French national train operator SNCF will run a special post-Eurovision train between Basel and Strasbourg on the night of the Eurovision final. Tickets can already be purchased online.
A train for the live final
The announcement was made by the local public radio France Bleu Alsace, on their website. The special train will only run on Sunday, May 18, after the live grand final. TER 30100 (from the Fluo Express Regional Train network of the French Grand Est region) will will leave Basel SSB at 1:50 and will go through several local stations, starting with the border town of Saint-Louis, and serving small and larger cities like Mulhouse and Colmar, before arriving at Strasbourg at 3:34.
The full list of stops, according to the SNCF, will be:
- Saint-Louis (01:59)
- Saint-Louis-la-Chaussée (02:03)
- Bartenheim (02:07)
- Sierentz (02:12)
- Habsheim (02:19)
- Rixheim (02:22)
- Mulhouse (02:28)
- Mulhouse Dornach (02:34)
- Bollwiller (02:43)
- Rouffach (02:51)
- Colmar (02:59)
- Sélestat (03:12)
- Strasbourg (03:34)
The prices to go to the main stations, without any special subscription or loyalty cards, at the time of writing, are :
- 9.30€ to Mulhouse
- 17.40€ to Colmar
- 29.70€ to Strasbourg
A Fluo Card for the Grand Est TER can reduce the price by 50%, and is available for 1€ for people under the age of 26 (20€ for the others). Tickets can be purchased by searching for an itinerary between Basel SSB and any of the station on the line with this official link.
Coaches alternatives for the rest of Eurovision week
At the time of writing, no other special TER train was available on the SNCF website to allow fans a better access to the larger towns across the French border. On weekdays, the last train for France is at 22:37 (before the end of any evening show, even the semi-finals), going only as far as Mulhouse (where a connection can be made to Strasbourg). A later “TER” journey is available at 23:37 (very close to the end of a semi-final evening), but is a coach alternative, operated by the SNCF but on the road, and it only runs as far as Mulhouse, with no connection left available through SNCF.
Fans staying accross the border and further than the Basel area, and attending evening shows and live shows, may want to prepare for alternative modes of transportations. Other alternatives could be to stay in France, where Mulhouse will organise its own “Euro Village” from May 9 to 18. Party-goers could also spend their nights at the Euroclub and wait for the first train of the day, at around 5:21 on weekdays (and 6:21 on Saturdays, for fans attending the Jury Final).
Will you use this night train? Will you go to Eurovision this year anyway? If you do, are your commuting plans ready or do you have some doubts? Tell us more in the comments below or on social media at @escxtra!
