From Zermatt: cogwheel train ticket to Mount Gornergrat, reviewed
My verdict: do not buy this one. It is the same train, to the same summit, with the same ZOOOM exhibition, as the flagship Gornergrat railway ticket, sold at about 60 per cent more. It also carries the lowest rating of the five listings I review, from the smallest sample of any train ticket here, and one of those reviews is a traveller whose ticket would not scan with nobody there to help. I keep the page so you can see the comparison, not so you can act on it.
The arithmetic, which is the whole review
The railway sells one return from Zermatt to Gornergrat, and in the summer band the operator charges CHF 132 for it. This listing asks CHF 206: CHF 206 CHF 132. That is CHF 74 more per person for an identical seat on an identical train, and for a family of four it is close to CHF 300 of nothing. The flagship listing includes the same ZOOOM exhibition, has 672 ratings instead of 38, and rates 4.7 instead of 4.4. There is no version of this comparison that comes out in favour of the dearer page. Read the flagship review and book that.
If you want to check me on the fare rather than take my word for it, the operator’s own tariff is published on gornergrat.ch, and the price page reproduces the whole table by station and by season.
What the listing includes, for completeness
What you get
- A return cogwheel train ticket, Zermatt to Gornergrat
- ZOOOM the Matterhorn at the summit, exactly as on the cheaper listing
- The same 33-minute climb to 3,089 m that every passenger gets
What the extra CHF 74 buys
- Anything the CHF 132 listing does not already include
- A seat reservation, which the railway does not sell at any price
- Guiding of any kind, since this is a rail ticket
- A reduced child fare, which is not shown on either booking page
The 1-star review, reported straight
Flave from Uruguay left one star: the tickets would not scan at the machine and there was nobody there to help. That is one experience out of 38 and I have no way to verify it, but it belongs on this page rather than in a footnote, because it is the failure mode of a mobile voucher on a barrier you cannot argue with. The Zermatt base station is staffed at the counter opposite the main railway station; if a voucher will not read, that counter is where you go, and going early leaves you the time to do it.
Sergen from Turkey left four stars with the line “Nice experience, but very expensive.” At CHF 206 for a CHF 132 fare, that is generous.
What works
- It is the real ride: 33 minutes, 1,485 vertical metres, 3,089 m at the top
- ZOOOM the Matterhorn is included, exactly as it is on the cheaper listing
- Roger from the United States has done it twice and says the views do not get old
- TUBA from Switzerland calls it one of the most beautiful train routes in the country
- Tina from Slovenia and Anita from Germany report vouchers arriving well in advance
Worth knowing
- CHF 206 for a journey the operator sells at CHF 132
- 4.4 is the lowest rating of the five listings on this site
- 38 ratings is the smallest sample of any train ticket here
- One reviewer’s ticket would not scan and no staff were on hand
- Nothing in it is unavailable on the cheaper listing
Who this page is actually for
Somebody who has already booked it, and wants to know whether to cancel. If you are inside the free-cancellation window of 24 hours before departure, cancel and rebook the cheaper listing; the train, the timetable and the exhibition are identical. If you are outside it, you have not bought a bad ride. You have bought a good ride at a bad price, and the summit does not know what you paid: 29 four-thousanders, the Gorner Glacier and Monte Rosa’s Dufourspitze at 4,634 m, the highest point in Switzerland, are all still there. What to do at the top will help you get your money back in daylight.
Before you buy any Gornergrat ticket at any price, check whether someone in your party holds a Swiss Travel Pass, a Half-Fare Card, a GA or an Adventure Card. Each takes exactly 50% off at the window, and none of them makes the ride free. See the discounts page.
Frequently asked questions
Is this the same as the CHF 132 Gornergrat ticket?
Yes. Same railway, same return journey from Zermatt to the 3,089 m summit, same ZOOOM the Matterhorn exhibition included. The difference is CHF 74 per person and a lower rating from a much smaller sample. Book the flagship listing instead.
Why is this ticket rated 4.4?
Thirty-eight people have rated it, and one of them left a single star after the tickets would not scan at the machine with no staff present. On a small sample one bad experience moves the average a long way, which is exactly why I print the count next to the score.
What happens if my ticket will not scan?
Go to the Gornergrat Bahn counter at the base station in Zermatt, opposite the main railway station. It is the only place that can fix a voucher, and it is why an early train matters: the first departure is 07:00 and the service runs every 24 minutes from 08:00. See the timetable.
Is there ever a reason to pay more for the same ride?
Not one I can defend on this line. There is no cheaper-online price on the Gornergrat Bahn and no premium seat to buy, since seats cannot be reserved at all. The only paid extra the railway sells is Priority Boarding at CHF 7 — see where to sit.