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Basel / Bâle to Berlin by train
How to take direct trains from north-west Switzerland to the capital of Germany
When taking a rail journey from Basel to Berlin, travellers can choose between making the journey by day on a sleek ICE train, or travelling through the night on a smart Nightjet service.
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Routes
Option 1: travelling by day
Journey Summary
7hr - 7hr 15min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
Arriving in Berlin:
Final destination of these trains: Berlin Ost
All trains also call at: Berlin-Spandau
Note that these trains also usually call at three different stations in Berlin; Berlin Spandau, Berlin Hbf and Berlin Ost.
So before booking tickets or boarding, work out which of these stations has the optimum access to your final destination in the city.
If your final destination is in West Berlin, the fastest option is usually to leave these trains at Berlin-Spandau and connect there into S-Bahn commuter trains or Regio trains.
The station in the heart of West Berlin is Zoologischer-Garten, but these ICE trains do not call there.
If your final destination is to the east of the city centre, then it's likely that your best option is to take this train to Berlin-Ostbahnhof station.
Check your onward connections in Berlin on this public transport map.
Departing from Basel:
These trains depart from Basel SBB station and then go on to also call at Basel Bad Bf station.
If the starting point for journey is in Basel city centre, the quicker and cheaper option is to opt for Basel Bad Bf as your departure station.
However, board these trains at Basel SBB station, if
(1) you will be making a connection into these trains from elsewhere in Switzerland.
(2) you will be making this journey with a rail pass and want to gamble on not making the optional reservations; you'll be more likely to find the available seats if you board at Basel SBB.
Until March 31st:
Mon-Fri: 7 x trains per day
Sat/Sun: 6 x trains per day
From Apr 1st to December 9th
6 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
Choosing your departure station:
These trains depart from Basel SBB station and then go on to also call at Basel Bad Bf station
If the starting point for journey is in Basel city centre, the cheaper option is to choose Basel Bad Bf. as your departure station.
Booking this journey:
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at booking info for the direct trains.
On the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that have:
- 0 in the Chg. column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Seat Reservations:
Reservations are highly recommended for this journey; book a 1st class ticket and your seat will be assigned, but not if you book 2nd class - or will be travelling with a rail pass.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB | from €29 | |
| Save A Train | from €29 | |
| Happy rail | from €29 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
It's not a beautiful journey, so you won't be missing out on a special experience, if you opt to take the overnight train instead.
What gives this daytime journey a wow factor is the comparative comfort of the ICE trains and their speed.
The newer ICE 4 trains are typically used on the services which commence their journeys further south within Switzerland; while the ICE 1 trains are typically used on the services which begin in Basel.
These trains will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) station - around three hours into the journey
From Apr 1st to December 9th
Due to construction work on the high speed line in Germany between Kassel and Gottingen, between these dates these trains will be diverted on to an alternative route.
The journey time will be 7hr 20min, but the trains will be calling in Erfurt and Leipzig - they will reverse direction on departure from Leipzig.
The train will travel on no less than three high speed lines during the course of its journey and during these sections of the trip the speeds should reach more than 250 km, but most of the journey is on conventional railway lines.
It is a journey of seven distinct phases:
- From the suburbs of Basel to Offenburg, the railway travels through a rolling landscape.
- Then from Offenburg to Karlsruhe a high speed line has been constructed beside the conventional route.
- Between Karlsruhe and Frankfurt (Main) the train will race through a string of towns.
- The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
- After Fulda, the train will make use of Germany's first high speed line; this is the part of the journey with a wow factor as the trains will travel across dozens of viaducts and bridges, which occur as flashes between numerous tunnels.
- Then 10 mins after departure from Braunschweig until Berlin-Spandau, the train will be on a high speed line across dull farmland.
- One of the highlights of the journey comes at the very end of the trip when the train travels on a viaduct across Berlin with great views over the city centre, particularly from the right.
Option 2: travelling overnight
Journey Summary
10hr 32min
Nightly
Travel Information
Departing From Basel:
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Basel Bad Bf station at 21:22, but before calling here, it also usually departs from Basel SBB station at 21:13.
If the starting point for journey is in Basel city centre, the quicker and cheaper option is to opt for Basel Bad Bf as your departure station.
However, board these trains at Basel SBB station, if you will be making a connection into this train from elsewhere in Switzerland.
This train is in effect two trains combined into one departure:
- A Nightjet (NJ) train which conveys the sleeping cabins and couchettes
- An EC train, which uses the same types of coaches as those used on daytime services.
When booking tickets if you want to sit in a seat(s) choose the EC options.
Arriving in Berlin:
Final Destination: Berlin Hbf
This trains also calls at: Berlin-Sudkreuz
The daytime ICE trains don't call at this station as they take a different route.
1 x train per night
Tickets
Choosing A Departure Station:
Prior to departing from Basel Bad Bf. station, this train will also call at Basel SBB station.
Though if you will be usually cheaper to book from Basel Bad Bf.
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Basel Bf station at 21:22, so target that departure time when looking up this journey.
Booking Tickets:
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB*
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
Our guide to booking night train tickets on the OBB (Austrian national railways) website is available HERE.
Our guide to booking night train tickets on the DB (German national railways) website is available HERE.
*This train doesn't travel through Austria, but OBB manages the Nightjet trains used on this route.
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
Click the train info button above for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Travelling With A Rail Pass:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website, but you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains).
Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
If you will be travelling with a rail pass, the reservation fees will be the same whether you join the train at Basel Bad Bf station, or at Basel SBB station.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * | |
| DB Bahn | * | |
| SBB | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
On departure from Basel, these coaches heading to Berlin, will be joined to another part of the train which will be heading to Praha
Don't be overly concerned about this as your reservations will be in the part of the train which will be heading to Berlin.
However, if you happen to see a train departing for Praha on the departure screens, then the info will also apply to this train heading to Berlin.
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