Zürich / Zurich to Berlin by train

How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Berlin

Until March 30th the only option for a direct journey by train from Zurich to Berlin is to travel through the night on the Nightjet service.
However, from April 1st to December 9th the ICE trains which usually head to Hamburg from Zurich, are being temporarily replaced with trains going to the German capital, due to maintenance work on the German rail network.

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Routes

Option 1: travelling overnight

Travel Information

Final Destination: Berlin Ostbahnhof

This train also calls at: Berlin Sudkreuz

The only direct train from Zurich to Berlin is this overnight train, it is usually scheduled to depart from Zurich HB station at 19:59 and arrive in Berlin Hbf at 07:20

Making the daytime journey until March 31st:

Look up this journey on DB and hone in on the journeys which involve only one change of train.

Do so and you will have a choice of two routes:

(1) Depart Zurich in even hours and the routing will involve taking an ICE train to Hannover (the train will be heading to Hamburg) and making a 14 min connection into another ICE train on to Berlin.

(2) Depart Zurich in the odd hours and the journey will involve takin a train from Zurich to Basel and making a 20 min connection there into an ICE train on to Berlin.
Our preference would be this second option,
The overall journey time will be slightly longer, but you'll be more likely to make the connection in Basel rather than Hannover, because it's more likely that the train from Zurich to Hannover will be delayed during its journey.

1 x train per night

Tickets

This is the only direct train from Zurich to Berlin and it is usually scheduled to depart from Zurich HB station at 19:59 - so target that departure time when looking up this journey.

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

*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 sleeping cabins (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins

Click the train details for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:

Using rail passes:

Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.

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.

Avoid booking the reservation at a Swiss station, not only will you have to pay a booking fee, but your first choice of accommodation may have sold out, if you book last minute.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
Nightjet *

Nightjet Guide

Booking places in the sleeping cabins

When entering 2 travellers as 1 male and 1 female, you will automatically be given the option to book a 3-bed cabin for the sole use of the two of you - the 'double' cabin option.
So you will be in the cabin together with no other travellers.

3 men + 2 women or 3 women + 2 men = three beds in a triple cabin + two beds in a double cabin is what you will be offered, though the cabins will then be male and female only.
So if the combination of travellers is 1 male/female couple + 1 male/female couple and a child, you will need to make two separate bookings so that the two couples can each share a cabin.

When 4 Adults are travelling together you will be given the option of booking double or triple cabins.
If you select 'Double' you will automatically be assigned 4 beds in two double cabins.
Because the Triple cabins are segregated into male and female, when two women + two men are in the travel party, the two men will be sharing a triple compartment with another traveller, as will the two women
When 3 men + 1 woman or 3 women + 1 man are the travel party, the fourth person will then be sharing a three bed cabin with two other people.

OBB *

OBB Guide

OBB is the national rail operator and its booking service offers journeys by express trains within Austria, as well as international journeys which don't involve making a connection outside of Austria.

It pays off to book online, as the discounted 'Sparscheine' tickets are only ever made available on the website, and when making international journeys to and from Austria, these Sparscheine tickets tend to be cheaper.
OBB can offer particularly good value for money when travelling with children on international rail journeys, but something to watch out for when travelling between Austria and Germany on daytime trains, is that reservations are an optional extra; but if you book 1st class tickets with the Germany railways website DB, the reservations are complimentary.

OBB often takes a unique approach to its booking path, but a key thing to keep in mind is that the first price you will see for any journey is that of a Second Class seat.
The costs of upgrading to first class, a reservation, or a sleeping cabin etc, is then added to this price.

DB Bahn *

DB Bahn Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

A key feature of DB website worth keeping mind is that it offers 1st class ticket purchasers complimentary seat reservations on journeys both within and to/from Germany.

Seat reservations for daytime in both 1st and 2nd class can also be booked separately from tickets.

SBB *

SBB Guide

SBB is the main national rail operator in Switzerland, but tickets for journeys by the other significant operators including BLS and SOB can be be booked on the SBB website.

SBB also sells tickets for journeys to many destinations which involve a combination of SBB trains and services provided by the many independent operators who serve the Alpine resort towns.
However, if you will be making a long-distance return day trip, look out for he possibility of SaverDay passes being cheaper than tickets.

Though if you download the SBB app, booking tickets on SBB's mobile services can be simper than using the website.
Also watch out for the fact that booking international tickets can be comparatively quirky.

On this journey

Journey Features

Night

Good to Know

On departure from Zurich this train heading to Berlin will be joined to another train heading to Prag/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 Prag/Praha at 19:59 on the departure screens, the info will also apply to this train heading to Berlin.

This train is in effect two trains combined into one departure:

  1. A Nightjet train which conveys the sleeping cabins and couchettes
  2. 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.

Option 2: direct train by day from Apr 1st

Travel Information

Final Destination: Berlin Ostbahnhof

These trains also call at: Berlin Sudkreuz

From April 1st to June 8th:
4 x trains per day

From June 9th to Dec 9th:
5 x trains per day
The 11:59 will be available from June 9th

Tickets

Book early and save: Yes

Online bookings usually open: 6 months ahead of the travel date

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.

Reservations are recommended for this journey; book a 1st class ticket on DB Bahn and your seat will be assigned, but not in 2nd class
They can also be booked separately at a later date on the DB website.

If you will be using a rail pass reservations are optional, but if you do choose to reserve (recommended) book the reservation online on DB Bahn and avoid the booking fees you would be charged at the station in Switzerland.

Where to book
Ticket Provider Approximate Cost
DB *

DB Guide

DB is the national railway operator in Germany, so its website can be used for booking journeys by German express trains; the ICE and IC trains and it doesn't charge booking fees.
It also sells tickets for journeys by direct trains on all international routes from Germany regardless of whether DB is operating the train service.

It also sells an extensive range of end-to-end journeys which involve making connections both within Germany and in neighboring countries, but journeys between Germany and Britain cannot be booked on DB.

On journeys within Germany and on most international journeys from and to Germany on trains operated by DB:

  • For journeys by the express trains, EC. IC and ICE trains an adult (on German railways an adult is a person aged 15 and over) can take up to four children aged 6 - 14 with them at no additional charge.
  • Tickets need to be booked for children aged 0 - 5, but there is no charge for them.
  • Those aged 65 and over can take journeys at a discounted rate.
  • Dogs, which are too large to be placed in pet carriers, require tickets which cost 50% of the adult rate.

When booking both types of the discounted 'Sparpreis' tickets seat reservations are an optional extra, so need to be added when booking if you want an assigned seat(s).

Trainline *

Trainline Guide

Save A Train *

Save A Train Guide

Happy rail *

Happy rail Guide

Happy Rail is a Netherlands rail ticket agency which sells tickets for both national and international journeys within a range of countries including Belgium France, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland.

HappyRail doesn't charge booking fees in the conventional sense, but if you're not Dutch you can expect to pay additional transaction fees, which will be added to the total cost.
That's because the most common form of online payment used in The Netherlands is 'iDEAL' and HappyRail doesn't charge a transaction fee for 'iDEAL' payments, but only Dutch residents can sign up to 'iDEAL'.
Other forms of payment include Visa debit cards will incur a fee.

On this journey

Journey Features

High Speed (partial journey)

Good to Know

The train will reverse direction on departure from three stations; Basel SBB, Frankfurt (Main) hbf and Leipzig Hbf

This is a fascinating journey of seven distinct phases across Germany

  1. The second half of the initial part of the journey from Zurich to Basel is one of the most scenic parts of the trip.
  2. After reversing direction at Basel the train will head to Offenburg, though south of Freiburg it travels through one of Germany's longest rail tunnels.
  3. The railway between Offenburg and Karlsruhe has been re-engineered so it is classified as a high speed line, the train will be travelling at more than 250 k/mh.
  4. From Karlsruhe until Frankfurt (Main) the train will pass through a series of towns.
  5. After reversing direction at Frankfurt the train will spend 2hr 30min travelling towards Erfurt ; east of Hanau the train will travel through a sequence of valleys, which is one of the more scenic parts of the trip.
  6. For the initial 30 mins on the part of the journey between Erfurt and Leipzig the train will be back on a high speed railway
  7. Having reversed direction for the third time on departure from Leipzig the train will then head north to Berlin.
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