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Can we take a different TER train from Basel SBB?

Posted by (Seattle, WA) on

We will be traveling from Geneva to Colmar in early August, following a Tour du Mont Blanc hike with REI Adventures. They provide the transfer from Chamonix to Geneva Airport in the morning and said we could book onward travel “anytime after 11 am”. We will use our Swiss Passes to go to Basel and then pay for the train from there to Colmar.

Looking at schedules on SBB, I found an 11:05 train from the airport to Basel, with one change at Biel. This train connects with a French TER train to Colmar departing at 14:21, arriving in Colmar around 15:05 with no changes. So I bought the tickets from Trainline.eu for the 14:21 TER and have them printed out.

I considered the possibility that they were talking about a flight after 11 :00 am, and by train we could depart earlier, but I did not want to assume that. Now we have received our full details for arrival and departure, and it turns out we will depart Chamonix at 7:30 am and get to Geneva airport about an hour later, so we certainly can start our Colmar journey about two hours earlier.

My question is, can we use the tickets we have on an earlier TER train? The tickets are “Senior”, non-exchangeable, and say they are valid only on regional TER trains for the selected date of travel. Then it says “valid during Blue “off=peak”) hours.” Am I correct in thinking we can safely board an earlier TER train than the 14:21 I booked, as long as it is off-peak?

Thanks for your help.

Posted by
8889 posts

Looking at schedules on SBB, I found an 11:05 train from the airport to Basel, with one change at Biel.

I assume you mean from Geneva airport. There are trains from "Genève-Aéroport" to "Basel SBB" at 5 minutes past every hour, so you could get the 09:05, arriving at Basel SBB 11:53.
There are trains (TER) from Basel SBB to Colmar at 12:21, 13:21, 14:21 etc. Yes, your ticket should be valid on any of these trains. Seat reservations are not needed.

Note, at Basel, trains for Colmar depart from an annex to the station, platforms 30 to 35. It is signposted. Currently, due to building work, you will need to exit at the front of the station, turn left, walk along the street for about 200 metres then turn left into the temporary entrance for platforms 30 to 35.

Posted by
10622 posts

Yes, you can take an earlier TER, as long as you are traveling during what is called periode bleue. Generally it begins after 8 a.m. but can fluctuate depending on the day and which region— ie. trains in one region may begin periode bleue at 9 while another is 8. So just check when you get to the French station.

Posted by
17427 posts

Thanks!

Yes, we are starting at Geneva airport; that is what I used for the train journey. So now I will check for an earlier one. It would be nice to arrive in Comar two hours earlier.

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