Zurich Train Station
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:25 PM
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Zurich Train Station
I'm booking a ticket from the Zurich Airport to Salzburg. It connects through the main Zurich station. I have 7 minutes between trains. Does anyone know if that will be enough time to make the connection? How large is the Zurich station? Thanks for any help.
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:33 PM
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Trains from the airport to the Zurich train station leave every 10 minutes or so, and take just 10-12 minutes.
If you look up a schedule from Zurich airport to Salzburg the websites will recommend you take a specific train for the 1st 10min leg. Forget that - it's not necessary. Just get on the 1st train departing when you get to the station and you will have plenty of time to connect to the Salzburg train.
If you look up a schedule from Zurich airport to Salzburg the websites will recommend you take a specific train for the 1st 10min leg. Forget that - it's not necessary. Just get on the 1st train departing when you get to the station and you will have plenty of time to connect to the Salzburg train.
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:41 PM
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It's not a huge station. Looked to me it has 10-15 tracks. 7 minutes should usually be enough. Neverthless you want to move quickly. Try to be the first one to get off the train from the airport. On the platform, check the track number on the departure time table (yellow one = DEP. white = Arrival) and walk there quickly. Also the train conductor may be able to tell you the track number so try to ask on the 1st train. Besises, trains from Zurich airport to central (HB) station is frequent. Perhaps you might be able to get on one ealier at the airport.
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:45 PM
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Well basically I repeated what J62 said.
For trains Zurich airport to Zurich Central (Haupt Bahnhof), check the timetable on
http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm
So you will see your options.
For trains Zurich airport to Zurich Central (Haupt Bahnhof), check the timetable on
http://www.sbb.ch/en/index.htm
So you will see your options.
Nov 14th, 2006, 02:58 PM
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It's a huge station so leave more than 7 minutes connecting time. Best is to go to the www.bahn.de web site as this should give you platforms where the airport train will arrive and platforms where the Salzburg train will depart, then you can see how far your platforms are apart. For the bahn.de site i recommend going to www.budgeteuropetravel.com and on their home page click on the link All European Railway Timetables or some such wording and this will bring you right to the English schedule page of the fantastic bahn (German rail, which has schedules for all of Europe) site and you just put in Zurich Flughafn (sp?) and Salzburg and the date and you get all the connections, including platforms for the airport and Zurich Hbf (main in town) station. Some platforms at Zurich Hbf are in the rear of the station - trains for Lucerne i think usually leave from platform 52 - so if your train arrives at platform 1 and you were heading to Lucerne you'd have quite a hike. The home page i referenced has tips on using the bahn.de site - to get the platforms you have to hit "details for above" after the first schedule info pops up.
As they say in German Have a Gute Fahrt (good ride) sp?
As they say in German Have a Gute Fahrt (good ride) sp?
Nov 14th, 2006, 05:36 PM
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"put in Zurich Flughafn (sp?) and Salzburg and the date and you get all the connections"
I respectfully disagree Bob - that's what's leading to the concern about 7min connection in the first place. It does NOT list all the connections - it just lists the last Airport -> Hbf 'shuttle' that will make the connection to Salzburg. You can take any train on the 1st leg.
On the www.bahn.de website, simply put in Zurich Hbf to Salzburg Hbf to see which train you want to catch, then when you get to the airport just get on the next train to the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), as you would a subway or any other shuttle type train that goes back and forth.
I respectfully disagree Bob - that's what's leading to the concern about 7min connection in the first place. It does NOT list all the connections - it just lists the last Airport -> Hbf 'shuttle' that will make the connection to Salzburg. You can take any train on the 1st leg.
On the www.bahn.de website, simply put in Zurich Hbf to Salzburg Hbf to see which train you want to catch, then when you get to the airport just get on the next train to the Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Hbf), as you would a subway or any other shuttle type train that goes back and forth.
Nov 14th, 2006, 06:25 PM
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IMO 7 minutes is plenty of time to make the connection if you can really only get one particular train from the airport. As noted above, trains run very frequently from the airport, so you may be able to get into the main station earlier.
The main Zurich train station is fairly large and includes two basement levels of tracks which many of the above posters seem to never have seen. There are about 20 tracks on the street level, numbered 3-18, and then (confusingly) Tracks 51 - 54 which are on the very far left of the street level of tracks as you face the tracks. These tracks are usually used for Lucerne trains and may be the Salzburg trains as well, and its a longish walk out to them or back from them. Some airport trains arrive into the station on tracks 51-54 as well. (I used to live in Zurich and know the station pretty well.)
If you come into the station on any track other than 3-18 or 51-54 you will be in the BASEMENT, and will have to come upstairs to the main level if your connecting train is departing from Tracks 3- 18 or Tracks 51 or 54. Not hard to do, but confusing if you don’t understand that you are not on the same level as your departing train.
There are TV monitors all over the station showing departing trains and their platforms/tracks (“gleis” in German), and there is a huge board hanging in the main hall on the street level). There is a ticket window at the airport train station and personnel there could also tell you what track you will be arriving into at Zurich main station and what track your Salzburg train will be departing from. As noted above, you can usually also find the platform/track listed on the rail.ch or other website.
The main Zurich train station is fairly large and includes two basement levels of tracks which many of the above posters seem to never have seen. There are about 20 tracks on the street level, numbered 3-18, and then (confusingly) Tracks 51 - 54 which are on the very far left of the street level of tracks as you face the tracks. These tracks are usually used for Lucerne trains and may be the Salzburg trains as well, and its a longish walk out to them or back from them. Some airport trains arrive into the station on tracks 51-54 as well. (I used to live in Zurich and know the station pretty well.)
If you come into the station on any track other than 3-18 or 51-54 you will be in the BASEMENT, and will have to come upstairs to the main level if your connecting train is departing from Tracks 3- 18 or Tracks 51 or 54. Not hard to do, but confusing if you don’t understand that you are not on the same level as your departing train.
There are TV monitors all over the station showing departing trains and their platforms/tracks (“gleis” in German), and there is a huge board hanging in the main hall on the street level). There is a ticket window at the airport train station and personnel there could also tell you what track you will be arriving into at Zurich main station and what track your Salzburg train will be departing from. As noted above, you can usually also find the platform/track listed on the rail.ch or other website.
Nov 14th, 2006, 10:39 PM
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I should also add that at the airport, when you are waiting for your bags at the carousel, there is also a TV screen above each carousel showing train departures; look for trains going to “Zurich HB” (which is Zurich Hautbahnof, the main train station). You can then estimate the next train or two which you should be able to make (as you will have already cleared immigration, and you won’t be stopped at customs unless you have something to declare). The airport train station is a short walk from the arrivals hall, it depends on which hall you arrive into, just follow signs for “Bahnhof” or “Railway”. Once you enter the train station area (shops are here too), ticket windows are one level down, trains depart two levels down. You can take luggage carts on the escalators all the way down to the tracks (a bit unnerving until you get used to it, just remember to let go of the handle so the brakes lock).
Nov 15th, 2006, 06:34 AM
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7 minutes may be enough time to make the connection even in this huge station IF the train from the airport is on time - and in many Swiss train rides recently the mythical clockwork on time Swiss train thing is a myth - they can be late - usually not by much but not surprising for a few minutes. Like above said, take an earlier train from the airport than the one that comes in a default timetable on www.bahn.de
Nov 15th, 2006, 07:44 AM
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The bahn site also lists a train departing right from the airport at 9:28 going to Munich where you change for Salzburg, arriving just a few minutes after the other routing airport-Zurich Hbf-salzburg - though the Munich route is longer, the trains go faster on this route - may cost a bit more however.
Nov 15th, 2006, 12:47 PM
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It all depends on which Gleis/Track you arrive and depart on. Do find out the track numbers at http://www.sbb.ch/en/ and then read Cicerone's helpful information.
A couple of years ago, we came in from Salzburg on Track 11 and had 10 minutes to drag luggage to Track 52 for a train to Luzern. We made it with only a couple of minutes to spare as I recall.
A couple of years ago, we came in from Salzburg on Track 11 and had 10 minutes to drag luggage to Track 52 for a train to Luzern. We made it with only a couple of minutes to spare as I recall.
Nov 15th, 2006, 01:20 PM
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Tourfan, here's what's baffling about your question:
How do you know you have 7 minutes? How do you know you will be on that train from the airport that only allows for 7 minutes at ZRH HB? And why would you want to be on that particular train?
If you arrive on a flight at ZRH airport, no way can you predict which train to ZRH HB you will make - as we all know, plane arrivals are a lottery, and the progress through passport check and so on is another lottery.
But if you are not arriving on a flight, then why only 7 minutes? If you are there already, why not take the earlier train from the airport into ZRH HB?
Furthermore - why don't you take one of the many trains for Salzburg that do not require you to first go into ZRH HB? You can board Eurocity trains at the airport that come from ZRH HB and go all the way to Munich where you change to the Salzburg train - great connections, like - just as an example - the 09:28, or the 13:28.
Other excellent trains leaving from the airport without going into ZRH HB require two quick changes, like in Schaffhausen and in Ulm, and so on.
So before you book a train that locks you into a gamble about arriving on time on your plane into ZRH, think this through.
If you end up having to go into ZRH HB and with only 7 minutes, get your things together as the train pulls into ZRH HB, go stand by the exit doors so that you get off quickly, walk briskly to the head of the platform (ZRH HB is a dead-end type of station) and look for your train's track number on the board if the timetable you had consulted didn't already tell you the number. 7 minutes is feasible if you are agile, but if you look like a cruise passenger with a ridiculous stack of suitcases, hollering for a largely non-existent porter, then you are SOL.
How do you know you have 7 minutes? How do you know you will be on that train from the airport that only allows for 7 minutes at ZRH HB? And why would you want to be on that particular train?
If you arrive on a flight at ZRH airport, no way can you predict which train to ZRH HB you will make - as we all know, plane arrivals are a lottery, and the progress through passport check and so on is another lottery.
But if you are not arriving on a flight, then why only 7 minutes? If you are there already, why not take the earlier train from the airport into ZRH HB?
Furthermore - why don't you take one of the many trains for Salzburg that do not require you to first go into ZRH HB? You can board Eurocity trains at the airport that come from ZRH HB and go all the way to Munich where you change to the Salzburg train - great connections, like - just as an example - the 09:28, or the 13:28.
Other excellent trains leaving from the airport without going into ZRH HB require two quick changes, like in Schaffhausen and in Ulm, and so on.
So before you book a train that locks you into a gamble about arriving on time on your plane into ZRH, think this through.
If you end up having to go into ZRH HB and with only 7 minutes, get your things together as the train pulls into ZRH HB, go stand by the exit doors so that you get off quickly, walk briskly to the head of the platform (ZRH HB is a dead-end type of station) and look for your train's track number on the board if the timetable you had consulted didn't already tell you the number. 7 minutes is feasible if you are agile, but if you look like a cruise passenger with a ridiculous stack of suitcases, hollering for a largely non-existent porter, then you are SOL.
Nov 15th, 2006, 05:58 PM
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THE BEST souce of information for your connections to Salzburg is actually the Austrian web site because two of the trains you can take are Austrian. www.oebb.at. There are English captions if you click on the little en.
If you leave from the Zürich airport train station you have two ways to reach Salzburg. One way is via Munich; the other way is via Zürich HB, the main station.
There are two Austrian trains that travel via Innsbruck. Both leave from the main station in Zürich: one at at 9:40, Gleis (track) 9, the Transalpin, and the other at 13:40, Gleis 8, the Maria Theresia.
The connections via Munich leave directly from the Zürich airport station. These connections take almost the same length of time. There are two connections that require one change of trains. One leaves the airport at 9:28; the other at 13:28.
You did not say how you were booking your ticket, but I hope it is not through RailEurope because you normally pay more when using that agency. If you are paying more than €80, 2nd class 1 way, you are being ripped off. (The German fare without a seat reservation is €78.40. Seat reservations are cheap; I usually get one just to make sure.)
In terms of changing trains, the Munich station is easy to navigate, but you do have a longish walk between trains. The Zürich station can be a little difficult to a stranger IF you come in on an S-bahn train from the airport!!
The Swiss rail scheduler shows S-Bahn connections which yield the 7 minute connection times you saw.
As earlier contributors noted, there are trains that run frequently between the airport and the main station. During the day, there are as many as 10 connections per hour. Given time, I would take the first available traIN THAT IS NOT an S-bahn. (Assuming you go to Salzburg via the main Zürich station.)
The inevitable question arises as to which way is best. In my opinion, neither one is a real bargain. The Austrian trains make frequent stops once they reach the Austrian border.
The train from Munich to Salzburg also makes a few stops along the way. Having ridden all those routes at one time or the other, the best I can tell you is that they all are slow. I don't regard either trip as highly scenic.
The Austrian trains follow along the Inn River and pass through numerous tunnels. I have heard people say it was a scenic route. I do not share that opinion.
In Austria, the route is down in a deep valley, or it passes through long tunnels. The German route is mostly flat and traverses farmland for much of the trip.
As the old saying goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
Which would I do? I would go with the Austrian train. I think the food is better.
Also, I think Gute Reise or Glückliche Reise would be more appropriate, but that depends on whom you ask.
If you leave from the Zürich airport train station you have two ways to reach Salzburg. One way is via Munich; the other way is via Zürich HB, the main station.
There are two Austrian trains that travel via Innsbruck. Both leave from the main station in Zürich: one at at 9:40, Gleis (track) 9, the Transalpin, and the other at 13:40, Gleis 8, the Maria Theresia.
The connections via Munich leave directly from the Zürich airport station. These connections take almost the same length of time. There are two connections that require one change of trains. One leaves the airport at 9:28; the other at 13:28.
You did not say how you were booking your ticket, but I hope it is not through RailEurope because you normally pay more when using that agency. If you are paying more than €80, 2nd class 1 way, you are being ripped off. (The German fare without a seat reservation is €78.40. Seat reservations are cheap; I usually get one just to make sure.)
In terms of changing trains, the Munich station is easy to navigate, but you do have a longish walk between trains. The Zürich station can be a little difficult to a stranger IF you come in on an S-bahn train from the airport!!
The Swiss rail scheduler shows S-Bahn connections which yield the 7 minute connection times you saw.
As earlier contributors noted, there are trains that run frequently between the airport and the main station. During the day, there are as many as 10 connections per hour. Given time, I would take the first available traIN THAT IS NOT an S-bahn. (Assuming you go to Salzburg via the main Zürich station.)
The inevitable question arises as to which way is best. In my opinion, neither one is a real bargain. The Austrian trains make frequent stops once they reach the Austrian border.
The train from Munich to Salzburg also makes a few stops along the way. Having ridden all those routes at one time or the other, the best I can tell you is that they all are slow. I don't regard either trip as highly scenic.
The Austrian trains follow along the Inn River and pass through numerous tunnels. I have heard people say it was a scenic route. I do not share that opinion.
In Austria, the route is down in a deep valley, or it passes through long tunnels. The German route is mostly flat and traverses farmland for much of the trip.
As the old saying goes, you pays your money and you takes your choice.
Which would I do? I would go with the Austrian train. I think the food is better.
Also, I think Gute Reise or Glückliche Reise would be more appropriate, but that depends on whom you ask.
Nov 16th, 2006, 02:47 AM
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>We made it with only a couple of minutes to spare as I recall.
Of course
You are supposed to make connection this way. It is the difference between train and plane travel - no lounging around for 2 hours waiting for your plane to be called out. Out of the train, switch platforms (or sometimes not even that), into the next train, and that's it.
Of course
You are supposed to make connection this way. It is the difference between train and plane travel - no lounging around for 2 hours waiting for your plane to be called out. Out of the train, switch platforms (or sometimes not even that), into the next train, and that's it.
Nov 16th, 2006, 06:47 AM
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It's called Integraler Taktfahrplan - a set of nationwide coordinated timetables that allow just enough time between arrivals and departures to make the switch. Even extends to light rail and to regional and local buses.
So if you wonder why a train leaves at 17:03 and not 17:00, it's probably because some other train gets in at 17:00.
They don't kid around about being on time, either - have you ever looked at the railway clocks above the tracks? The second-hand runs fast by a 60th of a second (not that you would notice why you look at it...) so it has time to stop for a second at the top of every minute, then restarts, and that - precisely - is when the whistle blows and the green light comes on. A minute is not defined unless it is defined to the very second.
Transfer times have been finessed in those timetables to make the switch possible, so if you see 7 minutes between trains, that probably means you will make it unless you dawdle or are weighed down.
But I still don't understand what the original poster is all about, trying to pinpoint a specific train from the airport. Maybe we'll hear from him/her?
So if you wonder why a train leaves at 17:03 and not 17:00, it's probably because some other train gets in at 17:00.
They don't kid around about being on time, either - have you ever looked at the railway clocks above the tracks? The second-hand runs fast by a 60th of a second (not that you would notice why you look at it...) so it has time to stop for a second at the top of every minute, then restarts, and that - precisely - is when the whistle blows and the green light comes on. A minute is not defined unless it is defined to the very second.
Transfer times have been finessed in those timetables to make the switch possible, so if you see 7 minutes between trains, that probably means you will make it unless you dawdle or are weighed down.
But I still don't understand what the original poster is all about, trying to pinpoint a specific train from the airport. Maybe we'll hear from him/her?
Nov 16th, 2006, 12:12 PM
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I will hazard a guess that will be as good as any until we hear from tourfan, the original poster.
If you consult the on-line timetables, Austrian, German, and Swiss and ask for a connection from the Zürich Airport to Salzburg via Zürich HB, the morning schedule shows departing from the airport at 8:20, arriving at the main station at 8:33. That schedules allows 7 minutes between trains.
There is no mention of the fact that, among others, there are also departures at 8:13 and 8:09 that would allow a few extra minutes. In fact the 8:13 is better because it arrives at 8:23 which is 3 minutes faster than the S-Bahn connections.
I just looked at all 3 web sites (the ÖBB, SBB, and DB) and for the morning departure to Salzburg from the airport. All 3 web sites give the same schedule:
Leave the airport at 8:20
Arrive Zürich HB at 9:33
Depart from Zürich HB at 9:40
None of the 3 web sites mentions any of the many other departures from the airport, particularly the ones at 8:09 and 8:13.
If one does not know that connections between the two stations are frequent, then he or she may not realize that multiple options exist.
Out of curiosity, I started counting the no-change departures from the Zürich Airport to the main station beginning at 8:02. Including the 9:02 departure, I came up with 10.
I think that pattern holds true for most of the hours between 7:00 and 18:00.
'Tis a bunch of them, that is for sure. No reason for someone to say he could not find a ride from the airport to the main station!!!!
If you consult the on-line timetables, Austrian, German, and Swiss and ask for a connection from the Zürich Airport to Salzburg via Zürich HB, the morning schedule shows departing from the airport at 8:20, arriving at the main station at 8:33. That schedules allows 7 minutes between trains.
There is no mention of the fact that, among others, there are also departures at 8:13 and 8:09 that would allow a few extra minutes. In fact the 8:13 is better because it arrives at 8:23 which is 3 minutes faster than the S-Bahn connections.
I just looked at all 3 web sites (the ÖBB, SBB, and DB) and for the morning departure to Salzburg from the airport. All 3 web sites give the same schedule:
Leave the airport at 8:20
Arrive Zürich HB at 9:33
Depart from Zürich HB at 9:40
None of the 3 web sites mentions any of the many other departures from the airport, particularly the ones at 8:09 and 8:13.
If one does not know that connections between the two stations are frequent, then he or she may not realize that multiple options exist.
Out of curiosity, I started counting the no-change departures from the Zürich Airport to the main station beginning at 8:02. Including the 9:02 departure, I came up with 10.
I think that pattern holds true for most of the hours between 7:00 and 18:00.
'Tis a bunch of them, that is for sure. No reason for someone to say he could not find a ride from the airport to the main station!!!!
Nov 16th, 2006, 12:20 PM
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I think Bob Brown guessed right. That's what the online search gives. Consider this "7 minutes" the minimum connecting time. You are free to take any ealier train as soon as you arrive the Airport Train Station.
Nov 17th, 2006, 04:51 AM
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By the way, my original question was based on a ticket quote that I got from Raileurope...for whatever reason, the only connecting train they offered was the one that arrived 7 minutes before the next train left. I now know that there are many more options, but at the time I thought my options were limited.
Also, is there any advantage to booking my train ticket early? Will first class be full if I wait until we arrive, since it will be a couple days before Christmas? Is Raileurope a rip-off? Again, thanks for the help.
Also, is there any advantage to booking my train ticket early? Will first class be full if I wait until we arrive, since it will be a couple days before Christmas? Is Raileurope a rip-off? Again, thanks for the help.
