Bernina Red Train from Milan

The Bernina red train, the “trenino rosso”, is the ordinary regional train on the St. Moritz–Tirano line, and it is the train most Milan day trips actually use. Seven tours on this site ride it from Milan, priced from $110 to $194 per person. The best-reviewed of them is the Milan to the Swiss Alps: Bernina red train and St. Moritz (our breakdown), with 4.8 from 5,110+ reviews, from $144 and the shortest day of the group at 11 hours. You see the same glaciers and passes as from the panoramic Bernina Express, often with the window open.

Why the red train can be the better choice

The red train runs the same track over the Bernina Pass as the panoramic train. You pass Ospizio Bernina at 2,253 m, the highest point on the Rhaetian Railway, then Lago Bianco, Alp Grüm and the Palü glacier, and finally the spiral viaduct at Brusio. What changes is the coach you sit in.

• The windows open. RhB describes the regional coaches as having classic windows that can be opened. The panoramic coaches have fixed glass, which can throw reflections into your photos.
• It costs less. The red-train days on this site start from $110, against $186 for the panoramic-coach option of the Frigerio tour from Milan.
• It runs often. Regional trains leave roughly every hour, so operators can fit the train around the coach and not the other way round.
• You can still reserve. Travelers going on their own can book a regional seat for CHF 5 per person, where the panoramic train charges a compulsory supplement.

What you give up is the glass roof, the onboard service and the cachet of the name. If those matter, the Bernina Express from Milan page covers the panoramic option. For a full head-to-head, read Bernina Express vs regional train.

The seven red-train days compared

Two red-train days share the top rating of 4.8, but on very different volumes: 5,110+ reviews for Milano Art Discovery and 1,659 for TaoTravel. TaoTravel is also the cheapest guided day on the site, from $110.

Seats: who gets one, and how

This is where the operators differ most. On a busy summer weekend the regional train can be full, and a large tour group does not always sit together.

• Vaxvi’s red train tour (our breakdown) books a reserved carriage, so everyone in the group has a seat. It is the one to pick if you are traveling with older relatives.
• City Wonders (our breakdown) states plainly that seats cannot be reserved in advance, and its ticket excludes first class.
• The two Autostradale tours, the St. Moritz day and the Lake Como cruise day, sell a pre-booked 2nd-class ticket, and their small print says you ride with opening windows, not in the panoramic coach.

If you go on your own, RhB sells regional seat reservations at CHF 5 per person and route, St. Moritz–Tirano only. They are optional, and you can still board without one if reserved seats run out. One date to know: RhB says individual reservations on these trains cannot be made in April 2027 because of technical changes. The seat reservation guide has the details.

Bernina or Albula: when the route changes

Several red-train tours from Milan swap the Bernina line for the Albula line on certain dates. The Autostradale day trip (our breakdown), the Lake Como cruise day, the Z V tour (our breakdown) and the TaoTravel day (our breakdown) all say the train may run St. Moritz–Thusis on some days.

That is a different landscape. The Albula line climbs through spiral tunnels and crosses the Landwasser Viaduct, which the Bernina line never reaches. The Bernina line has the high pass, the glaciers and the descent to Tirano. City Wonders turns the choice into an option you pick at booking: Bernina with free time in Tirano, or Albula with a stop at a Landwasser Viaduct viewpoint. If you want one line in particular, check the listing for your date before you pay. The Chur to Tirano page shows how both lines join at St. Moritz.

Lake Como on the same day

Three ways to fit the lake in. The Autostradale cruise day (our breakdown) puts you on a private boat for about 45 minutes near Bellagio, early in the morning, then crosses the Maloja to St. Moritz. TaoTravel drives past the lake for a five-minute look on the way north. City Wonders and Milano Art Discovery skip the lake. If the lake is half the point of your day, the Lake Como and Bernina page compares the full combinations.

Who the red train suits less

None of these listings suits wheelchair users. Milano Art Discovery excludes children under 6, pregnant travelers and people with mobility impairments, and TaoTravel flags altitude sickness, since the line tops 2,200 m. If you want first class, most tours sell only 2nd. A first-class red-train ticket starts from $127 one way if you go without a tour, and the first vs second class guide explains what the upgrade gets you.

For most first-time visitors, the red train is the easier, cheaper way to ride the Bernina line, and the open window is a real bonus. Check availability for the Milano Art Discovery red-train day on your date.