inggolfer

To Whom It May Concern,

I'm a US citizen taking a trip to Europe. My ticket is booked to leave out of Zurich. I'm looking at taking a high speed train from Paris to Zurich on the day of my departure. The train arrives at Zurich airport a little over 2 hours before my International Departure back to the states. I'm concerned about a couple of things and just wanted to know if I should be.

My first thing is it is the 1st train out of Paris so I'm worried it might be canceled or delayed for some reason. Does anyone know if this happens often or these trains are late for some reason?

My second concern is getting through customs and the airport in time to make my departure. I do not have luggage to check so I think it should be easier to get through the airport but I've never traveled by train in Europe nor have I been to Zurich airport. I've hear it is pretty big. Assuming my train arrives on time and I'm not checking my luggage is a little over two hours plenty of time to get to my gate and checked in.

Thanks

Michael

One goes through customs upon arrival, not departure. When you check in the clerk will check your passport. You go through security and that's it, just like in the States except that you have to have a valid passport.

Trains are generally on time in France unless there is a strike or a natural disaster.

alanRow

There isn't any customs on people flying from an airport. 2 hours is enough time to get through most airports let alone a small one like Zurich.

Your biggest problem is what happens if things do go wrong. As it stands you are looking at an expensive one way flight back home. I certainly wouldn't want to do something like that with only 2 hours to spare.

Reconsider your plans and get a much earlier train, travel the day before or add a leg to your air ticket for Paris to Zurich and fly home from Paris.

flanneruk

1. Only you know what time your airline wants you at the airport (you will presumably have already checked in before leaving Paris), and what the consequences are if you're not there at that time.
2. There are no immigration formalities on trains between Paris and Zürich.
3. Delays to the train are very unlikely. But not impossible. Personally, if I had a ticket that couldn't be changed, I wouldn't risk having to spend $1000 and more on a new ticket if I had failed to arrive on time.

suze

What time does your airline want you at the airport? Sometimes it's 3 not 2 hours for international flights.

Customs is when you *enter a new country* not when you leave one (i.e., you will not go thru customs in Zurich).

IF the train doesn't get you there on time, for whatever reason, what are your options for the next flight? How much would that cost you?

Personally I would never wait and go to my departure country/city the day-of a flight. I would always get there the day before. Just my personal preference, I hate to get myself worried.

nytraveler

If everything is on schedule you should be OK.

If there is a problemgetting out of Paris or on the way to Zurich - strike, bad weather - and you are significanlty late -you could lose your seat and have to buy one for he next plane at a walk up price. Your risk is that you might be on time for Zurich check in - is the security lines are long or delayed - you might not get to your gate on time. If you're too late they start giving seats to standby passengers.

Also - you need to know that airlines in europe use smaller carry-on sizes than do airlines in the the US. Confirm with you airline what the correct size is - it can be as small as 19", inclding wheels. And I have seen a lot of Americans have to gate check their carry-on when the plane was crowded and they had US size carry-ons. (I have a client in Basel and have flown through Zurich a lot.)

travelhorizons

suze is absolutely right. It's bad planning to leave Paris (by train, no less) on the morning of your departing flight from Zurich. You are risking a LOT if you don't arrive ZRH in time.

Two options:

(1) Forget about the high speed train and get a plane from any of the Paris airports to ZRH.

(2) Get a travel insurance policy (and enough trip cancellation insurance to cover the cost of full-fare seats from ZRH back home). Make sure that the "trip interruption" coverage will cover your situation.