These do not go to the same place, so price is not the comparison. The VBZ tram 10 reaches Zürich HB, the main station; the IR36 to Basel SBB does not. Runs on through Zürich HB to Basel, on an SBB point-to-point fare rather than the ZVV ticket.
The VBZ tram 10 is quicker: 35 min against 1 h 27. The IR36 to Basel SBB varies between 87 and 94 minutes.
VBZ tram 10: 05:06–23:51. 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.
Travelers
VBZ tram 10
IR36 to Basel SBB
Difference
1
CHF 7.20
CHF 41
CHF 33.80
2
CHF 14.40
CHF 82
CHF 67.60
3
CHF 21.60
CHF 123
CHF 101.40
4
CHF 28.80
CHF 164
CHF 135.20
5
CHF 36
CHF 205
CHF 169
6
CHF 41
CHF 246
CHF 205
7
CHF 48.20
CHF 287
CHF 238.80
8
CHF 55.40
CHF 328
CHF 272.60
Side by side
Where each one leaves you
tram · VBZ, on the same ZVV zone ticketVBZ tram 10
From
The tram stop "Zürich Flughafen, Bahnhof" outside the terminal, by the railway station
To
Zürich, Bahnhofplatz/HB — the square in front of the main station — via Sternen Oerlikon
Luggage
A street tram with low floors and no racks; fine for a case, slow with several.
Runs
05:06–23:51
Journey
34–37 min
Same price as the train and three times as long: 35 minutes against 11. Take the train unless you are going somewhere along the tram's route.
Do not board tram 12 by mistake. It leaves from the same stop and goes to Bahnhof Stettbach, on the far side of the city, not to the centre.
It starts six minutes after the first train and stops 51 minutes before the last one, so it never covers an hour the train does not.
Four evening departures, 19:58 to 20:41, end at Sternen Oerlikon rather than the main station; the destination on the front tells you.
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.
Can we count your visit?We use Google Analytics to see which airports people look up. It sets cookies. Nothing runs until you say yes, and refusing changes nothing about the site.What is stored
