Normally seen on the scenic Gotthard Panoramic Express from Lugano to Arth-Goldau in Switzerland is a fleet of unique passenger coaches of the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS, or simply SBB for short or German speakers) called the ‘Panoramawagen’, or panorama carriages.
Over the years, these have made an appearance on conventional InterCity services in Switzerland and international EuroCity services. They are special for this reason – you don’t need to book onto a heavily-marketed ‘tourist’ train to enjoy one. All you need is a valid First Class ticket for travel on these ordinary train services.
The Panoramawagen is present in the consist of a once-a-day (in each direction) departure from Hamburg in northern Germany through to Zurich, Switzerland and vice versa on the EuroCity 8/9 trains.
The route of this train is special as it doesn’t take the fast high-speed line once in Germany and won’t even show up in some journey planners that show the fastest routes only – at least for the end-to-end journey. That’s because the train travels along the scenic Rhine Valley and follows the river for much of its journey through Germany – a diversion well worth taking for all scenery-loving, fans of slow travel including myself.
The SBB Panoramawagen coaches can also be found regularly on two other routes, the EuroCity 163/164 “Transalpin” from Zürich to Graz, Austria and more recently on the EuroCity 104/105 from Graz to Przemysl – near the border with Ukraine, some 1,300km away from Switzerland! Irrespective of the where they’re used, these coaches still bear the Gotthard Panoramic Express logo, which if anything, acts as free advertising for SBB to advertise the route and get people dreaming of spectacular Swiss landscapes!
The fancy First Class carriage isn’t the only reason to travel on the EuroCity 8/9. These trains also feature another neat amenity – the SBB onboard restaurant run by Elvetino. A real treat!
2025 update: unfortunately the panorama carriage no longer operates on the EuroCity 8/9 departures following the December 2024 timetable change. It does still operate on the EuroCity 163/164 route.
Here is the full route map of the train’s journey which I had taken in November 2022 from Koblenz to Baden-Baden.
Onboard the EuroCity 8/9
In addition to the Panoromawagen, the EuroCity 8/9 also offers conventional all-Swiss Railways’ First Class and Second Class carriages in its normal twelve carriage consist. Also, not forgetting the aforementioned Dining Car.
First Class
Firstly, the conventional First Class accommodation on the EuroCity 8/9. This features comfortable seating around bays of two and four, seating up to sixty passengers in each of the two carriages. Each bay has a small table, power sockets and air conditioning.
On the November day I travelled, the whole train was very busy, which is good to see, but as a travel blogger, this can make taking pictures a challenge. The pictures here, although of the same type of carriage, are from a different service I took.
First Class Panoramawagen
Now for the crème de la crème – and probably the best First Class carriage in a regular passenger service in continental Europe! Let’s explore the Panoramawagen.
These carriages were delivered in 1991 to the SBB, and they offer the same type of seats as the SBB First Class coaches, seating up to fifty-four in bays of two and four seats.
What particularly makes these Panoramawagen carriages stand out is their design and as you can expect from Swiss designers, this is something that you can tell has had plenty of thought. They feature a higher floor, accessible by a ramp from the vestibule, and large panoramic windows all to ensure an unobstructed view. Although some may not like the lack of solo seats, in both types of First Class carriage, the windows do line up with the seats.
The Panoramawagen is a delight to travel in with light flooding in. The interior is minimalist and lighting not too bright, to ensure the focus is on the outside. A truly excellent design all round in my opinion!
Second Class
The EuroCity 8/9 also offers Second Class seating. As with the rest of the train, this was very busy, so I was unable to take a picture of the interior. Second Class features seating in a 2+2 configuration, with seats exclusively around bays of three or four seats and power sockets available. Seats are also aligned with the windows as in First Class.
Swiss Dining Car
No trip on a long distance Swiss train is complete without a visit to the Dining Car.
The EuroCity 8/9 is also special in the fact that it offers one of the best Dining Cars in Europe with a fantastic ambience and experience. A table service of hot meals and drinks are available served in proper plates and glasses with tablecloths adorning each table – a true classy restaurant environment.
The at-seat service is also available in First Class, however, on this trip the service was less attentive – probably due to how busy the train was and there being only two catering staff on the train. This wasn’t a problem for me, as I could head to the Dining Car and return to my seat later.
I enjoyed a Thai Green Curry and a Swiss white wine while chatting to a friendly German lady from Freiburg. Especially when the train is busy, it’s commonplace to share tables with strangers. This isn’t dictated as it is in other countries, such as long-distance Amtrak services in the United States, and so it is up to the passenger to ask if they can share their table with you. A perfect way to make some new friends and pass the time of day!
The meal came to a total of 36.40 CHF/EUR. Just like anything in Switzerland, nothing comes cheap, but as always it was worth it for the experience of dining on the move!
Scenery
The Rhine Valley is a stunning route and a diversion well worthwhile of the extra hour on the journey time compared to the high speed line. The journey from Cologne to Frankfurt takes approximately two hours and twenty minutes compared to one hour and twenty minutes.
As mentioned, the route follows the river for much of the journey, often being only a metre or so from the banks of it. This enables enjoyment of spotting hilltop fortresses and long boats on the river. There’s also a railway on the other side of the bank, though this is mainly used for freight.
Here is a video of some of the most scenic parts of the trip along the Rhine Valley.
Booking and Fares
The Swiss Railway’s Panoramawagen on the EuroCity and InterCity services is simply a type of First Class carriage. This means that as long as you have a valid First Class ticket, the Panoramawagen is available to you in the same way as you’d use the regular First Class carriage. As the travel environment is more preferable to the conventional First Class carriages on these trains, it’s highly likely to sell out and therefore a reservation is recommended.
Tickets (and seat only reservations for rail passes) can be purchased from the website of the Deutsche Bahn for journeys starting or ending in Germany. Alternatively if the start or end of your journey involves Switzerland, it should be possible for journeys to be purchased at the website of the SBB, though this was throwing up an error at the time of writing. These are dynamically priced and vary according to demand. It’s worth booking as early as you can.
On the Deutsche Bahn website, it’s possible to choose the exact seat on a seating plan for ticket + reservation and seat only bookings. The Panoramawagen is Coach 263 on the EuroCity 8/9 route.
| Journey Leg | First Class | Second Class |
| Hamburg to/from Zürich | from €39,90 + €5,90 optional seat reservation | from €29,90 + €4,90 optional seat reservation |
The slower journey time of the EuroCity 8/9 train means this train often doesn’t show in journey planners. In this case, if there is a ‘via’ option, type in “Koblenz”, or elsewhere on the route if your journey doesn’t travel through there. This will show up options via the scenic Rhine Valley.
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Conclusion
The Swiss Panoramawagen has to be one of the best environments to travel in with its well thought out design and comfort and in my opinion the best First Class carriage in all of continental Europe. Its deployment on the scenic Rhine Valley route, and on a EuroCity international train, brings a joy of train travel to everyday journeys which can only be a good thing! This travel environment with the Swiss Dining Car, makes the EuroCity 8/9 a perfect choice for travel from Zurich and Basel to parts of western and northern Germany – and indeed journeys within Germany.
As more and more EuroCity trains in these parts become replaced by newer InterCity Express (ICE) trains in time, don’t hang about to enjoy the joy of this train!
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