ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The first shovel of dirt was lifted 16 March for the new Herdern train storage shed in Zurich, a visible sign of how growing rail traffic is affecting Switzerland. The CFF rail company today carries 40 percent more passengers than in 2004 and one of the solutions to handle the continual growth […]
Swiss rail
The next time your Swiss train is late, consider this
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The main reaction was somber silence when the train conductor announced that the train from Lucerne would be arriving 14 minutes late in Bern. In German and French he said that the lateness was due to a “person incident” rail-speak for an accident that is most likely a suicide, someone jumping or […]
Swiss train trial for hybrid locomotives succeeds
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – A 4,000 ton annual reduction in CO2 and a significant improvement in maintenance costs: Swiss cargo trains will have 30 hybrid locomotives starting in 2013, the CFF rail company has announced. The new engines are made by Stadler Winterthur, whose director, Hartmut Dietrich, calls them “the most modern and most innovative on the […]
Public transport hike lower than expected in 2011
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch.com) – Public transport costs for consumers will rise by 2.4 percent rather than 3.4 percent in 2011, “Mr Price”, Switzerland’s consumer watchdog, announced Wednesday 4 August. Lengthy negotiations between the office of Stefan Meierhans and public transport unions succeeded in getting price hikes down. Another bit of good news for consumers is […]
Court backs fines for no-ticket train riders
Bern and Bellinzona, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Train passengers without tickets or sitting in first class when they have only second class tickets will be treated alike by Switzerland’s CFF rail company, following a decision by a Swiss court: subject to CHF80 fines plus the missing fare or the difference between classes. Travelers should be aware […]