Originally Posted by
Aviatrix
Just thought of something else... someone mentioned, much earlier in this thread, that the Swiss crew won't board the train until Basel SBB.
If this information is correct then the issue of Swiss fines won't arise because there will be no Swiss crew (and no ticket inspections) until the OP has got off the train.
I don't think an SBB conductor will board in Basel Bad. Bf. or even at Basel SBB; the SBB and DB have made arrangements to make staffing more efficient, and SBB conductors, for instance, staff some trains all the way from Zurich to Stuttgart (and I think also to Munich). The DB crew from Hamburg (or more likely, from Karlsruhe or Frankfurt-South [not a passenger stop]) will most likely accompany the train all the way to Zurich, so the OP is probably safe with a German Rail Pass all the way to Basel SBB. If SBB conductors staff the train south of Karlsruhe/Frankfurt, though, the situation is a bit stickier. The train reaches these stations at around 4:00-5:00 a.m., so it's best to talk to the conductor as soon as the OP wakes up.