Home / Zurich /Zurich Airport / Train to Winterthur vs IR36 to Basel SBB

ZRH → Zurich · head to head

Train to WinterthurorIR36 to Basel SBB?

The short answer

For one traveler the Train to Winterthur is cheaper by CHF 31.60. That does not change up to 8 travelers.

The Train to Winterthur is quicker: 14 min against 1 h 27. The IR36 to Basel SBB varies between 87 and 94 minutes.

Train to Winterthur: 05:15–00:30. IR36 to Basel SBB: 05:56–20:56.

Priced against each other

Whole-party totals · adult fares
What each costs for the whole party, in CHF. The cheaper of the two is marked on every row.
TravelersTrain to WinterthurIR36 to Basel SBBDifference
1CHF 9.40CHF 41CHF 31.60
2CHF 18.80CHF 82CHF 63.20
3CHF 28.20CHF 123CHF 94.80
4CHF 37.60CHF 164CHF 126.40
5CHF 47CHF 205CHF 158
6CHF 53.60CHF 246CHF 192.40
7CHF 63CHF 287CHF 224
8CHF 72.40CHF 328CHF 255.60

Side by side

Where each one leaves you
regional · SBB, on a ZVV zone ticketTrain to Winterthur
From
Zürich Flughafen railway station, platforms 1 to 4 — any train whose destination lies beyond Winterthur: St. Gallen, Konstanz, Romanshorn, Chur, Weinfelden, Thayngen, Rorschach, Sargans
To
Winterthur, the main station in the middle of the city: 13 to 15 minutes non-stop by InterCity or InterRegio, 19 on the S24 via Bassersdorf, Effretikon and Kemptthal
Luggage
Mainline Swiss trains: racks and standing space by the doors.
Runs
05:15–00:30
Journey
13–19 min

Buy four zones, not three. Airport to Winterthur is CHF 9.40 (zones 120, 121 and 122, with 120 counting twice); the CHF 7.20 three-zone ticket that reaches Zurich is not valid on arrival. Enter "Winterthur" as the destination in the ZVV app or at the machine and the zones come out right.

Take whichever comes first. The IC1, IC5, IC8, IR13, IR75 and EuroCity run non-stop in 13 to 15 minutes; the S24 stops three times and takes 19. Same ticket, same platforms.

The ticket lasts two hours and includes Winterthur's zone, so the city bus from the station is covered without buying anything else.

The last train is the 00:30 IR13 and the first the 05:15 S-Bahn on weekdays, 04:18 at weekends. No train and no night bus between them: the N10 night bus from the airport goes to Zurich.

Six or more of you: one CHF 53.60 Multikarte covers six rides and may be shared — CHF 2.80 less than six singles. Coming back the same day, the CHF 18.80 24-hour ticket costs exactly two singles.

The 9 o'clock day pass is CHF 28.00 and covers every zone; it never beats a CHF 18.80 four-zone 24-hour ticket for this ride.

Train to Winterthur: price for every party size →

See ZVV single tickets
regional · SBB, on a point-to-point ticketIR36 to Basel SBB
From
Zürich Flughafen railway station, platforms 1 to 4 — the InterRegio showing Basel SBB
To
Basel SBB, the main station, in 1 h 27; via Zürich HB (11 min), Baden (32), Brugg, Frick and Rheinfelden
Luggage
Mainline Swiss trains: racks and standing space by the doors.
Runs
05:56–20:56
Journey
87–94 min

The ticket is SBB's, not ZVV's. Ask for Zürich Flughafen to Basel SBB: CHF 41.00 an adult, CHF 20.50 for a child of 6 to 15 or with a Half-Fare card, under-6s free. A ZVV zone ticket stops being valid at the last ZVV station.

One an hour, at :56, from 05:56 to 20:56. After that take any train to Zürich HB and change; the ticket is valid all day on any train along the route.

The full fare is fixed; the "Supersaver" for one named train is not. It is cheaper, sold only in advance, priced by demand and refused on any other train — so it is not priced here.

The same train calls at Baden after 32 minutes: 45 tariff kilometres, CHF 18.40 on the same tariff.

No direct train on 21 and 22 November 2026 in SBB's published timetable; earlier closures this year ran 7 to 22 February and 7 to 15 March.

IR36 to Basel SBB: price for every party size →

See the fare on sbb.ch

This compares two of 6 options. See all of them ranked for your party size →

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