How can you still take the train to Switzerland?
In any case, the train journey to Switzerland will take a little longer after July 2024. If you do it via Germany, there will be one or more transfers in addition, for example in Cologne, Frankfurt, Mannheim or Munich. Make sure to plan your trip carefully in the NS International travel planner, because there may be construction work. There is also the option of traveling to Switzerland via France. If you take the Eurostar (as Thalys is now called) first to Paris, you will have to transfer by metro to another station, Gare de Lyon. From there you can continue on to Switzerland.
Is there an alternative to a direct trip to Switzerland by train?
An adventurous alternative is the direct night train to Switzerland, which will continue to operate for the time being. In the evening, board the plane in Amsterdam, Utrecht or Arnhem, arriving 12 hours later in Basel or Zurich. Finally, there is the private company GoVolta, which wants to differentiate itself with cheap international train travel. GoVolta hopes to revive direct connectivity between the Netherlands and Switzerland. But if that actually happens, it won't happen until 2025.
Sources: Archive, De Volkskrant, Treinreizen.nl, RTL Nieuws, Historiek.net, NS International. Photo: Takashi Pictures/Shutterstock.
