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How to travel to Amsterdam from Zurich by traib
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Zurich to Amsterdam by train
The relatively new Nightjet service is now providing the only direct train from Zurich to The Netherlands.
There are also multiple options for making the daytime journey by day with only connection, but not as many as may be expected.
There are multiple ICE trains per day which provide a service between Zurich and Frankfurt + there are also multiple other trains which connect Frankfurt to Amsterdam.
However, the timings of these two services are typically inconvenient for a Zurich to Amsterdam journey - on the current timetable there is now a five hour gap in the middle of the day between departures on the Frankfurt to Amsterdam route, and most of the ICE trains from Zurich arrive in Frankfurt during this interval.
Routes you can take to go from Zürich / Zurich to Amsterdam
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.
Choose one of the following options:
Looking for connections?
Route Information
Option 1: travel overnight on a direct train
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
11hr 13min
Frequency
Nightly
Travel Info
1 x train per night
Purchase Tickets
OBB operates the Nightjet trains and it's bespoke booking path for these trains is particularly easy to follow, with detailed explanations of the accommodation options.
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.
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).
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.
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.
Travel Information
This is a direct journey
You will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
This train is in effect two trains combined into one departure:
- A Nightjet 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.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berthsm
- 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
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Click the train details below for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding these trains,
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.
By booking online you can avoid the booking fees which will be payable at the station in Switzerland.
Route Information
Via stations: Köln/Cologne Hbf
Option 2: making a connection in Köln / Cologne
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
9hr 30min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x optimum connection per day
Purchase Tickets
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.
Trainline Guide
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.
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
Other Ticket Providers
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).
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.
Travel Information
When the usual timetable is operating, it isn't possible to depart after breakfast in the morning and take a combination of two x ICE trains when taking a journey from Zurich to Amsterdam.
The ICE trains which typically depart from Zurich shortly before 08:00 and 10:00 don't connect in Frankfurt with trains on to Amsterdam.
So the train which does make the connection is the daily EC train, which typically departs from the main station in Switzerland's largest city shortly before 11:00am.
This train is usually scheduled to arrive in Köln Hbf around 40mins before the departure of the train on to Amsterdam, which should enable an easily timed, comfortable transfer.
Elevators are available on each gleis (platform / track) in Köln Hbf.
Hence despite the journey from Switzerland not being on an ICE train, this is typically the optimum combination of daytime trains from Zurich to Amsterdam, for these reasons:
- No need to rise before dawn
- A scheduled arrival into Amsterdam before 20:30
- An easy connection with more than 30 mins of contingency time in the event of a delay
- The EC train takes the stunning route the Rhine Gorge!
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Zürich HB / Zurich main station and Köln/Cologne HbfYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Hamburg
The train will reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB station, so sit on the left when boarding in Zurich if you want to experience the best of the scenery.
Journey description:
Despite being a journey that commences in Switzerland, the best views on this route comes towards journey's end; the video clips were filmed from trains travelling in the opposite direction
This is a fascinating journey of five distinct phases:
- The second half of the part of the journey from Zurich to Basel is one of the most scenic parts of the trip.
- 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.
- 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.
- From Karlsruhe until Mainz the train will pass through a series of towns.
- Then around 10 mins after departure from Mainz comes the stunning highlight of the journey, on the railway through the Rhine Valley.
Sit on the right of the train when facing the direction of travel because after Mainz comes the fabulous climax to the day's travels, the stunning views of The Rhine Gorge between Bingen and Koblenz.
(the videos were taken from a train travelling in the opposite direction).
After Bingen there are some fabulous views of The Rhine Gorge from the right of the train, when facing the direction of travel.
After Boppard the train will travel right by the river for the final part of the journey all the way to Koblenz; the views of the valley aren't quite as spectacular north of Boppard, but they're still fabulous!
This part of the journey is a delight, you can't miss the endless parade of boats travelling up and down the river and look out for the multitude of castles perched on top of the hills.
Then after Koblenz, north of Remagen there are yet more fine views of the Rhine Valley, even on a grey day!
(Though trains can be diverted to run along the east bank of the river north of Mainz, and if that does occur, the equally fabulous Rhine Valley views will be on the left).
Train 2
Between Köln/Cologne Hbf and Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CSYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/CS
The train also calls at: Arnhem connect for Nijmegen, and Utrecht connect for Den Haag and Rotterdam.
The trains on this route are particularly susceptible to alteration due to works on the lines.
Construction work is being undertaken on multiple dates to improve the main rail route between Germany and The Netherlands.
And when it is occurring these trains have to be diverted on an entirely different cross-border route.
Journey description:
There is no high speed line between Koln and Amsterdam, the rather sleek ICE 3 trains are used on this route because they will have travelled on Germany's fastest high speed line on their way TO Koln.
The trains won't in fact won't travel exceptionally fast on this route.
It's perhaps not a huge surprise to discover that this isn't a particularly scenic journey, the train will travel through a string of industrial cities and towns in Germany, before heading for the border.
Between Utrecht and the suburbs of Amsterdam, there will be a canal on the right hand side of the train, which will give the final part of the journey a Dutch aura.
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but this period of time is shorter when looking up journeys in August to October.
A choice of tickets
Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa.
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
- Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
- Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
- Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis Europa tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis Europa ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis Europa tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
Seat reservations
For ticket holders seat reservations are always optional on this route, but if you will be using a rail pass they are now mandatory on the train on to Amsterdam when travelling between mid-June and mid-August - check the Train guide for the exact dates.
Regardless of whether you will be using tickets or rail passes they cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later and your journey involves more than one train, you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
On this journey which involves two trains on which seat reservations are available, the fees cover all trains - if reservations are added when initially booking.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Though if you opt to add reservations later you will have pay the fees per train.
1st Class tickets
No matter what type of ticket booked, if you choose to travel 1st class, you will have access to the same seating areas on the train, ICE trains do not have Business or Executive lounges.
Though only those who have booked 1st class Flexpreis or Flexpreis Plus tickets can access the DB Lounges at the stations.
Booking on the DB website
To see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so if you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.
Making the connection :
IF the EC does arrive too late into Köln then tickets/reservations can be swapped free of charge to subsequent connections at the Reisezentrum travel desk.
Route Information
Via stations: Frankfurt (Main) Hbf
Option 3: taking two ICE trains and connecting in Frankfurt
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
9hr 30min (approx)
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x optimum connection per day
Purchase Tickets
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.
Trainline Guide
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.
Exclusive for New Customers: Receive a 10% discount by using the code 24NOV on any purchase with a maximum total price of £100, until 28 November 2024 (11:59 pm CET). Limit one coupon per qualifying booking. Cannot be combined, transferred or exchanged.
Omio Guide
Omio is an online ticket agency which offers tickets for rail journeys in France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy and Spain.
The three key advantages of using Omio are
- it offers prices in multiple currencies
- it usually offers price comparison with other modes of travel including flights and buses
- when visiting Europe, you can book journeys in multiple countries in one transaction.
The disadvantage of booking with Omio is that it often adds a booking fee to the final price; therefore when it does so without offering a price advantage, SMTJ doesn't tend to offer Omio as a booking option.
Other Ticket Providers
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).
Travel Information
On the current timetable the ICE train which departs Zurich for Frankfurt shortly before 06:00 has a transfer time of around 1hr 35mins into another ICE train on to Amsterdam - but this by far the optimum end-to-end journey for taking this route on a combination of two ICE trains.
The train which departs Zurich at around 08:00 is typically scheduled to arrive in Frankfurt around 25 mins after the departure of a train to Amsterdam.
The ICE train which leaves Zurich at around 10:00 gets to Frankfurt more 2hr 30mins prior to a train on to Amsterdam and the train which departs Zurich at around 16:00 arrives in Frankfurt too late for an onward connection.
The ICE that is typically scheduled to depart Zurich shortly before 14:00 has a 20 min transfer in Mannheim in to the daily ICE train which travels from Basel to Amsterdam (see option 4)
However, this connection in Mannheim cannot be guaranteed - it's not particularly for trains to arrive more than 20mins late into Mannheim
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Zürich HB / Zurich main station and Frankfurt (Main) HbfYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Hamburg
This train will depart from the street level platforms/tracks at Zurich HB - gleis 3 - 18.
These trains use the high speed line between Offenburg and Karlsruhe and they also reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB station.
Train 2
Between Frankfurt (Main) Hbf and Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CSYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/CS
The train also calls at: Arnhem connect for Nijmegen, and Utrecht connect for Den Haag and Rotterdam.
The trains on this route are particularly susceptible to alteration due to works on the lines.
Construction work is being undertaken on multiple dates to improve the main rail route between Germany and The Netherlands.
And when it is occurring these trains have to be diverted on an entirely different cross-border route.
Journey description:
There are few scenic highlights on this trip, though if you'll be reaching journey's end before dusk, on the right the railway line is beside a canal for the part of the journey between Utrecht and Amsterdam
What gives the journey the wow factor is when the train travels at more than 280 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed line between Frankfurt Flughafen and Seigburg/Bonn.
The video was taking on a train travelling in the opposite direction, but it gives a sense of what a thrill this train ride can be; this is a journey when it's especially obvious that you're travelling on a high speed train!
Though this high speed part of the journey only takes 40 mins, so for the majority of this trip, the train won't be travelling exceptionally fast.
The train which typically departs Frankfurt at 16:28 will reverse direction on departure from Koln
Please support ShowMeTheJourney
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 go here to say thank you.
Tickets
When looking up this journey target the departure shortly before 06:00am.
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings usually open: up to 6 months ahead of the travel date - but this period of time is shorter when looking up journeys in August to October.
A choice of tickets
Four types of tickets are available:
Two types of discounted tickets, which will be cheaper the further ahead you book - Sparpreis Europa and Super Sparpreis Europa
Two types of non-discounted ticket - Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa.
A key difference between these types of tickets is refunds:
- Super Sparpreis tickets are cheapest, but they can't be refunded at all.
- Sparpreis tickets can be refunded for a fee, but the refund will be in the form of travel vouchers to be used for alternative / future journeys.
- Flexpreis Europa and Flexpreis Plus Europa tickets can be refunded at no additional charge.
The other key difference is that both types of Sparpreis tickets are only valid on the specific departures selected when booking, but both types of Flexpreis tickets live up to their name, as they can be used on any departure on your travel date.
Note that none of the tickets can be exchanged to a different departure.
There's no need for this to be available for Flexpreis Europa tickets, as they aren't train departure specific.
If you book a Sparpreis Europa ticket and want to travel by a different departure you can refund it and then use the travel voucher towards the cost of the new booking.
Super Sparpreis Europa tickets can't be exchanged or refunded.
Seat reservations
For ticket holders seat reservations are always optional on this route, but if you will be using a rail pass they are now mandatory on the train on to Amsterdam when travelling between mid-June and mid-August - check the Train guide for the exact dates.
Regardless of whether you will be using tickets or rail passes they cost €4.90 when travelling in 2nd Class and €5.90 when travelling in 1st class.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Although if you do book your reservations later and your journey involves more than one train, you will then have to pay for separate reservations per train.
Specific seats can be selected from seating plans - you don't have to accept the seat(s) that you will be automatically offered.
They are included within the cost of booking 1st class Flexpreis tickets and both 1st and 2nd class Flexpreis Plus tickets.
On this journey which involves two trains on which seat reservations are available, the fees cover all trains - if reservations are added when initially booking.
When booking Super Sparpreis, Sparpreis and 2nd class Flexpreis tickets, you have the option of purchasing seat reservations later.
It can be worth re-looking up a journey a week or two ahead of travel, because the DB website will indicate how busy a departure will be.
Though if you opt to add reservations later you will have pay the fees per train.
1st Class tickets
No matter what type of ticket booked, if you choose to travel 1st class, you will have access to the same seating areas on the train, ICE trains do not have Business or Executive lounges.
Though only those who have booked 1st class Flexpreis or Flexpreis Plus tickets can access the DB Lounges at the stations.
Booking on the DB website
To see all the combinations of trains and journey options, some of which may be cheaper, take off the 'fastest connections' default.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so if you can be flexible with your departure time use the 'best prices' tool - at the top right on the list of journey options.
Route Information
Via stations: Basel SBB / Bâle CFF and Basel Bad Bf
Option 4: a good option for rail pass users
Station Guides
Travel Time (approx)
8hr 25min
Frequency
Daily
Travel Info
1 x optimum connection per day
Purchase Tickets
Travel Information
The ICE train which is typically scheduled to depart from Zurich shortly before 14:00 arrives in Basel (and Mannheim) only 20 minutes prior to the departure from Basel (and Mannheim) of the daily ICE train from Switzerland to Amsterdam.
Making this connection in Basel Bad bf station between the two ICE trains shouldn't be a problem -trains are very rarely delayed by more than 15 mins when travelling between Zurich and Basel.
Making the transfer in Basel Bad bf should also be as simple as waiting on the same gleis (platform / track) for the train on Amsterdam to arrive and depart.
Though to ensure that the transfer in Basel won't be against the clock, what's usually an option is to depart Zurich at around 14:35 on a TGV Lyria service heading to Paris - which will be scheduled to arrive into Basel SBB station around an easy 45mins prior to the departure of the train on to Amsterdam.
However, despite what should be an easy connection in Basel into the daily ICE train from there to Amsterdam, the ticket agents seemingly won't offer this combination of trains as an end-to-end journey.
Though when the usual timetable is in place, rail pass users can take advantage of this combination on the Lyria train + the ICE train
This journey is made up of 1 change.
Train 1
Between Zürich HB / Zurich main station and Basel SBB / Bâle CFFYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Paris Gare De Lyon.
Rail pass users don't need to reserve on the Lyria train when travelling between Zurich and Basel.
Train 2
Between Basel Bad Bf and Amsterdam Centraal / Amsterdam CSYou will be travelling on one of these trains...
Journey Features
Good to Know
Final Destination: Amsterdam Centraal/Amsterdam CS
This train also calls at: Arnhem and Utrecht
On departure from Basel the part of train heading to Amsterdam is usually joined to another train that will be heading to Dortmund.
If you only see 'Dortmund' on the departure screens, then it's likely that the info will ALSO apply to this Amsterdam train
The train journey from Basel to Amsterdam:
This journey has three distinct phases:
(1) From Basel to Frankfurt Flughafen, this is a fairy typical German express train journey, though the train will be on a higher speed line from Offenburg to Karlsruhe.
(2) Between Frankfurt and Siegburg/Bonn, to the south of Koln, the train will be travelling at around 280 km/h on Germany's fastest high speed lines; so this part of the journey has a wow factor.
(3) Between Koln and Amsterdam it is the many towns that the train passes through which add interest, as the train will unsurprisingly travelling across a flat landscape.
Tickets
The ticket agents don't tend to offer this combination of trains,
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.
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
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- Köln / Cologne / Koeln
- München / Munich
- Great Britain by train
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- London
- Manchester
- Hungary by train
- Budapest
- Italy by train
- Bologna
- Firenze / Florence
- Milano / Milan / Mailand
- Roma / Rome
- Torino / Turin
- Venezia / Venice / Venedig
- Verona
- Netherlands by train
- Amsterdam
- Norway by train
- Oslo
- Poland by train
- Warszawa / Warsaw
- Portugal by train
- Lisboa / Lisbon
- Porto
- Spain by train
- Barcelona
- Madrid
- Sweden by train
- Stockholm
- Switzerland by train
- Basel / Bâle
- Bern
- Genève / Geneva
- Zürich / Zurich
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
- No Matching Cities
- List is empty.
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.
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