The Switzerland has a dense network of near-rail, long-distance and S-Bahn traffic. It is the country in Europe where the railways are the most frequented.
One gets along better in Swiss rail traffic if one is familiar with some of the "Helveticisms" and peculiarities of the Swiss rail system: The train arrives on the "platform" and not on the platform; On the train, the "conductor" and not the conductor checks the ticket, which in this country is called "ticket". So when you hear the call "all tickets please", you have to dig out your ticket or smartphone with electronic ticket.
Train types
Long-distance transport
The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) offer intercity and Eurocity trains in long-distance traffic. In addition, the long-distance trains of other national railway companies run to Switzerland, such as the Railjet and the Nightjet night train of the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB), the ICE of the Deutsche Bahn AG (DB) and the TGV Lyria SAS, a cooperation of the French State Railways (SNCF) and the Swiss Federal Railways.
Regional traffic
- Local transport is operated by both the regional trains of the SBB and the trains of the numerous private railways.
S-Bahn traffic
- S-Bahn lines operate in the metropolitan areas of Zurich, Basel, Bern, Chur, Freiburg, Lucerne, Schaffhausen, St. Gallen and Ticino.
- In the course of the local transport project S-Bahn Liechtenstein (former working title S-Bahn-FLACH) is a S-Bahn operation between the Feldkirch station in Austria, the railway line through Liechtenstein and the Swiss Buchs in the canton of St. Gallen.
Railway stations and stops
The Swiss train stations range from modern metropolitan train stations in Bern, Basel and Zurich to small stops in the country's rural regions.
Passenger information
Train destination indicator
Service facilities
The train stations in Basel Bad Bf, Basel SBB, Bern, Zurich HB and Lucerne have an information point.
kitchen
Fast food restaurants and cafes are located at many train stations.
shop
Some stations have drugstores, supermarkets and clothing stores.
Sanitary facilities and showers
Sanitary facilities, which are subject to a charge, are located in the train stations with long-distance connections.
Lockers
At stations that are served by long-distance trains, there are lockers that can be rented with CHF coins.
Tariffs and tickets
Children, dogs and the military ...Adults over 16 years pay the full, Children and adolescents Half the fare between the ages of 6 and 16. Children under 6 years of age travel free, but only when accompanied by an accompanying person at least 12 years old with a valid ticket - for children under 6 years of age traveling alone, a ticket for half the fare is required.
Ticket purchase
- As an online ticket: Via the Homepage of the SBB or the SBB app
- The Swiss timetable information covers all public means of transport (train, also PostBus, tram or city bus) and allows the entry of addresses as start and end points, then the walk to the next stop is displayed, and the transfer times and arrival are also shown on the electronic timetable information - and departure track indicated. When using the SBB app you can buy the right ticket for a connection found in the timetable information, which is easier, especially in metropolitan areas with S-Bahn operations and zone tariff systems.
- Supersaver tickets can be purchased on the website and are significantly cheaper than a standard ticket in times of low passenger volume, but these tickets are only valid on the selected trains.
- Ticket machines, these accept coins and banknotes (Swiss francs) as well as EC and credit cards (sometimes also foreign currencies). The most modern generation of ticket machines from SBB enables return money to be given in banknotes instead of only in coins, as was previously the case.
- at the booking office
Transport and tariff associations
Switzerland is through numerous Tariff and transport associations covered. Apart from the tariff and transport associations, a uniform rail tariff applies to all train stations and stops in Switzerland. The Half-fare pass is also recognized by the private railways.
Half-fare and general season tickets
The Half-fare subscription offers 50% discount on single SBB tickets, it also applies to private railways and post bus lines, some mountain railways and especially the Jungfrau Railway do not recognize these discount offers. The half-fare subscription is comparable to the Vorteilscard of the Austrian Federal Railways or the BahnCard of the Deutsche Bahn AG.
Swiss citizens can usually have their Half-Fare travelcard, which is valid for one year, electronically stored in an app. For travelers from abroad, the Half Fare Card Available for 120.- Fr. / month at most sales outlets, it also allows travel at half price.
The Half-Fare travelcard is available throughout Europe RailPlus-Integrated discount, since the timetable change in December 2017, only a discount of 15% has been granted for trips abroad (previously 25%).
Frequent Swiss travelers often have a "GA", a General subscription, with which you have free travel on all public transport lines for over a year and which is cheaper for commuters than the corresponding route card for longer journeys. For seniors and young people there is the general subscription at a reduced price.
Foreign travelers can get a similar "all in one" ticket named Swiss Travel Pass purchase, the price depends on the period of use.
In addition to the Swiss Half-Fare travelcard, there are the popular "day tickets" with which you have free travel for one day on the entire rail network and which is popular for day trips across Switzerland. Many municipalities have taken out an impersonal general subscription for their employees and residents. On the website www.tageskarte-gemeinde.ch these can be reserved for a desired travel date of a long-distance trip and must then be picked up at the municipal administration. As a rule, residents of the relevant community are entitled to purchase, as the offer is greatly reduced; Swiss hosts can give their guests the day tickets for a day trip. They are also valid without a Half-Fare Card and are valid all day until 04:59 the next day.
Railways of great tourist interest
There are separate articles in the German-language Wikivoyage for the following railways worth seeing for tourists:
- Zurich Oberland steam train - Museum railway with connection to the public rail network
- Albula Railway - legendary Swiss Meter gauge railway to St. Moritz
- Glacier Express - slowest express train in the world from Zermatt to Davos
Rack railway to Jungfraujoch
The Jungfrau Railway is a rack railway, which runs on meter-gauge rails (1000 mm) from the stations Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen coming almost to the top of the mountain. The Jungfraujoch station is at an altitude of 3454 meters above sea level. In addition, the intermediate stops Eiger glacier, Eigerwand and Arctic Ocean approached.
Questions and problems
Accessible free of charge from all Swiss networks SBB service number 0041 (0) 51 220 111 1 enables both the receipt of timetable and tariff information as well as the query of construction-related timetable changes, assistance in the event of train cancellations and delays, reaching the lost property service as well as reporting malfunctions on elevators, escalators, ticket machines, lighting, information displays, etc. Recommended for travelers with foreign mobile phone contracts Calling the customer hotline via public telephone booths, because it can also be reached from there free of charge, saves you the costs of roaming fees, which are still charged by foreign mobile phone providers.
Park and Rail
The option, also known as Park and Ride or Parking and Travel, to switch from car to train is available in Switzerland these stations.
security
Emergency numbers
- Police: 117
- Fire department: 118
- Ambulance service / emergency doctor: 144
- Poison Control: 145
- Transport police: 0800 117 117
literature
- Swiss Railway Atlas, publisher Schweers & Wall, 2nd edition, published in 2012
- Tram Atlas Switzerland and Austria, Robert Schwandl Publishing House, 2nd edition, published in 2014
