Gotthard Base Tunnel closure impact to NightJet (Zurich to Amsterdam)

Pdeverea · 2023-08-26T17:17:43+00:00

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Pdeverea

I have a reservation for NightJet 402 (from Zurich to Cologne) on October 22nd. With the accident in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, I’m having difficulty figuring out the status of the train for that day as I haven’t gotten communication that the train has been definitely canceled, just that the journey has been impacted (and that my ticket is still valid). I’m getting mixed information from multiple sources (some say the train isn’t available at all, some show the train but it isn’t bookable, etc), including ÖBB’s website, on whether the train is running or not. I tried contacting OBB but they haven’t responded to my online requests and calling them was not helpful (and it’s very expensive for me).At this point, I’m just wanting to know if it’s still leaving as planned or if it was cancelled. My concern is that I’ll book an alternative option and then find out the train is still on schedule when the journey begins and find out I’ve just needlessly wasted money. Additionally, I have multiple connections on that day before this train, so getting this sorted out as soon as possible would be very much appreciated.

Thank you!

RolandP

Hello Pdeverea

I read your lines twice, and I am still confused. The NightJet 402 from Zurich to Cologne will not serve along the Gotthard route, so I have difficulties understanding why and how you should be impacted by this incident. If there are connecting trains taking you to Zurich, it would be helpful to know your complete itinerary. Unfortunately, you are not providing this information.

As a general saying, the SBB timetable is up-to-date until 01 October. Since 24 August, international trains are again running from Zurich to Italy and v.v., simply needing more time for the Zurich to Chiasso stretch. What concerns the repair work in the Gotthard Base Tunnel, there is great progress with every new day. Consequently, the situation on 22 October will be much better than today and there might be improvements in the situation which are in your favour. There is no need to worry now about an event that will happen in two months.

We can check your situation in more depth if you provide us the complete itinerary.

Kind regards,
Roland

RolandP

Hello Pdeverea

I am afraid, your entire itinerary is not doable. Instead of travelling via Zurich, I checked for possible options for direct travel from Milan to Basel SBB. The NJ will start in Zurich and stop in Basel SBB before heading to Germany. However, I noticed that your timetable says that the NJ is departing from Zurich at 21:59, while it is actually departing at 20:59 local time. Could it be that there is a time confusion since you are in another time zone (Eastern Europe)?

Kind regards,
Roland

Pdeverea

RolandP

I’m assuming it does as that is the train on my itinerary that got the below notice:

Below is the full itinerary for the day (from first to last):

Pdeverea

Pdeverea OK, I think I understand where your confusion was coming from, my apologies. I mistakenly thought it was the NightJet that was the cause of problem (as it had the notice shown in the app), but it appears to be the connection from Milano Centrale to Zurich Main Station instead (as that, from what I can tell, should be going through the tunnel). That said, the NightJet still only shows up in some websites timetables (but as un available for booking, perhaps because it’s out of seats?) and is not present on others. I also still have no way to reschedule the Milano-Zurich train, as the primary issue can easily solved by catching an earlier train (we have a few hours in Milano Centrale). The app will only allow me to reschedule the NightJet as it seems to think that is the only viable solution. As my party will be in Rome for a couple days before that journey, would it just be better to wait until then to talk to someone at the train station instead?

Pdeverea

RolandP Can I ask where you are seeing it leaving at 20:59? When I look at the NightJet schedule (on nightjet.com) leaving Zurich during the weekdays before and after that weekend, it leaves at 21:59 My assumption was that all of these websites show departure and arrival times in the respective stations local time (similar to booking plane tickets).

RolandP

Hello Pdeverea

In the SBB timetable on www.sbb.ch/en and SBB Mobile App:

Best regards,
Roland

Pdeverea

RolandP

I don’t think there was confusion about time zones. The original journey between Zurich and Cologne was a direct connection on the NightJet. There were no train changes. OBB isn’t even showing the route you’re referencing at 20:59. They do show the train leaving at 21:34 that connects with NightJet in Freiburg (which also shows up in my alternative services that I could rebook with) but, in the Journey Preview, the NightJet portion says “no services available for this section”. SBB shows something similar if you go to book that route:

If you look at the timetable on NightJet.com, there is no direct service scheduled between Freiburg and Cologne until that following Tuesday.

Pdeverea

The image in my reply above is from NightJet. The image below is from SBB: