After half a year of waiting, Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) and their Dutch counterpart Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) have announced a new night train between Zurich and Amsterdam. The first train is due to leave Zurich HB (Zurich main station) on December 12, being the first direct train between Switzerland and the Netherlands since 2016.
The new Nightjet service will run between the Swiss cities of Zurich and Basel, through Germany, before finally arriving in Amsterdam. The route has been used by Swiss public transport before, but after a decline in passenger numbers it closed in 2016. Now, increasing demand for eco-friendly public transport has meant that SBB, NS, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Deutsche Bahn (DB) have reopened the service as part of ÖBB’s Nightjet network.
The train will leave Zurich for Amsterdam at 9.59pm every night, stopping at Basel, Frankfurt, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Arnhem and Utrecht, before finally arriving in Amsterdam at 9.59am the next day. The return leg will leave at 8.30pm and return to Zurich at 8.05am the next morning.
The trains will offer regular seating, communal sleeping areas and private rooms. SBB estimates that just a single round trip by train from Zurich to Amsterdam would save each person 265,8 kilograms of CO2, 128 litres of fuel and 10 hours of travelling time compared with driving.
The train will start running on December 12. Tickets are on sale but going fast! Prices vary depending on what you choose but can be as little as 38 euros one way. With these new services, it is easier than ever to visit one of Europe’s prime destinations from Zurich.