In the case that I do not make the connection, am I allowed to take the next train? On my ticket it does state that the ticket is only valid for the connections which are printed on the ticket.
In September I plan to travel to Geneva by train from Frankfurt. I have two changes at Basel and Biel. In Basel I have just 8 minutes to change train and am concerned that that may not be enough as trains arriving from Germany are often late.
Depends (it always depend, right?).
Do you have one single ticket for the whole journey or a DB ticket to Basel and second separate a super saver SBB ticket from Basel to Geneva?
In the first case you are good, even if the DB keeps up to expectation and arrives late in Basel. In the second case, good question. Maybe? Maybe in general or maybe only because the train stops at Basel Bad Bhf and thus part of the journey is within the Swiss public transport system. Ask SBB https://sbbcffffs-community.sbb.ch/t…/ct-p/forum_en
Thanks I have one single Deutsche Bahn ticket for the whole journey which lists the connections Frankfurt -Basel SBB, Basel SBB . Biel and Biel - Geneva.
The tickets states that it is only valid for these listed connections with no mention of any exception in case of the train being late.
I had that issue last month. I kept an eye on the German train two days ahead of my date of travel using their app. Both times the train arrived in Basel late. Once so late that it stopped there (it should have gone on to Interlaken).
On my day of travel my train, which was going from Hamburg to Basel, had quickly accumulated 30 minutes delay. I surmised that it wasn't going to get better, even though the DB app showed it arriving in Basel on time. I just took the earlier train from Cologne and told the ticket collector why. They are clearly used to it because she didn't even blink. I made the connection in Basel. I looked later to see how the original train had fared. It arrived in Basel an hour late and I would have had to stay over in Basel, rather than making it back to Lugano.
I don't know if you have that flexibility, but at least leaving with one train earlier meant I got where I was supposed to be on time.
Had that recently and was told that in case a delay made me miss the connection, any connection can be taken, the ticket is then valid as a normal ticket (keine Zugbindung).
In my case I don’t mind arriving up to two hours later, but I just want to be sure that l will not have to pay a fine in CH for travelling with an invalid ticket.
You shouldn't, particularly if you can get a screenshot of the DB app showing that your train arrived late in Basel.
We have had friends and family come from Frankfurt to Zurich multiple times and every single time the changeover in Basel did not work. They always just took the next train without any issues.
A few times, travelling on Super saver tickets in Switzerland we have missed connections. Even when our local bus eas late, they didn’t even blink an eye.
Between Frankfurt and Mannheim are very important bridge for the railway is closed for the next 2 months due to repair works.
From Frankfurt i can recommend going from Frankfurt /Main South via Heidelberg to Basel.
Avoid the detour via Mannheim at all cost.
If you are due to arrive at your your destination more then 20 mins late , you can take any train to your destination,regardless the ticket says something different (any way is ok to get to your destination).
Choose an earlier train to get to basel and choose a connection time of more the 20 mins to avoid waiting more then 30 mins to get the next train.
If you got more then 60 mins delay at your destination , you will get 25% Reimbursement.
Thanks for all your helpful replies. I have read that a lot of construction work is planned on the rail line between Frankfurt and Mannheim but as far as I am aware it will be operating as "normal" in September?
It is good to hear that SBB staff understand the problems that customers coming from Germany have to make it to Basel on time.
I hope that is also the case in the Romandie as I also need to change at Biel to catch a train to Geneva.
I read somewhere recently that the SBB have gotten so fed up with DB that they have reduced the number of cross-border trains from Germany to Switzerland. The delays suffered by these trains have a knock-on effect on the SBB schedule meaning that some of these cross-border trains are cancelled within Switzerland, affecting the SBB performance and reputation, or the SBB has to put on replacement trains.
https://www.fr.de/panorama/endstatio…-92442499.html
The DB has a horrible reputation for punctuality in Germany. They are talking about the line between Frankfurt and Mannheim being bad, but my train had already accumulated 30 minutes delay between Hamburg and Cologne. It arrived in Basel one hour late and stopped there, rather than continuing to Interlaken as it was supposed to.
DB is a total disaster these days, i think it probably means Disaster Bahn rather than Deutsch Bahn !!
From the horse’s mouth , their “Help with supersaver tickets/Saver Day Passes”:
Surely the train staff can see if a previous train has been delayed?
They can.