This person books the journey and group tickets required (including the reservation). So that we can calculate the price correctly, we need to know the age of the passengers you are travelling with and how many hold a GA Travelcard or Half Fare Travelcard. If travellers in the group hold a Modular Travelcard or Point-to-Point Travelcard covering the whole route, enter these people under ‘GA Travelcard’.
If you wish to buy group tickets (including the reservation) online, you / the group leader will need a SwissPass login.
You can also reserve group journeys and buy group tickets by calling the Businesstravel Service Center on 0848 111 456 (local rates).
Group tickets for single journeys are valid for ten days. Group tickets for return journeys are valid for one month. When you buy tickets online, the validity date is fixed when you make the purchase.
No. Self-service loading of bicycles is not available for groups. Find out about the other options available to you.
Yes. Seat reservations are included in the price of the tickets and will be made where possible. When buying online, the reservation will be made automatically.
Online reservations can only be made when you buy a group ticket at the same time.
No, there is not always a label on the train. For group journeys on Regio-Express, regional and S-Bahn trains, the seating the group needs is provided but no physical reservation label is provided on the train. On long-distance trains travelling before 6am and after 8pm, reservation labels are also not provided.
Yes, you have to tell us when ordering your group journey so that a suitable coach can be reserved for you. At the same time, please notify the SBB Contact Center Handicap about your journey. Groups that include more than one wheelchair user can only be carried subject to certain conditions. Long-distance double-deck trains allow groups to travel together (maximum ten people in wheelchairs). On board all other trains, groups may only be able to travel in different compartments or split across several trains, depending on the size of the group.
You can change the number of passengers up to 30 minutes before starting your journey free of charge at a staffed public transport point of sale.
If you make a change later, we will charge an excess of CHF 10 for each refund request made if the group becomes smaller.
If a change is made, you should always ask train staff to confirm how many passenger actually make the journey in each direction. Do the same if you use additional services from third parties at your destination.
If necessary, apply for a refund after your journey.
If your group journey cannot take place as planned, let us know that you wish to amend or cancel your journey no later than 11am the day before travel. Please observe the special provisions for partner offers, including RailAway. Unfortunately, if you inform us later than this, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to make the changes.
Please note that a fee of CHF 10 is charged for cancellation of unused group tickets.
These provisions apply to group tickets for travel within Switzerland. Special provisions apply to group journeys to other European countries.
We provide the following luggage offers for group journeys in Switzerland: