"IRN1" between Zurich and Berne This is the timetable for the new night express train
Zurich and Bern are moving closer together at night: From December, two Interregio night trains will run in each direction at weekends for the first time.
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- From mid-December, night Intercity trains will run between Zurich and Berne for the first time - twice in each direction every weekend night and without a supplement.
- The railroad wants to pick up night owls and early travelers.
- The route is the first step towards a nationwide weekend night network.
Anyone coming out late at the weekend or needing to get to the airport early will in future be able to take an overnight express train on the Zurich-Berne route. According to timetable data, Interregio trains will also run between Zurich and the federal city at night for the first time from December 14 - as first reported by the "Aargauer Zeitung".
The new connections will run twice in each direction every weekend night. The service departs from Zurich main station at 2.02 a.m., with a stop in Olten. Arrival in Bern is at 3.04 am.
In the opposite direction, the trains leave Bern at 3.00 a.m. and arrive in Zurich an hour later. The later train continues to Zurich Airport and Winterthur.
Good news for night owls: SBB does not charge a night supplement - the connections are part of normal long-distance services.
The new night trains are just the beginning. According to the "Aargauer Zeitung" newspaper, the Zurich-Berne route is the first line of a planned weekend night network throughout Switzerland. In the SBB "Vision 2027", Olten is to become the central hub. Later, Basel, Chur, Biel, the Lake Geneva region and Valais could also be connected.
However, the service will remain the exception during the week. Due to night-time maintenance on the rail network, SBB will continue to restrict night trains to Friday and Saturday nights.
Correction note: There was an error in the journey times in an initial version. The error has been corrected.
