Super Saver Fares – what if missing a connection?

  • rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    15 March 2017 at 6:43:58 #811081

    Hi Folks,

    What happens if you make a SBB supersaver booking for a specific journey which has a tight connection along the way and the train does not arrive on time to make the connection? Or is this circumstance highly improbable with the “runs like clockwork” Swiss Rail network?

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    Removed user
    Participant
    72625 posts
    15 March 2017 at 13:35:36 #860118

    HI Rockoyster,

    Highly improbably perhaps, but it is a concern. You should have no problem explaining the situation to a conductor. Do so on the first train when you realize you will miss a connection as they may hold the train if there are enough people trying to connect to it.

    Otherwise tell the conductor on the next train what happened – he can check that the train was in fact delayed and there should be no issues.

    PS what route are you looking at? Supersaver tickets, to my knowledge, are almost always for direct trains.

    Lucas

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    15 March 2017 at 23:44:59 #860119

    >> Supersaver tickets, to my knowledge, are almost always for direct trains. <<

    I bought Supersaver tickets last year for a December trip that had two connections. This was a trip from Luzern to Wengen, which involved a change of trains in Interlaken Ost and Lauterbrunnen.

    As it turned out, we missed our second connection in Lauterbrunnen and had to buy a normal ticket for that last sector (which was not expensive).

    However, the reason we missed our connection was not because the Interlaken-Lauterbrunnen train was late, but because my son left his backpack on it and had to go back to retrieve it!

    Alpenrose

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    15 March 2017 at 23:51:54 #860120

    >> What happens if you make a SBB supersaver booking for a specific journey which has a tight connection along the way and the train does not arrive on time to make the connection? <<

    At which station are you making the connection, how long is the connection time, and what are the numbers of the platforms you arrive on and depart from?

    Alpenrose

    rockoyster
    Participant
    8889 posts
    16 March 2017 at 1:10:42 #860121

    Hi Lucas and Alpenrose,

    Thanks for your feedback.

    It was really just a a general question as I am still researching what routes to follow. I can’t buy tickets yet as I won’t be travelling until late May early June. I just wondered if I would be compelled to buy a new ticket if the connection was missed on a supersaver fare due to no fault of my own.

    I may not end up going this way but one example was from Konstanz to Lausanne via Zurich and Biel – through the Jura. There is one connection at Zurich with a 9 minute change over arriving platform 15 departing platform 31. The second leg is quite long so a new ticket would be relatively expensive. Other routes I have looked at I have seen connection times as low as 4 minutes which is what triggered the question.

    Removed user
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    72625 posts
    16 March 2017 at 10:39:55 #860122

    >> I may not end up going this way but one example was from Konstanz to Lausanne via Zurich and Biel – through the Jura. There is one connection at Zurich with a 9 minute change over arriving platform 15 departing platform 31. The second leg is quite long so a new ticket would be relatively expensive. <<

    The SBB considers all connection times to be doable. However, if you are not familiar with Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Main Station), 9 minutes might be cutting it a bit fine. Platform 15 is at ground level, and Platform 31 is underground. Platforms are well signposted, but I always find the underground level a bit trickier to navigate than the street level.

    You can download a station plan from here:

    http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-services/am-bahnhof/railway-stations/trafimage-maps-station-plans/station-plans.html

    >> Other routes I have looked at I have seen connection times as low as 4 minutes which is what triggered the question. <<

    4-minute connections will usually be for smaller stations, where you can just go down a ramp, walk a short distance in the subway, then up another ramp – no tricky navigation.

    You will sometimes also see 2- minute connections. They will usually be for connections that simply require crossing to the other side of the platform you arrived on.

    Alpenrose

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