about direct train between Brussels and Basel

[StephenHunter]

I have a 1967 and 1974 Cooks, along with the Summer 1967 DB Kursbuch. Among others.

 

[AlbertBeale]

The problem with such a route is that end-to-end it is now much too slow. To use your own argument: Brussels - Luxembourg has a very dense, if slow, service. And Strasbourg - Luxembourg would be better served by extending some Strasbourg - Metz TER trains (if at all necessary; Metz - Luxembourg has - at least by French standards - quite a decent service).

A through TGV Zurich - Brussels, however, would at least achieve a half-decent journey time from Switzerland to Belgium, besides giving more parts of Alsace a connection to Charles-de-Gaulle and also enabling London - Switzerland connections at Lille. To achieve this, however, SNCF would need to put more emphasis on marginal services, giving them time to develop, and also give up the absurd separation between TGV and regional services, since between Strasbourg and Basel, such a service would better be integrated with the TER offer (as would actually most TGV services outside of HSL lines).

So it is not going to happen, even though I am sure that the Swiss would go for it, provided that they can integrate it with their own national timetable between Zurich and Basel (as they already do with TGV to Paris and ICE services).

I'd be pleased to at least have a decent through service between Luxembourg and Strasbourg again these days.

 

[Polarbear]

I'd be pleased to at least have a decent through service between Luxembourg and Strasbourg again these days.

That's really the problem. There's a frequent (if slow) service Brussels - Luxembourg, and a reasonable TER service between Strasbourg and Basle. The bit between Luxembourg and Strasbourg is less than stellar in terms of connections & frequency these days, usually involving 1 or 2 changes en-route & quite often, a TGV for the short hop from Luxembourg to Metz which entails compulsory reservation.

Even say 2 or 3 direct TER services (extensions of the Basle - Strasbourg TER) to/from Luxembourg would be of use.

 

[Welly]

The two trains show in the Swiss timetable archive as being 1304 off Basel (EC90 "Vauban", 1136 from Zürich Hbf) and 1608 off Basel (EC96 "Iris", 1436 from Zürich Hbf). Interestingly both are shown as IR services within Switzerland as they didn't have the required catering facilities to be an IC/EC for Swiss standards.

Up until the last couple of years they used to run through from within Switzerland, which would give a bonus drop of shunter haulage if travelling from Switzerland into France or beyond. The train would arrive at the SBB platforms at Basel behind a Swiss loco, which would then be removed. The replacement French train loco (normally a BB15000 or Sybic) would then be shunted on by an SBB shunter (whatever was capable of working across the voltage divide). The SBB shunter would then haul the train into the 25kV SNCF part of the station and be removed. In the latter years this would often be one of SBB's Stadler built dual-voltage Ee922 locos.

A belated thank you for the reply - I can confirm that I did indeed take the 13.04 EC90 "Vauban" service from Basle SNCF station.

Another point of interest is that the SNCF platform has OLE that can be switched between 15kV and 25kV voltage with a special signal stating either 15 or 25. The SBB shunter dragged the BB15000 (panto down!) with the train into the platform - uncoupled and skedaddled off. Then the voltage is switched over to 25kV and the BB15000 raises the panto.

 

[Jamesrob637]

That's really the problem. There's a frequent (if slow) service Brussels - Luxembourg, and a reasonable TER service between Strasbourg and Basle. The bit between Luxembourg and Strasbourg is less than stellar in terms of connections & frequency these days, usually involving 1 or 2 changes en-route & quite often, a TGV for the short hop from Luxembourg to Metz which entails compulsory reservation.

Even say 2 or 3 direct TER services (extensions of the Basle - Strasbourg TER) to/from Luxembourg would be of use.

Is TGV not free-for-all on non-high speed lines?

 

[Polarbear]

Is TGV not free-for-all on non-high speed lines?

Strictly speaking, no. However, I suspect it happens quite regularly. You don’t always get reservations checked on SNCF, even on the (few) “Intercities” services that remain.

 

[43096]

Strictly speaking, no. However, I suspect it happens quite regularly. You don’t always get reservations checked on SNCF, even on the (few) “Intercities” services that remain.

One place they are free-for-all is internally within Switzerland, as they fit into the SBB IC service pattern between, for example, Basel and Zürich.

 

[Porty]

I used to use it about once a month between Basel and Ottignies. As others have mentioned, it stopped running in 2016.

Now the alternatives are either to change at Mulhouse and Luxembourg, with longish waits in both places, or to go via Köln - Liège - Namur. The route via Germany (which I normally use now) is faster, but significantly more expensive. The connection in Liège is also often missed. I regularly get "Why on earth are you doing this?" and "It must have been better in the past" remarks from the ticket inspectors in Belgium.

The main-some may even say only, market for this route is BRUssels-STRasbourg for the EU-burocrats. Hence there was once a replacement TGV along the Paris-avoiding lines between the 2.
BRU-Basel and further into the mountains and skiing if the swiss-just use the german ICE via Cologne/Köln-FRA. Tons cheaper too for advance bookings.
Though comparing it with the completely vanished routes of the old boattrains from Calais to transport the Brits into those mountains across the north of very sparsely populated north of France......

Just looked up the advance fare Brussels to Basel on Rail Europe for a random date - 3rd Feb. Looks like £37, four times daily via Koln in 6hrs 22mins. Pretty good value if you can book a few weeks ahead.

 

[Austriantrain]

One place they are free-for-all is internally within Switzerland, as they fit into the SBB IC service pattern between, for example, Basel and Zürich.

Also, within Germany (eg Karlsruhe - Stuttgart, Saarbrücken- Frankfurt) - although you need an ICE ticket.

Thankfully, Central European railways have not gone for mandatory reservation (which, in a Takt timetable, would be counterproductive).