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Split ticketing - yea or nay?

Posted by (Maryland, USA) on

At the end of my Swiss vacation next month, I'll be taking the train from Bern to Zurich airport. Tickets for my travel date aren't available yet, but when I check prices for some similar dates, it looks like I can save some money by getting a supersaver ticket from Bern to Zurich HB, and then paying the standard fare from Zurich HB to the airport.

Is there any reason not to do this? In some countries I'd be very comfortable playing games like this, but I have no experience with the Swiss train system, so maybe there's some reason it's disallowed there?

If I do get a split ticket, can I stay on the same train at Zurich HB (assuming that it continues on to the airport - it looks like some do and some don't - and that I'm already in possession of my ticket to the airport), or would I need to disembark and board a later train?

Posted by
8889 posts

khbuzzard, Supersaver tickets are only available for some trains, you will have to check when they become available for your date. Normal tickets are valid on any train and have no advantage to buying early, they are the same price on the day.

This trick should work, though I have never heard of it being done before with a Supersaver ticket. I have a pass that is valid in the Basel Area only. If I go to Zürich (or anywhere else), I buy a ticket from the last station the train stops at within my pass area, saves me a few Franks.
You should be able to buy a ticket from Zürich HB to Zürich Flughafen at Bern station (from a ticket machine, or slower, from the manned counter). There is an option on the ticket machine for tickets starting from other places.

There is no need to get off the train at Zürich HB. But make sure the train actually stops there, if it doesn't (bypasses Zürich HB), your trick won't work.

Posted by
533 posts

Thanks, Chris - this is helpful. I hadn't thought of the analogy with combining a regional pass with a point-to-point ticket, but I guess it is a similar situation.

I understand the restrictions on supersaver tickets and the difference between them and normal tickets. I'm trying to use supersaver tickets to save as much money as I can - your country is expensive enough as it is. :) But I'm very much looking forward to visiting it.

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