Interlaken to London by train - connections
Aug 13, 2015, 7:23 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 58
Interlaken to London by train - connections
Hello,
This is my first post to the forum, because I am trying to get my head around various fares to travel from Interlaken to London in November. This is the first long distance European train trip I will have undertaken, so I'm a little apprehensive.
I seem to have a few options depending on whether I buy a through ticket, or buy several tickets. The breakdown of costs are:
Interlaken to Basel: Ł43.50 (however, SBB walk up fare is only Ł39)
Basel to Paris: Ł29.50
Paris to London: Ł72
The easiest way is to buy a through ticket which I believe covers me if I miss a connection due to a delay. However, I was initially planning to use some loyalty points for the Eurostar, so that removes the cost of that particular segment.
I may also have a half fare card for Switzerland, so the walk up fare for Interlaken to Basel may become Ł19.50.
Finally, I am aware that SBB offer supersaver fares from Ł20, so if I don't have a half fare card this is the cheapest option nearer the time.
Subsequently, the cost is anything from Ł145 to Ł49.50.
I was assuming leaving 35 minutes to change in Basel, and 2hrs to change in Paris.
My main question is, if I bought 3 tickets, what happens if my first train is delayed and I miss the connection in Basel, as I would then most likely miss the Eurostar as well.
Thanks!
This is my first post to the forum, because I am trying to get my head around various fares to travel from Interlaken to London in November. This is the first long distance European train trip I will have undertaken, so I'm a little apprehensive.
I seem to have a few options depending on whether I buy a through ticket, or buy several tickets. The breakdown of costs are:
Interlaken to Basel: Ł43.50 (however, SBB walk up fare is only Ł39)
Basel to Paris: Ł29.50
Paris to London: Ł72
The easiest way is to buy a through ticket which I believe covers me if I miss a connection due to a delay. However, I was initially planning to use some loyalty points for the Eurostar, so that removes the cost of that particular segment.
I may also have a half fare card for Switzerland, so the walk up fare for Interlaken to Basel may become Ł19.50.
Finally, I am aware that SBB offer supersaver fares from Ł20, so if I don't have a half fare card this is the cheapest option nearer the time.
Subsequently, the cost is anything from Ł145 to Ł49.50.
I was assuming leaving 35 minutes to change in Basel, and 2hrs to change in Paris.
My main question is, if I bought 3 tickets, what happens if my first train is delayed and I miss the connection in Basel, as I would then most likely miss the Eurostar as well.
Thanks!
Aug 13, 2015, 12:55 pm
#2
Join Date: Oct 2011
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Posts: 1,019
Interesting question...
According to the CIV (General Conditions of Carriage for Rail Passengers) "One ticket represents one contract of carriage", unless multiple tickets are issued at the same time and place, and clearly shown as linked.
So, if you bought the three tickets separately, and missed a connection due to a train being delayed, then in theory you would not be protected, and could be liable to buy a new ticket for the remaining sector(s) at the full walk-up fare (which for Eurostar is very expensive!) In practice, Eurostar might be lenient (and Seat61 suggests they can be flexible when people have missed departures due to delayed inbound trains, even if they are not on the same ticket). However, I have no direct experience of this, and would be hesitant to risk a tight connection in Paris myself.
sbb.ch will sell Interlaken to London as a single ticket (and hence the entire journey is protected in case of delays). I am not sure of the 'starting from' price, but on a random date in October I can see a price of 173CHF, which is ~Ł113. If you have the Swiss Halbtax and Railplus, the fare drops to 145CHF, ~Ł95.
Note you can also get Basel to London as a single ticket from bahn.de, if you route via Cologne and Brussels on the ICE. This is 2-3 hours longer than going via Paris, but can be done in 2 same-station changes - while going via Paris you have to transfer from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord. In theory, prices from Basel (Bad, not SBB) to London start from €59 - but looking at random dates in October, it seems the actual price is around €129 (Ł92 - plus the Interlaken - Basel ticket, of course).
Personally, I would go for one of the single-ticket options, to avoid having to worry about potentially missing a connection.
And of course, welcome to FlyerTalk, lloydbuck!
According to the CIV (General Conditions of Carriage for Rail Passengers) "One ticket represents one contract of carriage", unless multiple tickets are issued at the same time and place, and clearly shown as linked.
So, if you bought the three tickets separately, and missed a connection due to a train being delayed, then in theory you would not be protected, and could be liable to buy a new ticket for the remaining sector(s) at the full walk-up fare (which for Eurostar is very expensive!) In practice, Eurostar might be lenient (and Seat61 suggests they can be flexible when people have missed departures due to delayed inbound trains, even if they are not on the same ticket). However, I have no direct experience of this, and would be hesitant to risk a tight connection in Paris myself.
sbb.ch will sell Interlaken to London as a single ticket (and hence the entire journey is protected in case of delays). I am not sure of the 'starting from' price, but on a random date in October I can see a price of 173CHF, which is ~Ł113. If you have the Swiss Halbtax and Railplus, the fare drops to 145CHF, ~Ł95.
Note you can also get Basel to London as a single ticket from bahn.de, if you route via Cologne and Brussels on the ICE. This is 2-3 hours longer than going via Paris, but can be done in 2 same-station changes - while going via Paris you have to transfer from Gare de Lyon to Gare du Nord. In theory, prices from Basel (Bad, not SBB) to London start from €59 - but looking at random dates in October, it seems the actual price is around €129 (Ł92 - plus the Interlaken - Basel ticket, of course).
Personally, I would go for one of the single-ticket options, to avoid having to worry about potentially missing a connection.
And of course, welcome to FlyerTalk, lloydbuck!
Aug 16, 2015, 11:28 pm
#3
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If you have a half-fare SBB card, you also get a discount on the Supersavers. But, with SS, you MUST go on a particular train at a particular time--with unrestricted tickets (in Switz.) you can go whenever you choose.
Aug 23, 2015, 4:35 am
#5
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Aug 26, 2015, 2:38 pm
#6
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It seems like you've done your research, so the only things I would add (from experience) are:
As above, various through ticket options are available, in various combinations, from various sellers! Consider Interlaken-Paris/ Brussels as a through ticket, connecting to Eurostar with the aforementioned lenient missed connection policy.
I've done Basel-London on a Europa Special ticket. Was fine, but I broke the journey overnight at Cologne. They can be very tricky to find, but Seat 61 (as ever) has the lowdown, including a link to a DB search page prepopulated with the correct times to find the connections you need.
Have a look at Loco2 and Captainetrain for finding through tickets.
As above, various through ticket options are available, in various combinations, from various sellers! Consider Interlaken-Paris/ Brussels as a through ticket, connecting to Eurostar with the aforementioned lenient missed connection policy.
I've done Basel-London on a Europa Special ticket. Was fine, but I broke the journey overnight at Cologne. They can be very tricky to find, but Seat 61 (as ever) has the lowdown, including a link to a DB search page prepopulated with the correct times to find the connections you need.
Have a look at Loco2 and Captainetrain for finding through tickets.