Trains from Basel Hbf to Visp

[NLC1072]

What sort of trains should I expect? Will I see double deckers? How does the ticketing work, I need a train around 15:30 on 11/08/15.

Thanks!

 

[Groningen]

From Geneve and Basel to Milano seems to be the Alstom ETR 610 and for local travel SBB Re 460 with single level carriages or IC 2000 bilevel.

 

[newmilton]

Swiss domestic tickets are all walk-up tickets, valid on the date on the front. You can buy them in advance but there is no need to, nor do they need to be validated as in France or Italy. They can also be expensive, even more so since the Swiss Franc was allowed to float upwards against the Euro.

You can check times and prices here: http://www.cff.ch/home.html

 

[Gordon]

You will need the 15.59 Basel SBB - Bern, change to a Bern Visp train:

Basel SBB15.59 , train IC977
Bern 16.56 platform 5
Bern 17.07 platform 6, train IC824
Visp 18.02

IC977: class 460 + 8 IC double deck push pull set + 4 EWIV push pull set
IC 824: 2 x EWIV (DVT leading) at front then class 460 then 9 car IC double deck set


fare from CHF 41.50

OR

Basel SBB 16.31 platform 11, train IC1079
Visp 18.31

Train IC1079: 7 car IC double deck push pull set + 3 car EWIV push pull set


All ticketing information is available on the English:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/home.html



and little ps - The main station in Basel is known as Basel SBB not Basel HBf (the Swiss don't have many 'Hauptbahnhofs' and neither do they abbreviate to Hbf as in Germany). Not to be confused with Basel Bad Bahnhof, a DB station (which counts as German territory but is on Swiss soil) .

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[Groningen]

It makes a small, but big difference it you talk about Basel SBB and Basel Bad Bf. Only the trains 12.31, 14.31, 16.31 and 17.31 are without change in Bern. Even Geneve is not called but Geneve Cornavin. In Zürich; the main station is however called Zürich HB.

 

[newmilton]

I presume the OP realises that Basel has two stations. Basel SBB is the one he needs, and is part of the Swiss network (with some trains operated by SNCF towards Alsace and a French area as at Geneva Cornavin); while Basel Badischer Bahnhof ('Bad Bf') is a terminus for trains from Germany, and part of the German railways.

 

[dutchflyer]

There is a-minor- way to maybe cut those very expensive Swiss railfares (though as both GBP and CHF are non-EUR and have risen enormously lately, this may compensate) by booking on bahn.de a German Sparpreis single to Visp FROm a station in Germany-just before Basel, like Freiburg. It is non-train-bound out of DE, but is in DE. You mostly then pay 29 eur. Will only work for trips that are sensible in that direction.
If you also want to return or do another swiss railtrip in a short term, look at swissrailPass prices.
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while Basel Badischer Bahnhof ('Bad Bf') is a terminus for trains from Germany, and part of the German railways.

by now nearly all trains from DE continue on to SBB-all ICE-many even further into CH and IC long distance and also most local RE.
Only NOT the trains coming from the east (Schaffhausen and beyond).

 

[Groningen]

A one way ticket from Basel to Brig starts at 41.50 swiss francs. Or 24 english pounds for little more of 2 hours of travel. For about that same amount of money 1 can visit the Netherlands with the railways for 3 complete days.

 

[D6700]

fare from CHF 41.50

The SBB website is a bit sneaky in this regard. The "fares from" are half the price you are likely to pay! The headline fare only applies to children and railcard holders...

In this case, the normal adult fare is CHF 83.

 

[Chris999999]

The SBB website is a bit sneaky in this regard. The "fares from" are half the price you are likely to pay! The headline fare only applies to children and railcard holders...

In this case, the normal adult fare is CHF 83.

True, but it isn't really sneaky because the Swiss who use their railways all hold an annual half price card and all sensible tourists also purchase one of the many variants of half price card. Thus the large majority of adults only pay CHF 41.5

 

[zuriblue]

You can actually get sparbillette tickets at an appreciable discount. Like a Saver in the UK they are tied to a specific train.

http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/supersaver-tickets.html

Also remember that most Swiss have the Halbtax so only pay half fare.

 

[Gordon]

A one way ticket from Basel to Brig starts at 41.50 swiss francs. Or 24 english pounds for little more of 2 hours of travel. For about that same amount of money 1 can visit the Netherlands with the railways for 3 complete days.

It cost me £17 for little more than 2 hours UK train travel (in just two counties...at least the Swiss fare gets you almost thew whole way across the country from north to south!) to get to my house to a steam railway / model event in Sussex yesterday...

Maybe that's why I don't consider Switzerland prohibitively expensive when I visit!

In a further irony, I have a Swiss half fare card, but cannot save any money in the same way in my own country


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[Groningen]

The SBB website is a bit sneaky in this regard. The "fares from" are half the price you are likely to pay! The headline fare only applies to children and railcard holders... In this case, the normal adult fare is CHF 83.

May i use the term "*******s" for the Swiss?

I tried the link given by zuriblue and got: System interruption. Please try again later. Thank you.

 

[newmilton]

Geneva to Bern is a roughly similar journey in terms of distance and relative importance of the two cities to London-Birmingham, and costs 100CHF return (c. £75). The walk-up anytime fare for the latter is £168, so clearly the UK fare is much higher. But wait till 09h00 and it drops to £51, with options at £29 & £28 on Chiltern or LMT respectively. Book a couple of days in advance and you can do the journey for as little at £12!

My friends in Switzerland have a demi-tarif card, and say they prefer the simplicity of the Swiss fare structure: no worrying about when to book, or what trains you can use. But it seems to me there is room for some flexibility. And although CFF do occasionally offer advance specials, they never seem to be doing it when I need tickets!

 

[Greenback]

Swiss fares are considered expensive by a lot of people but there area few ways to save money and the fares system is a lot simpler than here.

I got a 3 day inter rail pass on my last visit, which cost about £102 at that time. I certainly got my money's worth! There are also various Swiss travel products such as the half price card referred to above, the Swiss Transfer ticket or the Swiss Pass. Apologies in advance if my info is a bit out of date, I haven't checked on whether changes have been made this year.

It's an amazing country for scenery, one of my favourite rides is through the Emmental valley between Lucerne and Bern. It's well worth stumping up for a Swiss Pass and exploring the country and all its railways in a bit of depth, provided you can afford to sleep and eat there - though it may be an idea to base yourself just across the border somewhere in Germany or France to get better value.

 

[Rick1984]

IC977: class 460 + 8 IC double deck push pull set + 4 EWIV push pull set
IC 824: 2 x EWIV (DVT leading) at front then class 460 then 9 car IC double deck set

Interesting consists. Do these trains split on route?

 

[Gordon]

May i use the term "*******s" for the Swiss?

I tried the link given by zuriblue and got: System interruption. Please try again later. Thank you.

Try this version which works perfectly for me:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets.html

Interesting consists. Do these trains split on route?

No. SBB have fixed sets but do not shirk from adding another 'segment' of vehicles. This extra segment can either be attached onto a set of coaches, or onto the loco 'pushing' a push-pull set, whereby the loco will then be in the 'middle' of the coaches.

Like this photo of mine - this is probably a Bern - Visp train :

http://Gwizz.zenfolio.com/kiesenjun12/e9bee210

My friends in Switzerland have a demi-tarif card, and say they prefer the simplicity of the Swiss fare structure: no worrying about when to book, or what trains you can use. But it seems to me there is room for some flexibility. And although CFF do occasionally offer advance specials, they never seem to be doing it when I need tickets!

I have a half fare card and I don't even live there! But I consider its flexibility even for one or two visits per year is equally good value to getting a Swiss Travel Pass, especially for ad-hoc use. For example a Swiss Pass for tourists has a minimum number of days of 3. Even with the flexi pass, it is less flexible than having a half fare card as with a half fare card you can save money even if just doing a 1 day trip on the railway.

(don't forget that a Swiss half fare card can be converted into a 1 day go-anywhere rover ticket - which is ideal for a 'cram it all in in 1 day' day out.

Here is the link to the Supersaver fares page:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-and-tickets/tickets-for-switzerland/supersaver-tickets.html



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[Rick1984]

Thanks for that. Certainly an interesting setup!

 

[Oscar]

And although CFF do occasionally offer advance specials, they never seem to be doing it when I need tickets!

This used to be the case, but very recently they've started offering Sparbillette (like Advance tickets) on most trains after the morning people as a matter of course. They typically cost about half as much as normal fares and can be booked between a month and a day before. The Halbtax discount now applies fully.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Interesting consists. Do these trains split on route?

No, these consists are quite normal. Long-distance trains are often very long, I think it's because of the huge demand (and growth in demand) for rail travel. New Bombardier double-decker Twindexx units have been ordered.

 

[Bletchleyite]

My personal favourite is Geneva Airport to Brig. I love the lakeside run with the mountains and the way they build up down the valley.

If you want to know train formations, www.reisezuege.ch can help.

 

[NLC1072]

thank you very much everybody! I go tomorrow and I have to base myself in Visp as thats where my friend lives!

 

[Bletchleyite]

No. SBB have fixed sets but do not shirk from adding another 'segment' of vehicles. This extra segment can either be attached onto a set of coaches, or onto the loco 'pushing' a push-pull set, whereby the loco will then be in the 'middle' of the coaches.

Towards the end of the day it isn't unusual to see IC and IR trains formed of combinations of the "mini sets" with multiple driving trailers in the formation, I guess this is to get them back to their respective depots.

 

[Gordon]

Some Visp pictures to whet your appetite:

http://gwizz.piwigo.com/index?/category/179-visp

Here is a Loetschberger

http://gwizz.piwigo.com/picture?/6493/category/182-spiez_and_reichenbach

Towards the end of the day it isn't unusual to see IC and IR trains formed of combinations of the "mini sets" with multiple driving trailers in the formation, I guess this is to get them back to their respective depots.

A minor point, but, perhaps unintentionally This makes it sound ad-hoc, but they are all diagrammed specifically, with the extra coaches diagrammed for the naturally busy times, i.e. morning peak, evening, but also at weekends on routes where weekend traffic is heavy. Also I'm not aware of more than two driving trailers being diagrammed in one trainset.




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[Bletchleyite]

A minor point, but, perhaps unintentionally This makes it sound ad-hoc, but they are all diagrammed specifically, with the extra coaches diagrammed for the naturally busy times, i.e. morning peak, evening, but also at weekends on routes where weekend traffic is heavy. Also I'm not aware of more than two driving trailers being diagrammed in one trainset.

I've also only seen two - but I have seen a train (2100ish off Brig through the Loetschberg base tunnel) formed of two mini-sets i.e. 2 x [EW IV B driving trailer, EW IV B, EW IV A] which appeared to be a regular diagram.

 

[Gordon]

I've also only seen two - but I have seen a train (2100ish off Brig through the Loetschberg base tunnel) formed of two mini-sets i.e. 2 x [EW IV B driving trailer, EW IV B, EW IV A] which appeared to be a regular diagram.

Found it - train 1088 21.20 off Brig, although Reisezuge ch shows a 4 set plus a 2 set.



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[Bletchleyite]

Found it - train 1088 21.20 off Brig, although Reisezuge ch shows a 4 set plus a 2 set.

Yep, that's the one (you're right about the length as well, I remembered wrong). Often took the 2136 (?) IR to Vevey when I was over there.