Best Winter Train Rides in Europe: Which Routes Run, Which Close, and When to Book
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Railtrail - 16th July 2026Key Summary:
- The Bernina Express runs all winter with no closures, but drops to one train a day each way (down from two), so book seat reservations early.
- The Glacier Express is closed for maintenance from 11 October to 4 December 2026. Check these dates before booking anything else.
- Scotland’s West Highland Line runs the same timetable in December as in June, with no reservation required.
- Other routes that hold up in winter: the Semmering Railway and Arlberg Line (Austria), the GoldenPass Express and Rigi Railway (Switzerland), the Rauma Line (Norway)
- Best Christmas market pairings: Vienna (Semmering), Innsbruck (Arlberg), Nuremberg, Salzburg, and Cologne for UK travellers via Eurostar
Most people assume winter Alpine trains work like summer Alpine trains, minus the tourists. They don’t. The Glacier Express vanishes entirely for six weeks every autumn, maintenance on the line, no trains at all, while the Bernina Express quietly keeps running through the same window with barely any fuss.
That gap between what people expect and what actually happens is where trips go wrong. Book the wrong dates, and you’re stuck rearranging a holiday around a train that simply isn’t there.
What Is the Best Winter Train Ride in Europe?
The Bernina Express. It runs all winter, the scenery between Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 metres and the Italian vineyards four hours below is hard to beat, and there’s no closed season to check for. The Glacier Express gets more press, but it shuts from 11 October to 4 December.
Anyone planning a Christmas trip needs to know that before they book. Both are worth doing; the Bernina is simply the one that works in winter without a six-week gap to plan around.
Photo by Mihaela Claudia Puscas on Unsplash
Is the Bernina Express Worth It in Winter?
Yes. The train climbs to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 metres, where the ground is frozen, and the lake beside the station turns white. Four hours later, you’re in Tirano, Italy, with palm trees on the platform. That’s the reason people rate it so highly in winter specifically, not just as a summer day out.
Yes, and the winter timetable is the main thing to plan around. Between Chur and Tirano, you get one train a day in each direction, down from two in summer. The winter timetable runs from 14 December 2025 to 1 May 2026, then from 26 October to 12 December 2026. A seat reservation is mandatory year-round, and over Christmas, popular departures fill up weeks ahead.
Scenic Winter Routes Across the Alps and Beyond
Five more Alpine routes are worth a place on a winter itinerary, and none of them gets the Bernina’s crowds.
The Semmering Railway, Austria
Austria’s oldest mountain railway, opened in 1854, crosses sixteen viaducts and fourteen tunnels on the climb between Vienna and Graz. It was the first mountain railway in the world built with a standard gauge locomotive, which is why UNESCO listed it. In winter, snow settles on the viaducts and the forests on either side go quiet. It runs year-round, with no seasonal gaps.
Photo by Arthur Hutterer on Unsplash
The Arlberg Line, Austria
The direct Railjet from Zurich to Innsbruck takes around three and a half hours via the Arlberg Line, opened in 1884, which climbs to 1,310 metres at its highest point. The train runs along the shores of the Zürichsee and Walensee out of Zurich, cuts through Liechtenstein without stopping, then crosses into Austria and threads the Klostertal valley before reaching Innsbruck.
The standout moment is the Trisanna Bridge in Tyrol: 87 metres above the river, 211 metres long. No seat reservation is required for standard tickets. Innsbruck’s old town Christmas market is about fifteen minutes’ walk from the station.
The GoldenPass Express, Switzerland
The GoldenPass Express began running in December 2022, connecting two lines with different track gauges via carriages whose wheels adjust mid-journey at Zweisimmen, a world first. The journey from Montreux on Lake Geneva to Interlaken takes three hours and fifteen minutes, with four departures a day in each direction. Near Spiez, Lake Thun opens up below the train before the descent into Interlaken, one of the cleaner views on the route.
Seat reservations are strongly recommended and compulsory in the Prestige class; book ahead if you are travelling in December. The train runs all year. Railtrail’s Swiss Christmas Snow Train Adventure includes this line.
The Rauma Line, Norway
The Rauma Line runs 114 kilometres from Dombås down through the Romsdalen valley to Åndalsnes on the fjord, dropping 655 metres along the way. The Kylling Bridge, a stone arch with 59 metres of clearance above the River Rauma, is the engineering highlight, but the bigger moment comes later when the train passes directly alongside Trollveggen, the tallest vertical rock face in Europe. Four services a day each way, year-round, no winter reduction. In December you’ll have the carriage largely to yourself.
The Schwarzwaldbahn, Germany
Built between 1863 and 1873, the Schwarzwaldbahn runs from Karlsruhe through the Black Forest to Konstanz on Lake Constance. The section to watch is between Hausach and St. Georgen, where the line climbs more than 560 metres through 39 tunnels, looping back on itself twice via spiral tunnels to manage the gradient. The Hornberg Viaduct is the one moment it breaks clear of the forest. In winter, the spruce slopes go white, and the Triberg waterfalls freeze at the edges. It runs unchanged through winter, and Strasbourg’s Christmas market is a short trip from Offenburg at the northern end.
Peter Nath, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
West Highland Line and Scotland’s Winter Railways
Scotland’s West Highland Line runs from Glasgow to Mallaig via Fort William, and it doesn’t have a winter timetable problem. The same service crosses Rannoch Moor and the Glenfinnan Viaduct in December as it does in July. In winter the moor goes a deep amber and the peaks above Loch Lomond take snow from October onwards. Glasgow and Edinburgh both have Christmas markets running through December, so there’s a natural reason to be in Scotland at this time of year anyway.
The Jacobite steam service between Fort William and Mallaig doesn’t run in winter, but the scheduled ScotRail service covers the same route and the same viaduct, just without the steam engine and the crowds that come with it. Railtrail’s UK & Ireland Festive and Winter Tours include escorted departures based in the Scottish Highlands, with the West Highland Line built into the itinerary.
Photo by Christie Lo on Unsplash
Which Christmas Markets Pair Best With a Winter Train?
Vienna, Innsbruck and Nuremberg all sit at the end of railway lines worth travelling for their own sake. Most big December destinations cannot say the same.
Vienna’s Christkindlmarkt at Rathausplatz runs from 13 November to 26 December 2026 and naturally connects to the Semmering Railway. Innsbruck’s old town market pairs with the Arlberg Line. Nuremberg is straightforward to reach by rail from most of Germany and has one of the oldest Christmas markets in Europe, running since 1628.
Cologne is a practical addition for travellers from the UK via Eurostar. The Rhine Lights & Christmas Delights tour spends four days in Cologne from 8 December, with visits to the markets in Cologne, Bonn and Aachen, from £995 per person.
Rail fares to Vienna, Innsbruck and Salzburg also tend to avoid the price spikes that hit short-haul flights in December. An escorted itinerary removes the risk of last-minute individual ticket costs on top. For a full breakdown of market destinations and tour options, see our guide to the best European Christmas market tours by train.
Booking a Winter Train Journey: Reservations, Timetables and Disruption
The two things that most often catch travellers out on winter scenic trains in Europe are mandatory seat reservations and reduced timetables.
On the Bernina Express, a reservation is compulsory year-round. There is only one train a day in winter, and popular departures over Christmas fill up weeks in advance. Miss it, and you wait until the following day.
The Glacier Express does not run between 11 October and 4 December 2026, so anyone planning a festive trip needs to check those dates before booking anything else around them. If you’re weighing it against the Bernina Express, our Glacier Express vs Bernina Express guide covers both in full.
Railtrail includes seat reservations where applicable, with rail fares built into UK tour itineraries from your chosen mainland station. Should you miss a train or connection, your ticket remains valid on the next service. In the event of a significant change to your departure, you can choose to accept revised arrangements or receive a full refund of all monies paid.
Why an Escorted Winter Rail Holiday Makes These Journeys Easier
Sorting out seat reservations on the Bernina Express, checking whether the Glacier Express is running on your dates, finding hotels near the right stations in December when everywhere fills up fast: it’s a lot of moving parts for what should be a straightforward holiday.
Railtrail’s European Christmas and Winter Rail Tours put these journeys inside a fully planned itinerary, with an experienced tour manager throughout, and accommodation, rail travel and excursions all arranged.
All European festive tours are ABTOT protected (member no. 5577). Railtrail has been running escorted rail holidays for over 40 years, is rated Excellent on Trustpilot (4.8 out of 5 from 286 reviews), and won Silver and Bronze at the British Travel Awards for Best Small Travel Company for Rail Holidays in 2024 and 2025. More than one million votes are cast across the awards each year. Request a brochure or get in touch to talk through the options.
Photo by Johannes Hofmann on Unsplash
Making the Most of a Winter Rail Trip in Europe
A few things worth knowing before you go.
Seat reservations on named panoramic services like the Bernina Express are mandatory and separate from your ticket. Book them as soon as you have fixed your dates, especially over Christmas. The Glacier Express reservation system opens for December departures from mid-October, around the same time the autumn closure ends.
Luggage is worth thinking about. Most scenic trains have limited storage, and the Bernina Express asks passengers to use the baggage delivery service for larger cases rather than bringing them on board.
For the West Highland Line, the scheduled ScotRail service needs no reservation, but the morning departure from Glasgow Queen Street fills up in December. An early booking makes a difference.
If you are pairing a train journey with a Christmas market, go on a weekday. Vienna’s Rathausplatz market draws crowds of over two million across the season. A Tuesday afternoon is a different experience from a Saturday evening.
Conclusion
Winter is genuinely a good time to do these routes, not a compromise on the summer version. The Alps with snow on them, a Christmas market at the end of the line, a train that takes its time through the passes: it’s a better trip than the same journey in August with everyone else on board.
The main thing is getting the dates right. Check the Glacier Express closure window before you build anything else around it. Book Bernina Express reservations early. Everything else follows from that.
If you’d like Railtrail to sort the itinerary, reservations and accommodation, browse the Europe Festive and Winter Tours collection. Or request a brochure, and the team will talk you through the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best winter train ride in Europe?
The Bernina Express is the strongest option. It runs all winter, the climb to Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 metres is dramatic in the snow, and four hours later you’re in Italy. The Glacier Express gets more attention but closes completely from 11 October to 4 December, which rules it out for a lot of winter trips.
Is the Bernina Express worth it in winter?
Yes. Winter drops the service to one train a day each way between Chur and Tirano, down from two in summer, so book the reservation early. The contrast between the snow at the top and the palm trees waiting in Tirano makes it one of the better train journeys in Europe at any time of year.
Do you need to book seats in advance for winter scenic trains in Europe?
On named panoramic services like the Bernina Express and Glacier Express, yes. Reservations are mandatory year-round and sell out weeks ahead of time over Christmas. The West Highland Line and the Semmering Railway do not require reservations, though early morning departures fill up in December.
Does the Glacier Express run all year?
No. It closes for annual maintenance on the Brig-Zermatt line from 11 October to 4 December 2026, confirmed on the official Glacier Express timetable. It resumes for the winter season shortly before Christmas. If you’re planning a festive trip, check those exact dates before booking anything else around them.
Which Christmas markets pair best with a winter train?
Vienna, Innsbruck and Nuremberg all sit at the end of railway lines worth travelling on to get there. Vienna’s Christkindlmarkt at Rathausplatz runs from 13 November to 26 December 2026. Cologne is a natural stop if you’re travelling from the UK via Eurostar.
Where can you go for Christmas in Europe without flying?
Vienna, Salzburg, Innsbruck and Cologne are all straightforward from the UK by rail. Travelling as part of an inclusive itinerary removes the risk of last-minute individual ticket costs, which hit hard in December when short-haul flights spike.
