Risks with missing connecting train segments

What kind of tickets are you talking about (full fare or discount) and from where purchased (online with a rail company or at the counter). I think that in the case of full fare tickets purchased at a ticket counter, they are open tickets, usable on any train (reservations, however, are train specific). Just catch the next train. Full fare tickets purchased online from the national rail company should be the same. If you are buying tickets from RailEurope or a similar reseller, ask them. As for discounted tickets, they are usually train specific. I can't speak for France or Switzerland, but for Germany, there is a clause in the AGB for those tickets that says that if it is the Bahn's fault that you miss an assigned train, they will put you on the next available train. I personally tested this (not on purpose) with a German Dauer-Spezial ticket in 2008. My regional train from Walkenried to Nordheim was late causing me to miss the IC specified on the ticket. They put me on the next train, which was an ICE. Of course, it better be the rail line's fault, not just that you overslept.

Hi Lee, Thanks for your reponse. I'm referring to buying the tickets directly on the country's national railway website (France - tgv-europe.com and/or Switzerland - sbb.ch). I would be looking at a discount ticket which would be on a specific train at a specific time. As I'm sure you're aware, most international trips require a mandatory seat reservation. It makes sense what you're saying about the German railway taking responsibility of getting you on the next train, if they caused you to miss the connection. Similarly, I would expect the French railway to do the same thing for trips solely within France and the Swiss railway to do the same for trips solely within Switzerland. The complexity, in my mind at least, comes when the trip entails crossing a border. So if the trip French railway has a delay that causes me to miss the connection in Basel (Switzerland) and I had pre-purchased a discount ticket from Basel to Interlaken, what happens? Does the French railway step up and ensure I'm able to get on the next Basel-Interlaken train at no additional charge (seems doubtful), does the swiss railway step up and let me get on the next train at no extra charge (seems very doubtful), or am I basically screwed and would be forced to purchase another ticket (seems most likely)? Now that I think through this a little more, it seems the smartest thing may be for me to pre-book the segment with the mandatory reservation (paris-basel), then just buy the basel-interlaken ticket at the station in basel. This way I don't have to worry about missing the train in basel. Only dowside would be perhaps not getting the best rate and the outside risk that the geneva-interlaken train may be full? Oh well, there may be a little risk either way I go?

Relax take a deep breath:) Even with a discounted ticket, there's no risk with your train arriving late in Basel. You can't make seat reservations on domestic inter-city trains in Switzerland, you will be issued a "general" ticket valid for any departure. So if you miss your original connection from Basel to Interlaken, your ticket will still be valid on the next departure 30 minutes later. Use TGV-Europe.com and book your entire journey from Paris to Interlaken.

Thanks Michael, that's good to know. I'm going to have three Swiss half-fare cards and another Swiss Family card (for my 14 to travel free within Switzerland). I don't see where I can account for this when booking through the TGV-Europe website? However, I can book it and account for these details on the Swiss website (sbb.ch). So, it would appear to me I'd either have to book the entire trip through the swiss website, or book the french part of the trip through the french website and the swiss part of the trip through the swiss website?

If you want to use your half-fare cards for the Basel-Interlaken segment, the easiest thing to do is just book your journey from Paris-Basel via TGV-Europe.com. For the next segment purchase those tickets at the station when you reach Basel. Unless you're in a hurry there's no advantage to purchasing those tickets via the web.

Thanks again Michael! That is exactly what I will do.

Good thing you aren't going to Italy! We came in and had to make a connection in Milan for Bologna, and stupidly (our fault) didn't ask which track to go to - our train was running late - we had like 2 min to make the connection, by the time we figured it out, and ran to the track the train was leaving (so my 1st tip - find out which track your train is leaving from if you have a tight connection)...so we went into the office as the ticket had 'reserved' seats...hour later, we get on the train, only to be told by someone that we were on the wrong train as the brilliant person in the office wrote the wrong number on the train tix. Well, so we get on the 'right' train, end up finding out (as I had a horrible suspicion) on the way out of the stn that we were going to Verona and not Bologna - miss the connection in Verona as the train was late coming in...4 hrs after we should have gotten there, we finally get to Bologna...tk goodness the trains are frequent over there!

Hi Nicole, Actually we are going to Italy (Venice) after our time in Switzerland. So, thanks for sharing your experience in Italy. John

I found a lot of the trains we travelled on in ITaly ran late (but thinking back, it being our first trip...we took the 'slow' regional trains instead of the faster ones - which I think are more apt to be on time as they don't make so many stops, but cost a lot more). Going fr Rome to Pisa, I think we were at least an hour late fr when we should have arrived...so my best advice - if you are going into a large train stn, and have a tight connection, ask one of the train workers which track you should go to....

If you are going to Venice after Switzerland, you can take the direct train from Zurich or Lucerne to Milan and catch the train to Venice from there. The train coming from Switzerland to Milan should not be late. Still, allow about 15 to 20 minutes at least to change trains at Milan. The tracks there are lined up parallel, numbered from left to right as you face the trains (standing at the head of the trains with your back to the station and your face toward teh back of the trains). Even if your ticket shows the tracks, look up on the board to confirm. It shows the train number, final destination (Venice), and track number. When you get off your train from Zurich, just walk to the head of the trains, see what track you are on, check the board, and walk to the track for the next train. The station is big but well-organized.