How to take a thrilling high speed rail journey from London to Zurich
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London to Zürich / Zurich by train
There are two journey options for a taking a train from London to Zurich:
1: The usual most obvious route to take if you will be booking tickets is to travel via Paris on a combination of Eurostar and Lyria trains.
The other option involves making connections in Brussels and Frankfurt (Main).
This route avoid the needs to make a transfer between railway stations across Paris, but SMTJ doesn't ordinarily recommend it, because it involves making a connection at Midi/Zuid station in Brussels of only 20 mins.
Though if you will be travelling with a Eurail or InterRail pass it is worth taking the chance.
It will save money because rail pass users don't have to make reservations on the combination of required ICE trains between Brussels and Zurich
In contrast the rail pass reservation fees on the Lyria services from Paris are some of the most expensive charged to pass users.
Routes you can take to go from London to Zürich / Zurich
When travelling between most cities by train there is only one logical
option, though on other journeys there is a choice between different
trains or alternative routes. If different options are available you can
use the info to decide which is best for you.
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Trainline ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option for: Comparing different train services; Booking international journeys with connections; Travelling between the UK to destinations beyond Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris - and for international travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on SNCF Connect ticket sales. SNCF Connect doesn't charge booking fees and is the online booking service of the national rail operator in France. It also sells tickets for direct high speed trains between France and Belgium, Germany, Barcelona, London, Switzerland and The Netherlands.
SNCF is the national rail operator in France and not so long ago it recently simplified both the range of tickets and the term and conditions of using them.
Therefore the cheapest tickets also become more flexible too.
Other improvements included a simple integration of travelling with bicycles and rail pass users being able to book reservations for national journeys, without paying booking fees.
And it also recently launched SNCF Connect as replacement for its Oui.SNCF booking service.
You can set up a low price alert to let you know when the cheapest price is available for a future journey.
Something else to look out for is that simplest way of travelling with tickets is to use the SNCF Connect App, as booked tickets can therefore be stored on your mobile device, which can then be shown to the train conductors as proof of purchase.
SNCF also operates RailEurope, which is in effect a dedicated online booking service for making bookings from outside of Europe.
If you reside outside of Europe you may discover that SNCF Connect rejects phone numbers or card numbers, but RailEurope won't do so.
Though RailEurope will add booking fees when making a purchase
ShowMeTheJourney earns a small commission on Rail Europe ticket sales. It can be a particularly good option when booking international journeys with connections and for travellers who don't reside in western Europe.
Use the easy options on its home page if you will be booking tickets with a railcard: Or purchasing rail pass reservations.
Eurostar is currently suggesting that Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders should be at the Eurostar departure area in St Pancras International 90 mins before departure; and that Business Premier ticket holders should be there 45-60mins prior to departure.
The departure gates will close 30 mins prior to departure for Standard Class And Standard Premier ticket holders; and 15 mins prior to departure for Business Premier ticket holders.
Our guide to taking a Eurostar from London is here.
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind; hence what can seem like a discrepancy between the journey time and the interval between the departure and arrival times.
Departing from the Gare De Lyon
The Eurostar will arrive in Paris at the Gare Du Nord, but the train on to Basel will depart from the Gare De Lyon.
This guide explains how to make the transfer between the two stations by RER train.
What's good to know is that the journey from stepping off the Eurostar to being on the concourse at Gare De Lyon will typically take 25-30min - depending on how long you will have to wait for an RER train.
Though the end-to-end journey options with a total end-to-end travel time of 7hr 25min will allow around an hour to make the connection.
In contrast the end-to-end journeys of around 8hr 25mins allow around 2hr 30mins to make the transfer - time enough for a drink or something to eat in a brasserie near the Gare De Lyon.
This journey is made up of 1
change.
Train 1
Between London St Pancras International and
Paris Gare Du Nord / Paris Nord
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with SIX distinct phases and highlights:
1: For most of the first 8 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to exit London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
2: Then from the right of the train, there are views of the River Thames marshes and of the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge.
3: The third tunnel that the train will pass through is the tunnel under the River Thames.
4: Shortly after Ebbsfleet International station (can only be seen from the right of the train) is the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway.
5: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
6: There is little of note to be seen from the high speed lines in France.
The crossing of the River Medway - seen from the right of the train
The Queen Elizabeth II road bridge seen from the right of the train
From the high speed line between the tunnel and Lille
All trains also call at: Mulhouse-Ville and Basel SBB
Depart London at around 10:30 and the connection on to Zurich is due to arrive there around 15mins prior to the departure of the overnight train to Graz and Zagreb, so this connection is not guaranteed.
Though the night train which conveys coaches to Budapest, Praha/Prague and Wien/Vienna is usually due to depart Zurich at 21:40, so this should enable a straightforward onward connection.
Journey Description
This is a journey of four distinct parts.
1: Initially the train will travel on the high speed line south from Paris.
2. The train switches to conventional tracks north of Dijon - the most scenic part of the journey
3. Between Dijon and Mulhouse there is another high speed line.
4. The final part of the journey from Mulhouse to Zurich is on conventional tracks.
When looking up the journey on Trainline, use Zurich as the destination and not the arrival station, Zurich HB.
Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date
This booking period tends to be shorter when looking up journeys between mid August and mid October.
Seat reservations are automatically included when booking tickets for both trains.
Your ticket will not include the RER train across Paris from the Gare Du Nord to the Gare De Lyon.
Eurostar train's general ticket terms:
The only ticket type are the Flexible tickets, but it is the class of service you opt to travel by, which impacts on the terms and conditions of travel.
*Exchanges
Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure to the same destination up to one hour* before departure time.
If the cost of your new ticket is more than the cost of your original ticket, you will be required to pay the difference;
If the cost of your new ticket is less than the cost of your original ticket, you will not receive a refund of the difference.
Book to travel in Premier class:
The booked date and time can be exchanged to a different departure up until the end of the previous day, without having to pay any price differences on any other charges.
Book to travel in Standard and Standard Premier class:
Up to seven days or more before the date of departure you will need to pay a fee of £25 per person for a one-way / single ticket and £50 per person for a two-way / return ticket - So you will only receive any sum you paid in excess of these sums.
Less than seven days before the date of departure, tickets are non-refundable - Also applies if you exchanged a ticket to an alternative departure, under seven days ahead.
Book to travel in Premier class:
Up until the end of the day before departure date, tickets can be refunded at no additional cost
Seat Reservations on the Eurostar
Reservations are mandatory so seats are assigned when booking - But after a booking has been completed, you use the ‘Manage Your Booking’ facility, which can be easily found on the Eurostar website and select specific seats within the travel class you have chosen.
You will need to enter a Booking Reference number - but other booking agents such as Trainline, Rail Europe, SNCF Connect, B-Europe and NS International, will also include this number on the communication sent to you.
Making the connection in Paris:
There is relatively new E.U. legislation which protects travellers against financial loss in the event of missed connections due to train delays, but it only applies to 'through tickets'.
The Eurostar terms and conditions specifically state that when booking journeys which combine Eurostar + Thalys trains 'through tickets' will be issued.
'However, 'for all other journeys that combine a Eurostar Service and a service provided by another carrier (such as the Lyria train on from Paris) including when purchased in a single commercial transaction, those tickets will be separate contracts and issues regarding delays, missed connections, cancellations, compensation, and the management of aftersales will be handled accordingly'.
But SNCF /SBB, which operates the train on to Zurich have both signed up to Agreement on Journey Continuation (AJC) policy for when a traveller holds separate transport 'contracts' for an end-to-end journey involving more than one train.
So this agreement applies both when 'a bundle' of tickets / contracts is issued as the result of a single transaction - and if travellers have bought several different tickets for their journey, even from different sales channels/ticket providers.
As long as the passenger had planned enough connecting time to change trains (called “reasonable connecting time”), the AJC will apply.
So in usual* circumstances, if a delay to a Eurostar has caused a booked connection on to Zurich to be missed, replacement tickets/reservations should be issued at the Gare De Lyon.
*= But that new E.U legislation specifically states that in exceptional circumstances, the train operators do not need to issue replacement tickets - and the terms and conditions on the SNCF Connect website reiterate this.
These exceptional circumstances specifically stated in Regulation (EU) 2021/782 of the European Parliament include:
extraordinary circumstances not connected with the operation of the railway, such as extreme weather conditions, major natural disasters or major public health crises...
...the behaviour of a third party... such as persons on the track, cable theft, on-board emergencies, law enforcement activities or sabotage,
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