Basel SBB / Bâle CFF (Basel / Bâle)

Despite it being a large space, Basel's main train station, is comparatively easy to use.
A lot of effort has clearly been made to make the transition between the entrance/exits and the trains as simple as possible.

Though what can be less obvious is that it's a train station of two parts:
(1) the main SBB (Swiss) station
(2) the SNCF station – which is now primarily only used by TER trains to France, including the trains to Strasbourg.

The train services which depart from the main SBB (Swiss) part of the station include:
all trains to other cities in Switzerland; and

• the ICE and EC trains to Germany
• the EC trains to Italy
• the overnight trains
• the Lyria trains to Paris.

In this SBB station, platforms/tracks/gleis 1-4 are on the same (street) level as the main concourse.

Platforms/tracks/gleis 5-17 can be accessed via a huge bridge that is lined with shops and cafes.
This bridge has steps, escalators and lifts to/from the main concourse and to/from each gleis (platform/track).

As a result changing trains in the main SBB station is comparatively stress free, despite it not being a terminal station.

SBB also has an info desk on the bridge; so if you use the bridge to change trains and want to double check the details of your onwards departure etc, so you don’t have to descend to the main concourse when changing trains.

To the right of the main concourse, as you enter the station from the city side, (where the tram stops are) is a passage way that houses quality food stores and exceptional take-away counters.
(If you’ll be taking a long rail trip then buy some food from here, it will be superior to any that you’ll find on a train).

This passage way is also the link to the SNCF part of the station from where the TER and local trains on the route towards Mulhouse and Strasbourg depart from.

Note that the Lyria trains to Dijon and Paris don't depart from here, they depart from the main SBB station.

The SNCF platforms/gleis/tracks 30-35 are all at street level; and this part of the station has a separate character.
A temporary, but elegant space has been created by the removal of the no longer needed customs facilities, which will in future house a new main station restaurant.

When taking a train from this SNCF part of the station, you have to remember to STAMP your tickets, in the machines located at the entrance to the platforms/voies.

When the typical train timetable is available, the usual pattern of train service from Basel SBB is:

to other destinations in Switzerland:

• 1 or 2 x IC or Lyria or ICE trains per hour to Zurich HB - some of which continue on to Sargans - Landquart - Chur
• 1 x IR train per hour to Zurich HB - Zurich Airport
• 1 x IC train every other hour to Lucerne - Arth-Goldau - Bellinzona - Lugano
• 1 x IR train every other hour to Lucerne - Arth-Goldau - Goschenen - Airolo - Faido - Biasca - Bellinzona - Locarno
• 1 x IR train per hour to Lucerne
• up to 2 x IC trains or EC trains per hour to Olten - Bern - Thun - Spiez - Visp - Brig
• up to 2 x IC trains or ICE trains per hour to Olten - Bern - Thun - Spiez - Interlaken
• 1 x IC train per hour to Delémont - Moutiers - Biel/Bienne (connect for Geneva, Neuchatel and Lausanne)

to destinations in France:

• 6 x TGV Lyria trains per day to Mulhouse - (Dijon) - Paris
• up to 2 x TER trains per hour to Mulhouse - Colmar - Strasbourg

to destinations in Germany and The Netherlands and Czechia:

• 1 x ICE train every other hour to Freiburg (Breisgau) - Baden Baden - Karlsruhe - Frankfurt (Main) - Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg
• 1 x ICE train every other hour to Freiburg (Breisgau) - Karlsruhe - Frankfurt (Main) - Kassel - Berlin
• 1 x ICE train every other hour to Freiburg (Breisgau) - Karlsruhe - Frankfurt Airport - Cologne - Wuppertal - Dortmund - Bremen - Hamburg
• 2 x EC trains per day to Freiburg (Breisgau) - Baden Baden - Karlsruhe - Mainz - Bonn - Cologne - Dusseldorf - Dortmund - Bremen - Hamburg
• 1 x Nightjet train to Leipzig - Berlin
• 1 x Nightjet train to Hannover - Hamburg
• 1 x Nightjet train to Cologne - Dusseldorf - Arnhem - Utrecht - Amsterdam
• 1 x Euronight train to Dresden - Prague

to destinations in Italy:

• up to 4 x EC trains per day to Domodossola - Stresa - Milano Centrale
• up to 2 x EC trains per day to Chiasso - Como - Milano Centrale

See the journey guides for more detailed info.

ShowMeTheJourney has anticipated what questions are most often asked about taking trains to and from Basel SBB station and answered them below.

If you can't find the information you are seeking, you can ask a question and the AI enabled service will try to write an answer, telling you what you wish to know.

Yes - platforms / tracks 1 to 4 and 30 to 35 are all at street level, as they are directly accessible from the main concourse.
A wide footbridge links platforms / tracks 5 to 20 to the station's exit / entrances; and it has escalators and a lift / elevator which connect it to the main concourse - plus there are escalators and lifts which link it with each pair of platforms / tracks.

Basel SBB railway station is located on the southern edge of the city centre, the heart of the city is a 20 - 25 min walk away.
To access the city centre/old town from Basel SBB station take tram Lines 8, 10 or 11 to the Marktplatz stop; the trams will be heading in the opposite direction away from the station.

Basel SBB station is no closer to the heart of the city, the Marketplatz, than Basel Bad Bf. station.
So if you're heading to the city centre on a train that calls first at that station, there's no need to remain on the train until it arrives at Basel SBB.
There are frequent trams from Basel Bad Bf station to the city centre.

BVB is the bus and tram operator in Basel, tickets and day passes are available from the vending machines at the tram stops and they can also be purchased from the BVB shop in the rail station.

There are more than ten food/drink outlets at Basel SBB, with a full meal service available from The Central Grill Club and Lora and Montreux Jazz Cafe.

This facility is not available at Swiss stations.

There are luggage lockers located at a lower level beneath the main station concourse.
They can be accessed during the station opening hours, which are 00:00-23:59.
Payment is by bank / credit card or coins - Swiss francs only.

When planning a trip, finding convenient accommodation can be trickier than working out which train to take.
Hence ShowMeTheJourney has partnered with the innovative accommodation portal, Stay 22, to offer three options for discovering your optimum accommodation:

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Basel is a city blessed with two major stations, making it exceptionally easy city to travel and from by train.
In addition to Basel SBB, the city is also served by Basel Bad Bf station.
If you'll be heading between Basel city centre and destinations in Germany by train, then using Basel Bad Bf is a better option than taking trains to and from Basel SBB.

Basel is a great base for a railway holiday centered around seeing multiple destinations, without the need to move between hotels.
It offers the possibility to easily explore three countries by train - France, Germany and of course Switzerland.

From Basel there are trains at least hourly to a swathe of must-see destinations including Bern, Biel, Colmar, Freiburg, Luzern, Interlaken, Mulhouse (for the Cité Du Train), Strasbourg and Zurich.
ALL of the these locations are served by direct trains from Basel and the journeys will take less than two hours.

Basel is an ideal base for a Swiss Travel Pass itinerary, particularly in the summer when the daylight hours are longest.

If you want to take one, two, or three of these itineraries, a Saver Day Pass for each day of travels will be a money saver.

If you want to follow more than three of these routes you will save with a Swiss Travel Pass; and if you'll want to make the most of the other inclusions on the Swiss Travel passes, the lake cruises, funiculars, galleries and museums etc, the Swiss Travel Pass can also be good value for money if you follow just three of the suggested routes.

All the routes below can be accomplished in a day.
The schedules may seem daunting, but virtually all the connections are as simple as possible.

Journeys marked with an * are those on which Eurail, InterRail and Swiss Travel Pass users have to pay a discounted ticket price.
Journeys marked with an ** are those on which only Eurail and InterRail users have to pay a discounted ticket price.

FROM BASEL:

1: The Golden Pass route: Basel → Visp → Montreux → Zweisimmen → Spiez → Interlaken Ost → Luzern → Basel

2: The Glacier Express route #1: Basel → Visp → Andermatt → Disentis/Muster → Chur → Zurich → Basel

3: The Glacier Express route #2: Basel (depart 09:33) → Chur → St Moritz (depart 15:37) → Landquart (via Klosters) → Zurich → Basel

4: The Centovali Express and The Gotthard Express route: Basel (depart 10:28) → Domodossola → Locarno → Basel

5: The Mount Rigi route: Basel → Luzern →** boat to Vitznau →** Rigi-Kulm →** Arth-Goldau → Fluelen → boat to Luzern** → Basel

6: The Bernese Oberland Railway: Basel → Interlaken Ost →* Grindelwald →* Kleine Scheidegg →* Jungfaujoch →* Kleine Scheidegg →* Lauterbrunnen →* Interlaken Ost → Basel (users of Saver Day Passes don't qualify for the discount unless they also have the Half Fare Card)

7: The Voralpen Express and Schaffhausen Falls: Basel → Zurich → Schaffhausen → St Galllen → Luzern → Basel

8: The Mont Blanc Express route and The Lotschberger route: Basel → Biel → Lausanne → Martigny → Vallorcine → Chamonix-Mont Blanc → Vallorcine → Martigny → Brig → Thun or Bern via Kandersteg → Basel

Basel is served by the EuroAirport-Basel-Mulhouse-Fribourg, but there is no train service at the airport.
When heading to Basel leave the airport by the 'To Switzerland' exits from the Arrivals Hall.

From the street outside you can take bus line/route 50 direct to Basel SBB station, the journey should take 20-25 mins and buses depart around every 8 mins.
At Basel SBB the bus stop is right by the main entrance to the station.

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