Hi Folks,
I'll be arriving in Basel from Paris late September on TGV Lyria, with a 6 minute window to catch a connecting train to Interlaken. In order to get a cheap advanced rate, that was my only option. What I've read seems to suggest that the Lyria train arrives at an "annex" to the main station in Basel, which makes me wonder whether I'll have enough time to make my connection. It's no big deal I guess as I can purcahse a ticket for a later departure, and not really have lost, given that my original, discounted, ticket is pretty cheap. Is anyone familiar with the Basel station, who could offer a comment on transferring from the Lyria train to a regional one heading to Interlaken? Can it be done in 6 minutes or should I just chill and get a ticket for a later train when I get to Basel?....
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19274 posts
It really depends on the track numbers, on how many platforms you have the change. The SNCF And SBB stations in Basel are really just one long station, one set of platforms, with French Rail on one end and Swiss Rail on the other end. The Swiss Rail website (www.sbb.ch) should show connections with platform numbers, and somewhere it will also give station plans (If I were on my desktop right now, I could easily find that information for you, but I'm using a pad, so it's very difficult). From what I can see on the SBB site, the trains from Paris arrive at the Basel SBB station, which means they go past the French end of the platform to the SBB end. I see one change from platform 8 SBB to platform 9 SBB. That might be a simple cross-platform change . The arrangement in Basel is a throwback to the days when there were border controls in Basel. The SNCF station was considered part of France and trains came into it from France on a fenced off corridor. Even for a through train, people got off in the French station and went through immigration on the platform to go to the Swiss side. The train moved up to the Swiss side, and people got back on. Up date: Back on my desktop. I don't see any 6 min connections, but I do see several at 5 min., one at 13:26, from track 9 to track 10. According to the station plan, that is a cross platform change.
Posted by
New Paltz, NY
9110 posts
You should be able to make it. If you don't, your ticket will still be valid for the next departure to Interlaken; you can't make reservations for domestic inter-city trains in Switzerland. There are typically two direct trains an hour.