Train Travel via DBahn site

Rick's suggestion is right on as a start... In Switzerland 6 minutes is plenty... Clocks and all that... Other European countries not so much... But I strongly suggest you go to the SBB.ch Swiss Rail site to book your tickets. They will have the best information. Currently they would book you through Interlaken and Basal and they list the standard journey as 3 hours 23 minutes to 3 hours 45 minutes.
https://www.sbb.ch/en?stops=[{%22value%22:%228507384%22,%22type%22:%22ID%22,%22label%22:%22Lauterbrunnen%22},{%22value%22:%228014350%22,%22type%22:%22ID%22,%22label%22:%22Freiburg(Breisgau)+Hbf%22}]&date=%222025-07-07%22&time=%2209:41%22&moment=%22DEPARTURE%22&selected_trip=0

If you are looking at the connection leaving Lauterbrunnen at 11:31, your transfer in Basel is from track 11 to 10, which will be, I think, a one platform change, no problem if your incoming train is on time.

The change in Interlaken, however, is only 6 minutes from track 2 ('a' is a short train taking only part of the platform) to track 5. That's a one platform change, probably doable if you're at the door, ready to get off the train when it stops and you follow the herd to the stairs. However, if you want a bit more time, take the 11:01 train from Lauterbrunnen and have 36 minutes to make the change in Interlaken.

I totally understand that if one doesn't make the first listed connection, a route change and a train change will be required...

I would not assume that a route change is the result of a stop in Spiez in the later train. There is no date/time in your post. So I viewed a random travel date at the DB site on your behalf.

IC 984 - the train you say you would take to get a longer layover in Interlaken - stops in Spiez, Bern and Olten on its way from Interlaken to Basel. Schedule from Interlaken Ost: 18:59 - 21:01. (There is a 12-min. layover in Basel - then an IC train connection to Freiburg.)

The prior train from Interlaken to Basel, IC632, also stops in Spiez, Bern and Olten. 18:29 - 20:32. I assume that's the train you are worried about catching in Interlaken.

You can check the stops for each train by clicking on "journey information" wiithin the two itineraries for the date/time you have in mind.

I suspect that it's probably the same routing. Even if there are more stops for one train than the other, this doesn't mean the routing is different - only perhaps that one train makes more stops than the other on the same route.

Thanks for the great information. I'll certainly look at the SBB site.

You need to be careful with specific tickets. IC tickets are not automatically going to cover your trip if you transfer to an RE train because you couldn't get from one platform to another in time. If the trains are on time there's no excuse.

That being said...DB is really having trouble being on time (by which they mean not more than 3 minutes off). Today my train from Mannheim was over 30 minutes late, which pushed the two trains behind it back. By the time the first one arrived the platform had over 300 people all trying to get on, and that just made it worse for the those (late) passengers trying to exit. This is not the first time this month I've been delayed.

In Switzerland a train is a train, so a ticket from Lauterbrunnen to Freiburg is going to be valid on all trains from Lauterbrunnen to Basel via any logical route. So it is not the case that eg. you cannot take an RE when you selected an IC during purchase. There is no such thing as an IC ticket in fact in Switzerland. (In Germany it is different, there you have price levels, and you can take a train of a lower level, but not of a higher one).

Those transfers you see are not "short". They are efficient. Isn't it great how the railways try to avoid wasting your time? The railways know that people prefer to be on a train, and do not like waiting, so the Swiss train schedule is optimised such that transfers are short. This is all done on purpose, and a sign of a well run railway. (Other railways are not that efficient, and some even are so horrible that they make you wait more than an hour. Looking at you here, RENFE...)

So do not worry. Just buy your ticket, and travel. Tickets are for a route, not a train. And even if you buy a restricted ticket, the only real restriction is that you must leave on the train you selected. From that moment you just take all the trains in their logical sequence, and you are fine.

If you miss a connection due to a delay you just take the next train. In Switzerland and Germany you do not need to do anything but find that next train, and get on...

So select a train that leaves at a convenient (to you) time, book that, and relax. Do not worry about the short connection. Every day thousands make those connections. The number of people that miss their connection in Interlaken is small.

I wouldn't worry about train travel in Switzerland. Trains are on time and reliable.

However, I would always plan to travel on DB or German trains a day before you have anything planned. All of my ICE trains were delayed by at least 30 minutes or even cancelled and that was a few years ago. Rule of thumb for Germany-never choose train travel on a day where you have a commitment.

Travelling on a day you have a commitment is not a problem on DB. They run enough trains, so that if a connection is missed or a train cancelled you have alternatives. I would however on long trips indeed take in to account that you may arrive half an later than planned. However, you can bet that as soon as you start to plan for delays everything will be on time :-)

I regularly travel through Germany. During my last 4 trips I arrived on time 3 times.

Christopher; ahhh, the romance of the rails. Naaa, it just isnt there for me. Its a holiday for goodness sakes who wants the stress of this. There is no stress the local will tell you. But the local doesnt have non-refundable reservations at the next stop and 10 days to make dreams come true in Europe that cost $14.000,00 ... and I dont speak German. Even our two German rail experts are rarely in complete agreement on these subjects.

My expertise is making my own personal holidays those that I enjoy (not train travel) and to acheive that I would look for the trians with the longest possible transfers or find a way to eliminate the transfer. Something similar to:

1. Take a car the 15km to Interlaken and then get on the direct train (ask the hotel).
2. Buy two seperate tickets, one to Interlaken (R62-134) which arrives at least 30 minutes prior to the direct train departure (EC6).

@Mr E: You all make it sound far more dramatic than it really is.

This local has travelled all over Europe by train for over 40 years. And yes, I to have sometimes non refundable hotel reservations. And I have had my share of cancelled trains, delays, missed connections and strikes. But I never have had it happen to me that I did not arrive on the day I planned to arrive. I just advise everyone to leave early, so you have room for adjustments if needed.

And if you were to get stranded somewhere then the railways will have to put you up in a hotel. Has never happened to me, but I know people who it has happened too. That was however in France, where train service is horribly broken. In Germany that is not likely to happen.

Take a car the 15km to Interlaken and then get on the direct train
(ask the hotel).

That is not very good advise, as that replaces a train - train transfer with a car - train transfer, which is more likely to go wrong. Really. This is Switzerland. My travel insurance does not even permit me to use car transfers while in Switzerland is that is considered risk seeking behaviour, and insurances do not like that.

Buy two seperate tickets, one to Interlaken (R62-134) which arrives at least 30 minutes prior to the direct train departure (EC6).

That is actually nonsense. you cannot buy a ticket for R62-134. You can buy a ticket Lauterbrunnen - Interlaken, valid for all trains for a whole day.

If you select the 11:31 departure you will indeed be offered the EC6 between Interlaken and Freiburg. And if you select a discounted ticket you will get a ticket that requires you to take the EC6, but you can still take an earlier train from Lauterbrunnen if you like wasting time at stations. You do not need to split the ticket for that.

Anyway, I change trains in Interlaken a lot. I do this both with and without luggage. Recently I came back from a sailing trip with over 30kg of luggage. I just calmly walk from the train I arrived on the my next train, rolling my big heavy cargo hauler down the ramp and then up again. And I still had 2 minutes left. When the transfer is 6 minutes you are permitted to use every second of that. And the conductors keep an eye on things, and will hold the train for up to three minutes to make sure that everyone made the transfer.

WengenK, my dear friend, I didnt give any adivice. I said its what I would do. Part of the problem of locals giving advice is they are too close to the situation to put themselves in the shoes of a tourist. Maybe that applies here or maybe I am just too ... not sure of the word .... and prefer my idea over yours. When people visited my tourist town in Texas I had the same problem not understanding their reluctance to do some simple things. But for my temperment and for my style of travel, and my peace of mind, still what I would do. You need to find better travel insuarnce and the OP might want to ask a question on the Swiss forum about just how dangerous that 20 minute drive is. I bet the answers would be amusing.

Its not that the drive from Lauterbrunnen to Interlaken is dangerous, it is just that using a car service the risk of you missing the train you intend to take is higher than when just taking the train from Lauterbrunnen.

Just like when driving to Zurich Airport the risk of missing your flight is higher then when taking the train. Its all about probabilities.

The last year that I have statistics of there were 17 cases of a missed connection in Interlaken. In a whole year. You have no idea how reliable the Swiss Railways are. When my company has a meeting in Zurich everyone comes by train. Not coming by train would be negligent.

And I am able to put myself in the place of tourist... Believe me. And yes, I am a local, which is why I know that you do not need to splt the ticket as you suggested in order to just take an earlier train from Lauterbrunnen. You can do that. But you will be bored, half an hour in Interlaken Ost...