The 20-seat Excellence Class car on the Glacier Express offers passengers a seven-course meal along with beautiful views of the Alps.Supplied
Tidy, precise and most importantly – on time – Switzerland’s trains are legendary. More than 28,700 kilometres of track reach just about every corner of the country. When it’s time to leave, there’s no whistle, no bells, just the wisp of the door closing and the sudden jerk as the wheels pull forward. What could be more civilized?
Quite a bit, it turns out. In March, the Glacier Express – one of the country’s most storied routes between Zermatt and St. Moritz – stepped up its already excellent service with the launch of Excellence Class. An extra 420 Swiss francs ($554) on top of your first-class ticket puts you in a sparkling 20-seat car with a private bar and a white-gloved concierge serving a wine-paired seven-course meal over an eight hour trundle through the Swiss Alps. Decadence Class would be a better name for it.
A private bar sits at the back of the Excellence Class car.The Globe and Mail
Travellers are met on the platform by a uniformed employee who scrupulously confirms your reservation, then escorts you over a short red carpet. Luggage is hauled on board and stowed (this doesn’t even happen in first class) and you are shown to your reserved window seat. But they are all window seats in Excellence Class – wide leather chairs that recline and offer adjustable lumbar support. While Excellence Class cars do not use a dome car, such as on VIA’s the Canadian or the Rocky Mountaineer, enormous picture windows that extend overhead let in quite a lot of view (and quite a lot of sun; wear sunglasses and pack a hat).
With a generous pour of Champagne into elegant coupe glasses, the countdown of courses and Swiss Alps scenery begins as we pull out of Zermatt.
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The Glacier Express passes through the 2,033-metre-high Oberalp Pass.Supplied
I quickly realized that, aside from the pampering, it’s the roominess of this car that makes the trip so pleasant. When the view out the other side of the train is more striking – especially when we later pass such eye-popping sights as the Rhine Gorge or the 2,033-metre-high Oberalp Pass – it’s easy to wander over for a look without disturbing fellow travellers. And if the darkness of some of the 91 tunnels on this route starts to feel a bit claustrophobic (the 20-minute long Furka Tunnel comes to mind), 10 steps away the concierge also acts as a bartender, serving cocktails and local liqueurs (which cost extra) in a sleek bar the size of a walk-in closet.
As we finish the bubbly and leave the Matterhorn behind, it’s time for a new view – and the first course. We gaze down a rocky gorge with 4,000-metre-high walls and descend the cog-wheel slope slowly as canapés are delivered to our table with more Champagne (or a glass of Swiss white).
A built-in iPad app provides information about the scenery passing by the train.Supplied
Excellence Class guests will find an iPad and noise-cancelling headphones at their seat; a built-in app tracks the journey in real time and provides facts about the places en route. It’s an elaborate setup and you’re always having to re-enter in the password. I found it better to leave the iPad alone and plug the headphones into my seat jack when I heard the gentle gong indicating the audio guide (available in all classes) was about to begin. It offered more information about the scenery, too. No one wants a corny-joke-telling tour guide, but the addition of a concierge sharing stories and answering questions in person would be most welcome.
It would also mean I wouldn’t have to fiddle with gadgets when more important matters are at hand. As we cross the river Rhone and ogle the farmlands and Swiss villages along the Upper Rhone Valley, a mint pea soup is poured from a tea pot with much white-gloved elan and served with a basket of bauernbrot rye. More Swiss white? Or would you like to try a local red?
Beautiful meals are prepared in the train's tiny kitchen.Supplied
We’re climbing again, gaining altitude and heading through a tunnel. The windows go dark and a pleasantly light local smoked trout is served with roasted vegetables and – yes – another glass of wine or two. This long tunnel is a good time to visit the restroom – and here Excellence Class really earns its moniker. When was the last time you were tempted spend longer in the facilities of a moving vehicle than absolutely necessary? Cashmere-soft hand towels, kind lighting, good mirrors, motion-sensor taps, fragrant soap, luxe hand lotion and lots of room to manoeuvre. If only there was a window …
A course of local smoked trout is served as the train passes through a tunnel.The Globe and Mail
As the train pulls into the town of Andermatt I’m underwhelmed by the old military style architecture (the scenic old town is just out of view), but the train climbs further – to 2,034 metres, the highest point of the trip. I am boggled by the wide-open plains, covered in blinding white snow from November till April. While my mouth hangs open in awe, I shovel in some of the yummy main course: Swiss beef tenderloin and mashed potato, carrots and spring onion, drizzled with truffle oil. And here comes that wine bottle again.
The Glacier Expess pulls into Andermatt, through the Oberlapp Pass and the Ski Arena resort.Supplied
After the Rhine Gorge – another snap-happy spot despite the unfortunate continual window glare – we arrive in the city of Chur. A 15-minute stop for a crew and engine change gives passengers a chance to stretch their legs and walk around after polishing off a succulent cheese and meat board with selections featuring the regions we’ve been passing through. The Excellence Class car, which was at the front of the train, now sits at the back as we leave the station and turn south to St. Moritz. In both positions, this car is well placed for photographs as the train curves over the route’s 291 bridges, and especially when it crosses the heart-stopping 65-metre-high Landwasser viaduct. (Especially heart-stopping if you photograph it from the tiny open windows in the breezeway doors. You’re not allowed into this space from First Class, so take advantage.)
At this point in the day, I admit that I am beginning to feel, well, full. Perhaps even overfull. And if I’m really honest – tipsy. But although we’re in the last couple of hours of our journey, the stunning scenery and the wine-paired gastronomy are far from over. I ask to postpone dessert and focus on admiring the stone ruins and castles of the Domleschg valley instead.
Onward and upward the Glacier Express snakes through the forests of Filisur region. The train spirals through the helical tunnels and track of the Albula line, a UNESCO heritage site. Since time is running out, our concierge brings dessert (a too good to be passed up chocolate cake) with coffee and a dessert wine. Then, just when I think I can’t stand to see another sweet – afternoon tea and small cakes are brought out. I choose a local brew of Swiss pine, elderberry and alpine herbs and hope it acts as a digestif. But to no avail. I may never get enough of these views, but this is one course too many. The adorable cakes go back untouched. My wine glass, however, stays in my hand.
The writer was a guest of Swiss Travel System. It did not review or approve the story.
Your turn
The Glacier Express runs until Oct. 14 and starts rolling again Dec. 15. The train is included in the Swiss Travel Pass, but a seat reservation is essential; Excellence Class is a 420 CHF upgrade ($554) available only to first-class ticket holders. A Swiss Travel Pass also gets you inside 500 of the country’s museums, including those in the two terminal towns: Zermatt’s Matterhorn Museum and two museums in St. Moritz, one that features the work of a local artist and the other, traditional local architecture. For train details and pricing, glacierexpress.ch/en
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