Tirano, Thusis or the other way round: Bernina route changes
Most Bernina day trips from Milan put you on the train between St. Moritz and Tirano. Several listings add a line saying the route can run the other way, or that on some dates the train goes to Thusis instead. Both change what you see, so it helps to know before the morning.
The usual shape of the day
The standard plan links two railway towns with a coach at each end. The coach drives from Milan over the Maloja pass to St. Moritz, you ride the train down the Bernina line to Tirano, and the coach collects you there.
That ride crosses the Bernina pass near Lago Bianco and drops to Italy through Val Poschiavo and the Brusio spiral viaduct. Our guide to the view from the train walks through it stop by stop.
The listings describe two ways this plan can change. The train may run the other way, or it may leave the Bernina line altogether and head north to Thusis.
Running the other way round
A reversed day starts with the coach to Tirano, then the train climbs up to St. Moritz, and the coach brings you home over the Maloja. TaoTravel's listing says plainly that its itinerary can be reversed.
LUCAfromITALY's small group already runs in this direction, with lunch time in Tirano before the train climbs to St. Moritz. The small-group guide has the details of that day.
For the view, the direction matters less than you might think. You see the same line with the same lake and glacier, only from the other side. The sun sits in a different part of the sky, and the free time moves to the end of the day.
The bigger change is when you eat. Uphill days give you lunch in Tirano at Italian prices, paid in euros. Downhill days put the meal in St. Moritz before the train, where you pay in Swiss francs and eat in a hurry.
When the train ends at Thusis
Some listings mention a second variation. On certain dates the train leaves St. Moritz on the Albula line toward Thusis, in the Swiss canton of Graubünden, rather than going over the Bernina pass to Tirano.
TaoTravel sells this as a separate option you pick at booking, a St. Moritz to Thusis ride. Autostradale's listing for its Lake Como and red train day from ~$211 also says the train may end at Thusis.
We do not know why operators choose this on a given date, or how often it happens. The listings do not say, so treat it as possible and check your own booking rather than guessing.
What the Albula line shows instead
The Albula line is the other half of the same UNESCO World Heritage listing, shared with the Bernina line since 2008. It is the older of the two and runs through a different kind of country.
Its best-known sight is the Landwasser viaduct, a tall curved stone bridge that runs straight into a tunnel in a cliff face. The line also loops through spiral tunnels and viaducts as it climbs to the high valley of the Engadin.
The thing you give up is the Bernina pass itself. A train from St. Moritz to Thusis does not pass Lago Bianco or the Morteratsch glacier, or the Brusio spiral near Tirano. If those sights are the reason you booked, this matters.
A lake morning before the train
Autostradale's day adds a 45-minute boat ride on Lake Como before St. Moritz and the red train. Its listing says some dates end at Thusis, so read the itinerary on your booking.
What changes for you on the day
Three things change when the route changes. Which viaducts and passes you see is the obvious one. The time on the train is another, since the listings give different ride times for the two lines.
The third is where the coach meets you. On a Tirano day the coach waits by the station in Italy. On a Thusis day it has to collect you in Switzerland, so the drive back to Milan follows a different road and may take longer.
- Tirano days cross the Bernina pass by Lago Bianco, then the Brusio spiral
- Thusis days ride the Albula line and the Landwasser viaduct instead
- Reversed days keep the Bernina views but move lunch and free time
- The coach pickup point and the drive home change with the train
How to check before you go
Start with the option you chose at booking. On TaoTravel's listing the Thusis ride is a separate option, so your voucher shows which one you bought. If you did not pick it, you booked the Tirano version.
Next, read the message the operator sends before the day. Operators often send a message with the meeting point, and a route change would normally appear there too. Reply and ask which station the train ends at if anything is unclear.
If the Bernina pass is the point of your trip, ask before you pay. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before applies on all five tours, which gives you room to switch if the answer does not suit you.
Which tours to pick if you want the Bernina pass
Frigerio Viaggi sells the panoramic Bernina Express from St. Moritz to Tirano, and its option with a guaranteed panoramic-car seat is built around that stretch. Our panoramic car or red train guide compares it with the open-window rides.
Milano Art Discovery's day includes a stop at Alp Grüm on the Bernina line, which only works on that line. Our price comparison sets all five tours side by side. Going by train without a tour is covered in on your own or with a tour.