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SBB Half-fare card & Train to Basel (Paris)
I'm play-booking on SBB.ch
I have a route Zurich-Basel-Paris. It will allow a discount for the Half-fare card *but* it describes it as "1/2/3 year*. Of course, I would have the H-F card that is for a <u>month</u> (the minimum). Can't I utilize that for the Swiss fare portion? |
Travelnut:
Yes, any half-fare card is valid on any Swiss federal railway train within Switzerland (there are rare exception for non-state-owned companies). For your itinerary it might be advisable to book the segments Zürich-Basel and Basel-Paris Est seperately on the respective SBB and SNCF websites. Basel-Paris is considered an intra-French segment, and there are far more special offers than for cross-boundary travel. I did a play-booking on http://www.sbb.ch for a cross-border booking and on http://www.sbb.ch AND http://www.voyages-sncf.com for separate bookings in each country, applying the swiss half-price option both times. The results for April 3rd 2009, one way only, leaving Zurich at 07:02: Zürich-Paris on sbb.ch: 2nd class CHF 158.00, 1st class CHF 237.00 Zürich-Basel on sbb.ch: 2nd Class CHF 15.50, 1st class CHF 26.00 Basel-Paris on voyages-sncf.com: 2nd class CHF 58.00, 1st class CHF 141.00. Total cost Zürich-Paris with separate bookings: 2nd class CHF 73.50, 1st class CHF 167.00! Hope this helps, enjoy your trip Phil. |
Something about those fares seems not quite right. But first:
Are you sure you want to spring for the Swiss Card (the half-fare card)? It costs more - for just one month (USD159) - than the Swiss pay for their half-fare card for an entire year! Will you make the money back? The Swiss Card is a short-term (1 month) version of the Halbtax Abo that many resident Swiss folk buy for a year (CHF150 = about USD 129) ) or two (CHF250 = about USD 215) or three (CHF350 = about USD300) years at a time. The 1-month short-term version has all the same benefits, namely you pay half fare for any trip you take while your card is valid. I trust that you will be taking many more train trips during the month that you own that card, not just this one trip Zürich-Basel? Otherwise the purchase of the card would not be justified. Add up the fares of all trips you intend to make, divide by half, and see if you get back the cost of the card (roughly 186 CHF). About your Zürich-Paris trip: Phil has it right from Zürich to Basel, CHF 31 full fare hence CHF 15.50 half-fare in 2nd, CHF 52 full fare hence CHF 26.- half-fare in 1st. But the fares he quotes in CHF from Basel to Paris have me wondering - he names voyages-sncf as the source and there the fares are only in Euros, of course. The regular 2nd-class TGV fare for direct trains from Basel to Paris is 87 Euros (roughly 130 CHF), and it is 81.20 Euros (roughly 123 CHF) for those trains that require a switch in Strasbourg. I see all kinds of discounted fares depending on date and time, like a Piccolo fare of 61 Euros (roughly 92 CHF) for a direct TGV, and as low as 51.30 Euros (roughly 78 CHF) for the Strasbourg connections. So if you add up, truly in Swiss Francs converted from Euros, the cheapest way of doing it so far, it’s CHF 15.50 plus about 78 CHF = roughly CHF 93.50 (roughly 80 USD) for one-way in 2nd class, with two changes of trains, in Basel and again in Strasbourg (plus you have to factor in the pro-rated cost of that Swiss Card, of course). For CHF120 (non-refundable advance purchase) you can board the TGV in Zürich and stay in your 2nd-class seat all the way. It’s your call if that is worth the extra. |
Travelnut and Dalai:
Obviously I mixed up the dates and was not clear enough, so: 1st I got my dates wrong: I was play-booking on April 8 (a tuesday), not April 3 (a friday), sorry! 2nd: Prices on voyage-sncf are in Euro. I did convert to CHF at a rate of 1€ = CHF 1.60 for direct comparison. 3rd: There are still piccolo prices available for the TGV leaving Basel at 08:02 on April 8. The prices are: 36€ (converting to CHF 57.60) in 2nd and 88€ (converting to CHF 140.80) in 1st class. This very train starts from Zurich at 07:02 and arrives in Basel at 07:57. All you have to do is buy a Basel-Zurich ticket from SBB, a Basel-Paris ticket from voyages-sncf (which includes yoiur seat reservation from Basel to Paris), board the train at Zurich in good time and take your seat. As intra-Swiss seat reservations are extremely rare, your seat will be available between Zurich an Basel. No change, no hassle, no problem. Enjoy your trip. Phil. |
I will examine your comments at length this weekend...
Didn't do the 'separate' pricing by SBB + SNCF, will also look at that. I found the Swiss <u>Half-fare card</u> to be 99chf, correct? We will probably be training: 1. Zurich airport to Lucerne 2. Lucerne to Interlaken 3. Interlaken - Schilthorn r/t 4. Train to Brienz, bus to Ballenberg, return, Cruise from Brienz back to Interlaken 5. Interlaken to Zurich 6. Zurich HB to airport (w/family), then Zurich airport to Paris (via Basel, without family) - limited use of local trams or buses - probably only Ballenberg in the museums family Also priced out with 4-day and 8-day Swiss Saverpass. Choice 'depends' on firming up of daily plans... Thank you so much for the feedback... |
Swiss Half-Fare Card is indeed CHF99 - with all those trips you list you should recoup the cost and then some.
(ignore my earlier mention of price) |
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