Connections are available at Basel SBB when travelling from a swathe of other Swiss destinations including Bern, Biel, Luzern and Interlaken.
Take this route via Paris and you will need to make the transfer between the Gare De Lyon, where the Lyria train will arrive, and the Gare Du Nord, from where the Eurostar will depart.
On the current adjusted timetables the first four departures of the day to Paris all connect into Eurostatr trains on to London, which depart from the Gare Du Nord 1hr 35 mins after the Lyria train will have arrived into the Gare de Lyon.
These schedules should ensure a comfortable transfer, as they have around 45mins of contingency time to allow for a delayed arrival into Paris, which is rare on this route, and if the trains are on schedule, you'll be in the Eurostar departure lounge around 30 mins before the train to London will be leaving.
However, despite that, at the current time, the ticket agents don't seem to be offering these combinations of trains, Lyria to Paris + Eurostar to London, as an end-to-end journey available in one transaction.
The alternative connections
(1) The majority of the journey options currently on sale involve making an additional connection in Strasbourg; because both the TER (non high-speed) trains between Basel and Strasbourg; and the TGV trains on from Strasbourg to Paris are operating close to their usual schedules.
(2) A routing which is more than 2hr 30mins slower travelling via Paris is available, but it avoids having to make a transfer across the French capital.
It is also a good option for users of Eurail and InterRail passes, because it avoids the comparatively expensive fees which rail pass users have to pay on the Eurostar trains.
It involves taking:
Mon-Thurs = 3 x connections per day
Friday = 4 x connections
Saturday = 3 x connections
Sunday = 4 x connections
Change trains in: Paris
Book Early And Save: Yes
Online bookings open: 4 months ahead
Trainline will also sell journeys with alternative combinations of trains; so take care when booking.
You're looking for the journeys with '1.correspon' that involve taking the TGV Lyria from Basel SBB*to Paris.
*Select Basel SBB when looking up this journey.
Though when SMTJ most recently looked up this journey this routing wasn't available as an end-to-end booking, despite the necessary trains being scheduled.
So if you want to make the journey via Paris in around 7 hours, separate bookings per train may be required.
The very cheapest tickets tend to sell out particularly quickly on this route; they're more likely to be available if you can travel on a Tuesday - Thursday and are happy to set off from Basel in the morning.
Eurostar does not sell tickets for this journey.
Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
---|---|---|
Trainline | from €79 app | |
Oui.SNCF | from €79 app |
Final Destination: Paris Lyon
All trains also call at: Mulhouse-Ville
Most trains also call at: Dijon-Ville
This is a journey of four distinct parts.
1: The first part of the journey from Mulhouse to Basel is on conventional tracks.
2: Between Mulhouse and Dijon there is a high speed line.
3:The train switches to conventional tracks north of Dijon, this is the most scenic part of the journey
4: Finally the train will travel on the high speed line north to Paris.
Final Destination: London St Pancras
Some trains also call at: Ashford International or Ebbsfleet International (these station calls are currently suspended_
Note that London is in a different time zone to mainland Europe, it is one hour behind, so when looking at a timetable the journey will look as though it's an hour shorter.
Checking-in:
Eurostar requests that holders of Standard Class And Standard Premier tickets check-in a minimum of 30mins before departure, and 45mins before departure on weekends and holidays.
It is up to you to allow time to pass through check-in and board the train.
If you have a Business Premier ticket, Eurostar recommends that you only have to check-in 10 mins before departure.
At Gare Du Nord the check in and waiting area for the Eurostar (the 'Hall Du Londres') is at an upper level, above the main concourse.
The access to this upper level is some distance from the voie/platforms/tracks that the Eurostars depart from.
The escalators leading up to Eurostar departures are located at the rear wall of the station building, on the opposite side of the concourse to voies/platforms/tracks 14 - 15.
It's not a scenic journey, but it is a journey with distinct phases and highlights:
1: There is little to see from the high speed lines in France, particularly after Lille (the trains to Paris will rush through Lille Europe station).
2: The train will slow down as it approaches The Channel Tunnel.
Announcements are no longer made that the train is about to enter the tunnel.
The journey through the tunnel will take around 22 mins.
3: As the train nears Ebbsfleet International station, comes the scenic highlight of the journey - the crossing of the River Medway on a high bridge.
4: After Ebbsfleet International (which can only be seen from the right) the train will enter a tunnel under the River Thames.
As the train exits this tunnel, from the left, the Queen Elizabeth II road bridge can be seen.
5: For most of the final 8 -10 mins of the journey the trains use tunnels to enter London (Stratford International station is located between the tunnels).
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