Train from ZRH to Basel

I would not worry about the time. You might get lucky with a short passport control line or you might have to wait a bit. I’ve had both experiences in Zurich. You can purchase your ticket once you have landed at the airport. There are no seat reservations, so no need to purchase in advance.

My sister has used the wheelchair service at Zurich and that will take you and your mom from the plane to the train station if needed.

Thank you so much, Carrie. This is super helpful. Mom is quite worried and I want to make sure she isn't stressed - and is comfortable!

Now that I’m thinking back, I think the wheelchair service ended after we collected our luggage from baggage claim. So, you might have to walk a short distance to the train station. The airport is well signed, so no worries on finding the train station.

If you download the SBB app ahead of time from home and become familiar with it, that will make things easier as you can purchase the train tickets on your phone.

There used to be a fairly regular train journey from the airport to Basel that did not require changing trains, but I am not seeing that now. So, you will most likely have one station change on the way to Basel. Don’t worry, you don’t have to rush. If you miss the connection, you can just take the next one. Your ticket from the airport to Basel will be good on any train.

You probably want Basel SBB train station, as that is the main station in Basel.

My sister has anxiety, so I understand the need to make things as stress free as possible when traveling. I have found Switzerland to be fairly easy when it comes to transportation. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. People are friendly and willing to help.

Good Luck!!

There are direct trains to Basel from ZRH at xx:56. These use rolling stock with low floor entry, so you do not even need to climb any steps to get on board. If your mother is in a wheelchair you just wheel her on board...

Normal tickets are good for any train on a route for a whole day, so you can buy your ticket in advance (to avoid having to deal with ticket machines etc...). Just make sure you buy a normal point - to - point ticket, not a supersaver ticket.

There are direct trains to Basel from ZRH at xx:56.

Oh good, that's what i thought. Those are not showing up on the SBB website for some reason.

I would suggest waiting for one of those then so you do not have to change trains. Not that changing trains is hard, but after a long flight with luggage, it's just easier to not have that extra step.

The bad news, there are no direct trains from the airport to Basel.
The good news is that there are 3 trains every hour that will get you to Basel after a train change at Zurich HB (main station).
The trains from the airport all arrive at the underground platforms at Zurich HB. You take an escalator up one level to a corridor, where you walk to the escalator marked for your next platform and take that escalator up and your train to Basel will be right there. The train to Basel is less than 1 hour.

PS all, I am not seeing any direct trains to Basel from the airport on the SBB website. Perhaps you could enlighten me.

PPS, Got it, forgetting that SBB always shows only the fastest routes, advanced search function with direct connections only shows the direct trains taking 1 hour and 28 minutes.

The SBB planner does show trains from Zurich Airport to Basel. That is how I checked that they do leave at 56 past the hour. They are shown.

I don't know what y'all are doing...

What date are you checking?

I took the app off my phone, so I was checking on the website here:

https://www.sbb.ch/en

If I put in Zürich Flughafen to Basel SBB, I am not seeing that train at 56 past the hour. For tomorrow, departing at 9:00 am, I see trains leaving at 9:15, 9:38, 9:48, 10:15, 10:38, 10:48 , 11:15 , 11:38 and so on. They all have one train change.

Weird!

Checking on the website for tomorrow I can see the xx.56 direct at 0556, 0656 and from 1556 onwards to 2056, then 2208 and 0042 but not for the main part of the day.

Same result on 10 October.

And the Bahn gives exactly the same results

Either Americans aren't allowed on that train or my website is defective. :-)

cmolzahn, i hope we haven't confused you. It sounds like the direct train with no changes will be available to you so that is great news. That will make things easier for you and your mom.

Hmmm. It appears that on some days that train indeed does not run most of the morning. That is unexpected, and very un Swiss...