The Voralpen-Express (VAE, Pre-Alpine Express) is a named train connecting medium sized cities in central and eastern Switzerland in operation since 1991. It is jointly operated by Südostbahn (SOB) and the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB).
It runs every hour as an InterRegio (IR) express train from Lucerne to St. Gallen, continuing as regional train to Romanshorn. The journey takes 2 hours and 42 minutes.
Besides creating a tangential link on the southern edge of the greater Zurich area, it is popular for the pre-alpine scenery. The most important stations with connecting trains and regular boat lines on the lakes are:
- Lucerne: GoldenPass Line, Lake Lucerne (Vierwaldstättersee), Pilatus mountain
- Arth-Goldau: trains through the Gotthard Rail Tunnel to Ticino and Italy; cog-wheel train to Rigi mountain
- Biberbrugg: to Einsiedeln
- Pfäffikon: line to Chur (Grisons), Lake Zurich
- Rapperswil: "rose town", Lake Zurich crossing the Seedamm
- Wattwil: Churfirsten and Toggenburg
- Herisau: Appenzell (narrow gauge network of Appenzeller Bahnen)
- St. Gallen: UNESCO World Heritage abbey library, trains to Austria and Germany
- Romanshorn: Lake Constance (Bodensee), ferry to Friedrichshafen (Germany)
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—E.M. (Edward Morgan)