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You are here: Home / Trips / Switzerland Day Out / TRIP REPORT: Older. Yes, Wiser? No – SBB CFF FFS IC3 Zurich Airport to Basel Hbf

TRIP REPORT: Older. Yes, Wiser? No – SBB CFF FFS IC3 Zurich Airport to Basel Hbf

07/01/2024 by Kevincm

SBB CFF FFS IC3 Zurich Airport to Basel Haputbahnhof
Older. Yes, Wiser? No.

Older not wiser trip report header image

  • Age is a social construct. Frequent flyer programmes, doubly so.
  • Morning coaches. Coach Fun and comedies
  • British Airways Galleries North Lounge, Heathrow Terminal 5 
  • BA772 London Heathrow to Zurich (Eurotraveller)
  • Into Zurich
  • Experiments in photography: The Canon EOS R50
  • Back to Zurich Airport and a dreaded Text message
  • IC3 Zurich Airport to Basel Hbf
  • To EuroAirport Basel and The Queue from Hades
  • The Skyview Lounge, EuroAirport Basel 
  • BA749 Euroairport Basel to London Heathrow (EuroTraveller)
  • Little Britain at its worst
  • Older yes. Wiser? Dear deity… of course not!

Swiss Federal Railways IC3 Zurich Airport – Basel Hauptbahnhof
Bombardier TwinDexx “Swiss Express”
Price paid: CHF45 (including onward transit) 2nd Class

Editors note – I was focused on A to B travel at this point, rather than travel reporting when I was doing this. I might be blending images from earlier in the day to fill out the storytelling.

a train on the tracks
A Bombardier TwinDexx SwissExpress Train of the type I was on

I boarded the train and headed up to the upper deck, pretty much with my head in a tailspin. I knew this train would be going to Zurich Hbf and Basel Hbf, but I was blind to everything else – be it the routing or anything.

Call it the planner in me – I like to have a lot of information to make decisions, as I had a ticket that said I needed to make a stop en route. 

Nonetheless, the train took me back to Zurich Hbf (I could have saved a bunch of time by not going to the airport and back again – but such is life. 

a train tracks and buildings

a view of a city from a window

a train tracks and buildings

Once the train arrived at Zurich Hauptbahnhof, the train emptied its passenger load and quickly filled back up – with a couple joining me for the trip to Basel.

a train station with people walking and people walking
Another recycled image? Go for it. The front of the TwinDexx Swiss Express (on the right-hand side of the photo). 

And it seemed that would be the train’s next stop, with no changes or paperwork or swaps to do.

a screenshot of a map
Although this felt a lot more passenger than the guide said. 

That makes life a lot easier than I thought it would be. All I had to do was worry about how I was going to get to the airport. I’d have to look that up before I arrived in Basel.

Thankfully, the ticket was an end-to-end ticket, so at least I didn’t have to spend any more Swiss Francs on anything. 

a stack of tickets on a grey surface
Vollpreis indeed (Full fare – CHF45).

The journey through Switzerland was a fast one, with this double-decker train. Whilst they were built with tilting ability, it seems this has been disabled some years ago – and instead operates as a conventional train. 

That’s fine – as tilting trains can cause uneasiness for those who aren’t used to them.

And the Swiss country looked beautiful, even in the grey. Just missing a lot of snow… 

a building in a field a building on a hill a green field with houses and trees

The train had a catering car – sadly, I skipped that, as watching the countryside with coffee and food might have been a fun thing to do in 2nd class. 

a road with cars and buildings in the background a landscape with a field and trees

Something to consider next time.

There was a ticket inspection onboard, and my ticket was stamped without further question – it appeared to be that my ticket was valid for the journey. 

Another nerve off my mind. Buying the wrong ticket is embarrassing sometimes – and conductors aren’t sometimes the nicest people when you’ve brought the wrong ticket (be it by mistake or on purpose). 

Meanwhile, I decided to take a look at the new departure. And, oh dear. It seems things were going further south on this return leg.

a screen shot of a plane
Well. I can stop worrying about rushing to Basel Airport. I might even get time to get a drink in the lounge. 

It was a comfortable experience – although I’m sure train users would call the seats “padded ironing boards”. For me, they supported my back. 

a seats in a train
If there’s a community that likes to moan about seats more than the aviation community, the railfan community can give lessons on how to moan. 

The countryside turned into city as the clock ran down, and the train approached Basel. Even if the traffic outside looked horrendous – as well as the weather.

a view of a city from a train window

a view of a traffic jam from a train window
I’m glad I’m not in that traffic ja

With the train slowing down, it arrived a minute early at Basel Hauptbahnhof, arriving at 15:27.

a train at a train station

With a little less time pressure on my hands, I waited for people to get up, then headed downstairs and out into a new station.

people walking in a tunnel

Overall

Quick and effective point-to-point travel is always welcome – as well as a reliable timetable. For me, when I needed it, Swiss Federal Railways came through. Whilst it was comfortable enough (even though the train was very busy) it felt like there was plenty of space, as well as power at the seat if needed.

But sometimes being on time is more important. And I’ll take that win any day of the week when I’m in a rush – even if it  is not of my own making.

Next:

How does one get to EuroAirport Basel?


Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.

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Filed Under: Switzerland Day Out, Trip, Trip Reports, Trips

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