Despite the distance, the only direct trains from Berlin to Bern are the daily daytime ICE trains.
If you want to travel overnight, the best option is to take the Nightjet train from Berlin to Basel SBB station; and then connect there for Bern.
Final Destination: Interlaken Ost.
These trains commence their journey at Berlin Ostbanhof and they usually depart from the upper level (tief) in Berlin Hbf.
If your journey is commencing in West Berlin, the quickest option is to take a Regio or S-Bahn train from Berlin Zoologischer Garten station to Berlin-Spandau station and join these trains there.
Mon-Friday: 3 x trains per day
Sat/Sun = 2 x trains per day
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
When making an online booking, check that you’re looking at the info for these direct trains.
On the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that:
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.
Reservations:
Book 1st class ticket journey tickets on DB and your seat reservation is included, but they're optional when booking 2nd class tickets, or if you will be travelling with a 1st or 2nd class rail pass.
Opting to reserve highly recommended if you want to be sure of being able to remain in the same seat(s) all the way from Berlin to Bern.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
DB Bahn | from €27.90 | |
Save A Train | from €27.90 | |
Omio | from €27.90 | |
Happy rail | from €27.90 |
From April 1st to December 9th the high speed line between Kassel and Fulda, which these trains use, is closed due to maintenance work.
However, so that Berlin and Basel can be linked by trains which won't travel in the area affected by the disruption, during this time the trains which normally head from Berlin to Stuttgart are being diverted so that they can serve Basel.
But during this time there won't be any direct trains from Berlin to Bern, because the trains which will be serving Basel, having taken an alternative route, will be travelling on to Zurich instead.
So connections in Basel SBB station will be required when travelling on to Bern.
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 ten distinct phases:
One of the highlights of the journey comes right at the beginning of the trip when the train travels on a viaduct across Berlin with great views over the city centre
Then between Berlin-Spandau until around 10 mins before arrival in Braunschweig the train will be on a high speed line across dull farmland.
Shortly after Hildeshiem until 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.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Frankfurt (Main) Hbf.
Between Frankfurt (Main) and Karlrsruhe the train will race through a string of towns.
Then from Karlsruhe to Offenburg a high speed line has been constructed right beside the conventional route, which will be on the left.
From Offenburg to the suburbs of Basel, the railway travels through a rolling landscape.
The train will reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB station
The most scenic part of the journey is between Basel and Olten, though its fairy average journey by Swiss standards.
10.Between Olten and Bern a straight railway has been constructed which allows trains to travel at 200 km/h
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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.
We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.
Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.
So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.
This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.