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Bern to Zurich by train
How to take the rail journey from the Swiss capital to Switzerland's largest city
When making the simple journey by train from Bern to Zurich you can choose between taking the express (IC) trains, or the regional (IR) trains.
The IC trains will get you there faster, but the IR trains can be money savers, particularly if you will be booking last minute at the station
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Routes
Option 1: taking the express trains
Journey Summary
56 min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destinations Romanshorn and St Gallen (or Zurich)
All departures before 21:30 also travel beyond Zurich HB, the main station in the city, to also call in the station at Zurich Flughafen/Airport.
Virtually all of these departures will be by double-deck trains, the newer Twindexx trains are usually used on the trains heading for St Gallen, while the IC 2000 trains are typically used on the trains heading to Romanshorn.
Because the travel to destinations beyond Zurich, these trains typically arrive at gleis (platforms/tracks) 33 or 34 in the lower level part of Zurich HB station, pictured above.
2 x trains per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes - If you book Supersaver tickets (more info is available on the the SBB ticket guide below)
You may need to search through the departures to find them using the ‘earlier’ and ‘later’ buttons; so try and be flexible with your departure and arrival times.
Though the Supersaver tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on these IC trains on this route; they are usually much more likely to be available on the alternative slower IR trains.
Online bookings open: up to two months ahead of the travel date
Seat reservations:
Seat reservations are optional on Swiss IC trains, so seats won't be assigned when booking online.
You can book reservations online for journeys by these IC trains, AFTER you have booked a ticket, by using the SBB (Swiss national railways) seat reservation service OR request a reservation when booking at a station ticket office.
Seat reservations aren’t available on the alternative service of IR trains.
Travelling with a rail pass:
Rail pass users can jump on any train, without having to make reservations.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SBB | * | |
| Trainline | * | |
| Omio | * | |
| Happy rail | * | |
| Rail Europe | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Good to Know
These trains are usually non-stop from Bern to Zurich.
Switzerland doesn't have any high speed lines on which trains travel at more than 250 km/h, but between Bern and Olten the train will race at 200 km/h for around 25mins on a fast railway.
Though as is typical of purpose built higher speed lines, this isn't a scenically interesting journey, the best views on the trip are immediately to the north of Bern station.
Option 2: taking the slower, but more scenic route
Journey Summary
1hr 28min
Daily
Travel Information
Final Destination Chur or Zurich
These trains typically arrive at the part of Zurich HB station which is on the same level as the main concourse, which will be just beyond the front of the train.
These trains also typically call at Zurich Alstetten station before they arrive at Zurich HB.
1 x train per hour
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Cheaper ‘Supersaver’ tickets (those with a % on a red circle) are available on virtually on all of these IR trains, if you are booking at least a couple of days ahead.
So these IR trains can be a cheaper option if the 'Supersaver' tickets have sold out for the faster IC trains.
Look for IR in the ‘travel with’ column.
Rail Pass users should target those faster IC trains.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| SBB | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
The first half of this route until Olten, takes the train through a landscape of rolling hills and valleys, so it's more scenic than the newer and straighter route taken by the express trains.
This video captured by a Swiss train driver from a train travelling in the opposite direction, shows the journey from the driver's cab, but it gives a good idea of the journey experience.
The more scenic part of the journey, when the route diverges from that faster line taken by the express trains, can be seen from 0:40.This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.
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