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Zürich / Zurich to Hamburg by train
How to take the rail journey from Zurich to Hamburg
Due to the distance it's possible to choice between travelling during the day or overnight when taking a train from Zurich to Hamburg.
This is route when you won't miss out on experiencing stunning scenery if you take the Nightjet instead of the ICE trains, though taking the ICE trains makes for a very pleasant trip.
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Routes
Option 1: travelling by day
Journey Summary
7hr 36 min - 7hr 42min (approx)
Daily
Travel Information
The daily ICE trains are usually scheduled to depart from Zurich every other from 05:59 to 13:59
On Mondays - Saturdays there is a later train which is due to depart Zurich at 16:59, but it doesn't arrive in Hamburg until after 01:00
However, if you can only depart from Zurich later, or need or want to be in Hamburg before 13:30, an option is to take the overnight train.
Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona (or Kiel)
All trains also call at: Frankfurt (Main), Hannover and Hamburg-Harburg; avoid leaving the train at this station if you will be heading to the city centre.
All of these trains will call at two stations adjacent to Hamburg city centre - Hamburg Hbf and Hamburg Dammtor.
So it can be worthwhile working out which of these stations in the city, will suit your needs best, before making the journey.
Mon -Sat = 6 x trains per day
Sunday= 5 x trains per day
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open: 6 months ahead of the travel date
On the DB Bahn booking site look for journeys that have:
- 0 in the Chg. column
- ICE (and only ICE) in the Products column.
Trains departing at different times can be cheaper than others leaving on the same day, so you may need to look through the day's departures to find the cheapest fares.
Use the earlier/later buttons to search for the cheapest ticket prices.
Reservations are recommended for this journey; book a 1st class ticket on DB Bahn and your seat will be assigned, but not in 2nd class
They can also be booked separately at a later date on the DB website.
If you will be using a rail pass reservations are optional, but if you do choose to reserve (recommended) book the reservation online on DB Bahn and avoid the booking fees you would be charged at the station in Switzerland.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| DB | from €29.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €29.90 | |
| Happyrail | from €29.90 | |
| SaveATrain | from €29.90 |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
Avoid the daily EC train which is usually scheduled to depart fom Zurich at 11:00.
It takes a different non high-speed route and its journey time is around three hours longer!
These trains reverse direction on departure from Basel SBB and Frankfurt (Main) stations.
This is a fascinating journey of seven distinct phases
- The second half of the part of the journey from Zurich to Basel is one of the most scenic parts of the trip.
- After reversing direction at Basel the train will head to Offenburg, though south of Freiburg it travels through one of Germany's longest rail tunnels.
- The railway between Offenburg and Karlsruhe has been re-engineered so it is classified as a high speed line, the train will be travelling at more than 250 k/mh.
- From Karlsruhe until Frankfurt (Main) the train will pass through a series of towns.
- After reversing direction at Frankfurt the train will spend more than an hour travelling towards the high speed line, east of Hanau the train will travel through a series of valleys on one of the more scenic parts of the trip.
- Between Fulda and Hannover comes the part of the journey with a wow factor as the train will travel at more than 280 km/h through a series of tunnels linked by viaducts.
- From Hannover to Hamburg the train will travel across an unremarkable landscape.
Option 2: travelling overnight
Journey Summary
11hr 51min
Nightly
Travel Information
Departing from Zurich:
This train is usually scheduled to depart from Zurich HB station at 19:59 and arrive in Hamburg Hbf at around 08:00.
In contrast the first of the daytime trains isn't due to arrive in Hamburg until after 13:30.
Final Destination: Hamburg-Altona
This train also calls at: Hannover (arrives at 06:04) and Luneberg.
This train will also call at two stations adjacent to Hamburg city centre - Hamburg Hbf and Hamburg Dammtor.
So it can be worthwhile working out which of these stations in the city, will suit your needs best, before making the journey.
1 x train per night
Tickets
Book early and save: Yes
Online bookings open:
6 months ahead of the travel date on OBB
3 months ahead of the travel date on DB Bahn
The train conveys:
- Compartment Seats (Sitzwagen)
- Couchettes (Liegewagen); 4 berths AND 6 berths
- Standard sleeping cars (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
- Deluxe sleeping cars with showers (Schlafwagen) with 3 bed, 2 bed and 1 cabins
The first price you will see on the OBB ticketing site will be for the compartment seats.
Our guide to booking night train tickets on the OBB (Austrian national railways) website is available HERE.
Our guide to booking night train tickets on the DB (German national railways) website is available HERE.
Click the train details button for more info including the rail pass reservation fees:
Using rail passes:
Rail pass users must reserve before boarding this train.
However, these rail pass reservations can NO longer be booked online the DB website.
Instead you can now book rail pass reservations without paying booking fees on the OBB website (OBB operates these trains). Though the process for doing so isn't particularly obvious, hence this step-by-step guide.
Avoid booking the reservation at a Swiss station, not only will you have to pay a booking fee, but your first choice of accommodation may have sold out, if you book last minute.
Where to book
| Ticket Provider | Approximate Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| OBB | * | |
| DB Bahn | * |
On this journey
Travelling On
Journey Features
Good to Know
On departure from Zurich this Nightjet train heading to Hamburg will be joined to another Nightjet train heading for Berlin.
So if you see a train heading to Berlin on the departure screens at Zurich Hb station, it's likely that that info will also apply to this train.
Don't be concerned about boarding the wrong part of the train, your reservation(s) will be in coaches which will be heading to Hamburg.
An attendant will also greet passengers travelling in the sleeping cabins.
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