Brig-Basel-Strasbourg advice

[philjo]

I will be travelling next month from Brig to Strasbourg having alighted at Brig from the Glacier Express. I'm then staying 1 night in Strasbourg.

I see there are engineering works near Mulhouse so there are limited trains running Basel to Strasbourg for most of July and most journeys require a change of train at St Louis (Haut-Rhin) - the online timetables indicate a 4 minute connection. is this on an adjacent platform or would it require use of stairs etc as I will have luggage with me?

Alternatively the DB bahn.de site shows an option to use ICE from BAsel and a 10 minute change at Offenburg to Strasbourg - this option also has a slightly longer conection at Basel which seem to be adjacent platforms. (10 to 11) if going via Mulhouse I have 10 (or 40) minutes to change from platform 10 to 31 at Basel which preumably is some distance to walk?

I will be on an Interrail ticket so it doesn't mater which way I go - presumably it would be better to use the ICE via Offenbourg?

Thanks.

Times on Bahn.De
Brig dep 14:49 IC 825
Bern arr 15:54 Bern dep 16:04
ICE 376
Intercity-Express*Direction: Basel Bad Bf

Basel SBB arr 16:59 Basel SBB dep 17:13

ICE 102 Intercity-Express*Direction: Köln Hbf

Offenburg arr 18:25 Offenburg dep 18:35

SWE87454 Südwestdeutsche Verkehrs-AG*Direction: Strasbourg

Strasbourg arr 19:04



Times on SBB (for Basel-Strasbourg)


Basel SBB, Platform 31 Departure 17:08 
TE2 96022 Direction Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin)


Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin) Arrival 17:15 


Between Basel SBB and St. Louis (Haut-Rhin) - Mulhouse only limited train services are operating. More information

Saint-Louis (Haut-Rhin) Departure 17:19 
TE2 96234 Direction Strasbourg Ville 

Strasbourg Ville arr: 18:39


(or similar 30 minutes later)

 

[Polarbear]

Ive had to change at the delightful St Louis & when I did so, it wasn't a cross platform connection. The station is basically two large island platforms & it was a case of down one escalator & up the other side.

I say 'delightful' as it's a bit of a barn, in a part of eastern France that's seen better days, though the area is slowly being redeveloped & the Basel tram network is being extended out there.

 

[bunnahabhain]

Platform 10 to 31 is quite a walk as you need to go from Basel SBB to Basel SNCF, as long as you're a quick enough walker I'd say you can do it in under 5mins.

 

[30907]

The shuttle to St Louis are specifically advertised as connections, so I imagine the connection will be fine, and if not its only half an hour to wait. The Bale-Mulhouse locals every half hour are also running.

The Bale-Strasbourg trains are rebuilt Corail sets (with driving trailer) so maybe a bit more interesting, and IIRC the route is less plagued witn anti noise barriers. The route via Offenburg is very good for freight though.

Offenburg is a fairly small station and does have lifts (so does Mulhouse) and you could change at Freiburg (same platform) rather than Basel (10 and 11 are NOT cross-platform)

 

[Gordon]

.


I assume from the original question that the day of travel is Mon - Fri, as I see that the engineering doesn't affect Saturdays as much.

I recommend sticking to the French side. Once you have made the walk from Basel SBB to Basel SNCF you should be OK.

The connections at St Louis appear to be as short as 3 minutes in some cases. I can't believe that they are not cross-platform.

I'm not sure SNCF uses the westernmost island platform these days under normal circumstances but I think the signalling would allow the to use both side of the island for 'up' trains. With the reduced service there must surely be plenty of line capacity to allow this to happen.

The full SNCF 'fiche' is here:

http://cdn.ter.sncf.com/medias/PDF/... (1004 au 2807)_tcm49-121648_tcm49-121339.pdf


.

 

[Groningen]

Forget the change at Basel in 4 minutes. If you succeed you are Justin Bolt. There could be French custom officers. It is a border of the EU.

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

Forget the change at Basel in 4 minutes. If you succeed you are Justin Bolt. There could be French custom officers. It is a border of the EU.

When I alighted an ICE in Basel Badischer Bahnhof, there were old custom posts in the platform tunnel, but they weren't in use. I don't think that'll be a platform

 

[30907]

It's 9 min at Basel and I agree with U-bahnFreund checks are unlikely. And as the OP has a flexible ticket and is only going to Strasbourg, having to wait for the 1733 is no big deal.

Assuming the Bern-Basel train is an ICE1 (it's going towards Hamburg so it should be)then boarding around the middle should minimise walking to the Passerelle (the big footbridge).

 

[Please Explain]

When I alighted an ICE in Basel Badischer Bahnhof, there were old custom posts in the platform tunnel, but they weren't in use. I don't think that'll be a platform

Hallo U-Bahnfreund,

The Zoll at the Badischer Bahnhof has since been removed, I've always wondered why as it is still the outer border of the EU? I have seen them doing random Zoll inspections onboard the trains frequently though Between Basel and Frieburg.

Servus aus München!

 

[Groningen]

I remember that there was still a customcontrol in Geneve in January 2016.

 

[Gordon]

I remember that there was still a customcontrol in Geneve in January 2016.

The facilities are certainly in place at Genève, but it is sometimes used, sometimes not.

There is currently a slight difference between Germany - Switzerland frontier and France - Switzerland frontier in that there is the state of emergency still in place in France which means that the French are more likely to man frontier posts than was the case before the recent security issues

 

[Gordon]

Forget the change at Basel in 4 minutes. If you succeed you are Justin Bolt. There could be French custom officers. It is a border of the EU.

The 4 minute connection was in reference to the connection at St Louis, not Basel SBB

 

[Gordon]

I will be travelling next month from Brig to Strasbourg having alighted at Brig from the Glacier Express. I'm then staying 1 night in Strasbourg.

Alternatively the DB bahn.de site shows an option to use ICE from BAsel and a 10 minute change at Offenburg to Strasbourg - this option also has a slightly longer conection at Basel which seem to be adjacent platforms. (10 to 11) if going via Mulhouse I have 10 (or 40) minutes to change from platform 10 to 31 at Basel which preumably is some distance to walk?

I decided to try a check of the timetables myself.

There is a much better connection than your version, omitting the change in Bern (always very busy, narrow covered platforms 1960s style a la Birmingham New Street...)

Wait at Brig for IC1076 departing at 15.20 (time for a bit of a break from the train at Brig too)

IC1076 is direct Brig - Basel (booked Re460 load 9 including a restaurant car), arrive platform 12 at 17.29, with a St Louis train at 17.43 from platform 31.


.

 

[philjo]

Thanks for all of your replies & suggestions.

 

[Groningen]

Just out of bounce, but Germany has untill the G20 summit (July 7 and 8) in Hamburg reinstated bordercontrol since this week.

 

[duesselmartin]

Doesnt seem to affect the dutch Border, so maybe Not Basel. I would assume they target mainly Road crossings.

 

[Groningen]

It is not that they are present 100 % of the time. Germany is huge and to have at every crossing an inspection point takes a lot of people. Switzerland is a Schengen border.