City to city
Berlin to Zurich by train
Berlin Hauptbahnhof → Zürich HB
- Fastest
- ≈ 7h 45m
- Typical
- ≈ 8h 24m
- Direct trains
- No
- Fewest changes
- 1
- Operators
- DB Fernverkehr AG, Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB, National Express, DB Regio AG NRW
Trains link Berlin (Berlin Hauptbahnhof) and Zurich (Zürich HB) in about 7h 45m at best, with at least 1 change along the way.
How long does the train from Berlin to Zurich take?
The fastest trains cover Berlin to Zurich in about 7h 45m; a typical journey takes around 8h 24m.
Is there a direct train from Berlin to Zurich?
Usually not; expect at least 1 change on this journey.
Is the train or a flight faster from Berlin to Zurich?
A typical flight works out roughly 4h 20m quicker door to door (about 4h 25m against 8h 45m by train, once airport time is counted) — but the train emits about 3× less CO₂e, even on conservative official emission factors.
- Train, door to door
- ≈ 8h 45m
- Flight, door to door
- ≈ 4h 25m (est.)
- CO₂e per passenger
- ~28 kg train · ~91 kg plane
Flight time and emissions are transparent estimates, not airline schedules — method, factors and all 109 compared pairs on Train vs plane in Europe.
Legendary routes through Berlin or Zurich
- ICE Sprinter Berlin → Munich
- ICE Hamburg → Berlin
- Nightjet Vienna → Zurich
- Gotthard Express Zurich → Milan
Sleepers too: night trains from Berlin · night trains from Zurich.
More trains from Berlin
- Berlin → Leipzig ≈ 1h 15m · direct
- Berlin → Hannover ≈ 1h 33m · direct
- Berlin → Dresden ≈ 1h 39m · direct
- Berlin → Hamburg ≈ 1h 47m · direct
- Berlin → Nuremberg ≈ 2h 45m · direct
- Berlin → Frankfurt ≈ 3h 51m · direct
More train routes in Germany · Austria · Liechtenstein.
Journey figures are typical values sampled from public European schedule data; exact times vary by day. Always check the operator when booking.