Trains in Switzerland - booking, routes, schedules. All about Swiss Railways Swiss Railways train types

Today we will talk about trains in Switzerland. I am a big fan of railways, for me, stations, platforms and locomotives from childhood add up to the romance of travel, which no air transport is able to reproduce. Sometimes, because of this romance, I embark on strange adventures - for example, I was shocked all night in an old Asian carriage instead of a half-hour flight. But riding Swiss trains is a pleasure, it's fast, beautiful and comfortable.

Like this locomotive? Photos at the end of the post different trains countries

And most importantly, it is almost always on schedule, unlike neighboring Germany, whose railways disappointed me.

Regular readers of my blog have no doubt noticed my constant unhealthy admiration for me. I still believe that the Japanese are ahead of the rest in the issue of rail transport, however, the Swiss are not so far behind them. The whole country is carefully covered with a web of railway tracks:

On this map, the yellow lines represent bus routes. Railroads are marked in red. Most of the trains in the country belong to the state railway company with a beautiful name...

1. "SBB CFF FFS", nine consonants that can be found throughout the country. This is an abbreviation of the name meaning "Swiss Federal Railways" on three of the main state languages: German, French and Italian. Every three letters represent an abbreviation of the same words in a separate language. (Fourth official language countries, Romansh, in official name is not used, otherwise "VFS" would have to be added to the labels.)

2. All inscriptions on the system are also duplicated in the three main languages, and also in English. So you can not be afraid to misunderstand and miss something. Popular cities are also announced in English.

3. If Swiss trains have any drawback, it is their high cost. Ticket between not so distant cities may cost around $50. Need to travel across the country? It will already be $100 or more.

4. Fortunately for us tourists, the country has a railway (and not only) subscription called the Swiss Travel Pass. It is sold for 3, 4, 8 and 15 days and covers most transports throughout Switzerland. It can be bought in first or second class. An adult second class pass costs from 216 francs (for three days) to 458 (15 days). As you can see, it becomes more profitable if you take it for longer. Subscription can be purchased at railway ticket offices(including the airports of Zurich and Geneva), it gives the right to free travel on trains, city systems public transport.

5. With it, you can even take a ride on the historic ferry boats on Lake Geneva!

In short, if you are planning a trip in which you will need to move around the country a lot, I advise you to purchase this subscription. It is not that cheap, but in the end it comes out cheaper than individual tickets. Plus, you will also save a lot of time, since you will not have to stand in line at the box office every time, but you can safely jump onto the next train in the right direction.

All train routes are in google maps, so finding a train to the desired station is not difficult. Also, SBB CFF FFS has released separate applications for phones that also allow you to plan a route (there are versions for Android and iOS).

An exception to this subscription are various kinds of lifts to the tops of the mountains. You need to buy tickets for them, but Swiss Travel Pass holders receive a 50% discount. Alpine tram in Zermatt, and gondolas in the wonderful Lauterbrunnen valley are included in this category of transport.

6. The main thing, if you bought a second-class Travel Pass, is not to confuse it and not to sit in the first one by mistake. Classes are easy to distinguish: each car has a white number "1" or "2" written at the entrance.

7. Like its German neighbors, in Switzerland most intercity trains are double-decker. Red and white gamma is the corporate identity for the compositions owned by SBB CFF FFS.

8. Luxurious first class seating is available on the first and second floors. It looks like this:

9. I didn’t travel in first class, and I don’t advise you, without an appropriate ticket. And in general, it’s better not to ride here without a ticket - on almost every trip in a week I came across an inspector who carefully checked all the tickets. Here they actively fight with hares.

10. However, the second class is also very comfortable - there are comfortable soft seats, and there is an opportunity to work during long journeys.

11. The table folds out to make it convenient to sit down and get up, but if you wish, you can increase its area to put a computer.

13. In general, what is very pleasing about these trains is the variety of seating configurations. The Swiss understand that different passengers have different needs. Someone wants to work quietly, someone wants to look out the window alone, and someone wants to communicate in a friendly company. There is a place for all these people on Swiss trains. For example, here is a part of the car suitable for large parties (this is also 2nd class):

I have seen more than once how this was occupied by cheerful groups of teenagers, who, by the way, calmly drive from one city to another without adult supervision. These guys were about 13 years old.

14. For younger passengers, there are special play areas on the trains. Parents can take their children there so that they are not bored during long trips. This is good for everyone: the child is having fun, the parents do not have to invent what to do with them, and the passengers in the rest of the cars are calm.

I confess that I saw this on trains a few years ago, for some reason I did not come across these platform cars on this trip. I hope they haven't been canceled - it's a really cool thing.

15. And on trains (though not all) there are special vestibules for bicycles.

16. Inside them are special mounts where you can attach bikes, skis and more.

17. Some attach baby strollers here.

18. Well, what self-respecting European train can do without a dining car?

19. On double decker trains long distance, restaurants are usually upstairs.

20. Everything is as it should be here: tablecloths, normal chairs that can be moved, a waiter and a menu. They even pour. You sit, eat, and Swiss beauties run through the window. However, about them a little later.

21. On the lower floor there is a cafe, for a less formal setting. Here you can have a quick bite to eat (if you go not so far).

22. Let's take a look at train stations and stations for a bit, because they also greatly affect the overall feel of the railway system ... Here main station Zurich is a huge building with high vaults, under which the works of sculptors are hung. There are several more underground levels.

23. The station is so huge that a market is sometimes held in its building! Farmers all over Europe set up tents right at the station and bring their goods for sale.

24. For example, fruits and vegetables are sold for some granny from a newspaper, and a representative of the BioLand farming group. It all looked so appetizing that I could not restrain myself and bought fresh berries from him.

25. And this is the station in Bern (yes, in the very one where the drunken air of freedom played a cruel joke with Professor Pleischner). Gracefully rounded canopies over the escalators to the platforms are made of wood. Looks very cool.

26. There are monitors on the platforms showing when and where the next train will be, where it will stop on the platform, and where the first and second class cars will be located, and where is the restaurant.

27. Yes, every station has a clock. Preferably on a tower. After all, anyway.

28. Even the smallest stations have a clock tower!

The correct time is a very important thing here, since the entire railway system of the country is debugged, like an accurate clockwork. The train schedule is designed so that most transfers last no more than ten minutes (often five!) This takes into account which platform both trains come to, in order to give passengers a chance to walk in a normal (but not relaxed!) step from one train to another. In rare cases, when there are minor delays, the train you want to transfer to will also wait a couple of minutes.

29. But for railway platforms, the company ordered a special watch model. This movement and design was developed by the Swiss engineer Hans Hilfiker in 1944. Yes, you heard right! All over the world the war was going on, and the neutral Swiss were improving the railway clock. (On the other hand, why not, if in the USSR they could think about a new letter of the alphabet in 1942!) In short, Swiss railway clocks have become national symbol, and an example of good laconic design. They are even exhibited in our New York at MOMA.

It turns out that this watch is so famous that Apple decided to steal it when it upgraded the style of its iPhone firmware. In version 6 of iOS, released in 2012, the clock icon was suspiciously Swiss-designed, down to the circle at the end of the red second hand. The Swiss filed a lawsuit against the global manufacturer of gadgets, although the case did not go to court. Apple entered into an agreement allowing them to use this design. The exact amount of the transaction is unknown, but analysts believe that the Swiss received about 20 million francs for using the famous dial.

By the way, the feature of this watch is not only in appearance. The mechanism also has an interesting and non-obvious feature: at the end of each minute, the second hand is slightly delayed in order to synchronize with all other clocks on the station. Thus, all clocks at the station always show exactly the same time.

30. Yes, Swiss trains are comfortable and run on schedule, however this is what we expect from all normal trains (unfortunately it doesn't always work that way). But where they exceed expectations is in the beauty of the scenery outside the window. Sitting in the car at the window, you can watch green hills rush past you, high mountains, blue Lakes, and small towns with pointed churches.

31. Often the railway is laid right a couple of meters from the shore of the lake.

32. Then it seems that this whole magnificent landscape was created especially for you - for the passenger. For example, drive along Lake Geneva- a pleasure, especially on a clear day. On the far side you can see the French coast, where the Alps rise.

33. Even if your train is not going along the water's edge, it's still beautiful. You will enjoy the view of green fields and vineyards.

34. And if you turn into the mountains, you can shoot snow-capped peaks right from the window of your train.

Switzerland is rich in natural beauty, and railways are one of better ways see all this. Where else is it so beautiful outside the car window? In Japan, that's where. But it's hard to pick a favorite here.

35. Let me show you a few different types of trains that I came across during a week of active use of the Swiss railways. I'll start with the cutest - this handsome locomotive has already been on the title photo, but it's not a sin to show it again!

By the way, if someone knows the model of this or other trains, write in the comments, I will add information to the post. And then I'm a complete noob in this regard.

36. I have already shown you a double-decker long-distance train, but this is a more regional one that goes to the mountainous Zermatt.

37. There are also very small trains, more like trams. They run on narrow gauge tracks. It was on this one that we drove to the tiny town where my friend Alice lives in a centuries-old house.

38. By the way, not all trains in the country belong to the federal railway agency. There are also private lines. And if SBB CFF FFS cars are usually red and white, then private companies choose other colors for their liveries. For example, BLS green trains run in the Bern district.

39. But I saw such dark blue trains near Lausanne.

40. But such a blue-yellow composition lifted us up from the lakes to the valley of the elves.

41. In general, on such private narrow-gauge lines leading to the mountains, you can see very nice trailers. Moreover, it is clear that many of them are quite old designs.

42. Obviously, private companies do not throw out all the outdated cars, but leave a few in the form of a museum on the rails. And what if it works for the New York subway, why not here?

43. Look how lovely!

44. The most important trick in Swiss trains is to sit by the window or at the beginning or at the end of the train. At the corners you can take pictures not only beautiful landscape outside the window, but also the tail / head of your composition, which will be in perfect harmony with the surrounding greenery.

Honestly, I can't imagine how you can not love trains. And if you love them, then Switzerland - best country in order to ride them.

But in fact, this is my most interesting experience of moving around the country on ordinary passenger trains, where almost every train is a panoramic cinema showing green meadows, snow-capped peaks, dazzling glaciers and dense forests. Streams and lakes, roads and paths, suspension bridges and multi-level overpasses of autobahns rush past. And most importantly, you absolutely do not have time to get tired! The country is quite small and traveling by train takes only a few hours, but emotions remain in memory for many years.

Let's take a look with you at a small piece of what you can see from the train window in Switzerland. I didn’t ride tourist panoramic express trains, I just traveled around the country on trains and electric trains, but what I saw exceeded my expectations so much that I can say for sure - Switzerland is not a country where you need to rent a car, you only need a rail pass!

Swiss Federal Railways, SBB-CFF-FFS is the state-owned railway company.
These are more than 1600 locomotives, more than 4000 passenger cars, more than 13,000 freight wagons!
And all this in such a small Switzerland, a country that does not even have access to the sea.

The legendary watch of the Swiss Railways. This design could not be surpassed even by Apple, which released iOS7, which had a copy of this watch in its interface. This ended in a lawsuit in which Apple lost to the railroad company!

Only 30-40 minutes from Zurich towards St. Moritz. It is impossible to look at this calmly! This is just a picture from the train window:

cool ad national park which turns 100 years old.
By the way, interesting fact, which surprised me very much - it turns out that there is only one (!) national park, which is called Swiss National Prak. Two more have the status of a candidate for a national park, the procedure for their transformation into national parks stretches for 5-10 years, everything is very democratic and with a voting procedure in several stages. Against - local fishermen and hunters :)

It always surprises me how conveniently all modes of transport are interconnected and combined into one transport system.

In civilized countries, I can no longer live without mobile internet, I even started using buses in a new and completely unfamiliar city, thanks to google maps and hiking trails To bus stop that the application builds. Previously, I used only the subway, since delving into a paper map of bus routes is boring and long.

A very handy app for iPhone at the Swiss Railways, it is convenient to create a route and automatically export it to the calendar:

All passengers should have a good view of the mountains!

On the table (which is the lid of the urn) is a map of the route:

I traveled by train, part of the route is also included in the Bernina Express itinerary. Throughout its length (67 km) there are 42 tunnels and covered galleries, 144 viaducts and bridges.
And all these 67 km are a UNESCO site!

Of course, it’s better to photograph the red photogenic composition against the background of green foliage in summer or white snow in winter from the side, but it’s very cool to be inside!

This is a Glacier Express carriage, unfortunately the windows do not open here. I rode it in the evening, when the train was distilled and it was built into the schedule like a regular train.

This is a high-speed intercity train:

Toilet in a double-decker train:

In general, words are superfluous here ... It's worth a look and a must try! And there is no need to hurry. Take a rail pass and just ride through the most interesting parts of the country.

Practical information:

If you love railroads, Seat61 should be your number one information site. In all countries the most detailed information, very practical, with all the "appearances and passwords" and all on one page for each country.

Swiss railways don't just transport tourists from one attraction to another. They themselves are an attraction. For example, the great pride of Switzerland is the Rhaetian Railway, which has been operating since 1888. At one time it was the highest mountain in Europe. It was built through incredible passes and gorges, so there are especially many viaducts, tunnels and bridges. The most picturesque railway routes run along it - the Glacier Express and the Bernina Express (I talked about Bernina in a post about). The sections of the paths they follow are included in the UNESCO heritage list.

Today I will talk about why Swiss railways are so good.

Swiss railways (SBB) are considered the most comfortable in the world. Firstly, the road network in Switzerland is very dense, so you can get to any city and almost any village by train. Secondly, trains run with great frequency: they run between major stations at intervals of half an hour, and you can transfer from one train to another in 10-15 minutes.

Swiss trains are virtually silent, clean and comfortable. At the exits, unusual for the Russian eye, there are normal steps. Both a child and an elderly person will calmly climb them, which cannot be said about the steps in Russian trains.

There are special lifts for the disabled, there are no problems with loading people with limited mobility into the train.

Until the middle of the last century, trains had 3 classes of carriages, but in 1956 the Swiss Railways switched to a two-class system. See what the interior looks like.

Many trains have power outlets and Wi-Fi, in addition, during the trip you can eat delicious food and taste Swiss wine.

Trains have large and always clean windows. Most of the train routes pass through amazing picturesque places, so the main thing in trains is to provide passengers with a good overview.

For tourists, the Swiss Travel System (STS) operates here. It is ideally thought out and economical, it includes, in addition to railway, water and bus routes. The map shows that using this system you can actually get to anywhere in the country. Train routes are marked in red.

The system is convenient with its travel tickets: for example, with a SWISS Travel Pass ticket, you can ride trains throughout the country as much as you like. It can be purchased for a period of four days to a month. It is also valid on all forms of public transport in 75 Swiss cities. And in addition, it is a pass to 470 museums in Switzerland. By the way, the winner of the quest will receive such a ticket for the duration of his trip.

The travel system in Switzerland includes the famous panoramic routes: Glacier Express, Bernina Express, Golden Pass, Wilhelm Tell Express and various others. If you have a travel pass, you can also ride for free. But on some of the nuhs, you will need to pay extra for booking a seat in the car. For lovers of nature and mountain landscapes, such trips cannot be compared with anything.

For example, on the Golden Pass route, you will see plenty of spruce forests and green pastures with grazing cows. From the height of the road you can admire the lakes and the distant snow-capped peaks of the Alps. The Pre-Alpine Express offers views of steep cliffs and picturesque hills. And the Wilhelm Tell Express passes through the famous St. Gotthard Pass (the one along which Suvorov led Russian troops in 1799). Trains overcome it through a tunnel.

This year, a new tunnel will open in this place, which will become the longest railway tunnel in the world. Its length will be 57 km. It will save passengers about an hour. It will be tested in the summer, then freight trains will begin to run on it, and it will work in full force in December.

And of course, part of the railway routes is included in the Grand Tour of Switzerland. :) You can click on the picture to see the beautiful interactive map with a description of the places through which the trains of the Grand Tour pass.

Types of trains in Switzerland, ticket booking, timetables, routes

There are different types of trains in Switzerland. The national railway company is SBB(Schweizerische BundesBahn). The schedule and routes of this company can be found on the official website.

Regional trains in Switzerland

The main rail network in Switzerland consists of the following regional and intercity trains:

RegioExpress trains link regional destinations with larger Swiss cities
Regio trains link local cities
InterCity trains link major cities such as Swiss Basel and Geneva
InterRegio trains link Zurich and Geneva with cities throughout Switzerland. These trains make more stops than intercity trains
S-Bahn (suburban trains) is a network of trains that operates in the largest cities

International high speed trains in Switzerland

International high speed trains

ICE link Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands
railjet links Zurich with Vienna (Austria).
EuroCity links Zurich, Basel and Geneva with Milan (Italy)
TGV links Zurich, Basel and Geneva with Paris (France)

Let's take a closer look at the routes of these trains.

ICE high speed train

ICE (InterCity Express) is high-speed train that connects everything big cities in Germany. He rides with about speeds up to 300 km / h and is one of the fastest ways to travel between cities such as Hamburg and Cologne. ICE has international connections in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Austria.

If you want the fastest train, check out the train ICE Sprinter. This is the latest generation of ICE trains that travel daily during rush hour and make fewer stops than regular ICE trains.

Booking ICE Train Tickets

Booking high speed trains ICE is a must. Tickets can be booked up to 3 months before the travel date. Official site where you can make a reservation

ICE train routes

The map shows all the cities that are connected by the ICE rail network. In addition to Germany, the train route includes such countries as Austria (Vienna, Innsbruck), Belgium (Brussels, Liege), Denmark (Copenhagen, Aarhus), France (Paris), the Netherlands (Arnhem, Utrecht, Amsterdam) and Switzerland (Zurich, Interlaken).

Facilities and services on the ICE train

Air conditioner
Children playground
Cafe bar
Disabled facilities
Sockets
Restaurant / bistro
Video screens
WiFi Internet

ICE high speed train

Railjet High Speed Train

Railjet is one of the most modern and luxury trains in Europe. Its routes operate mainly in Austria, and connect it with Germany, Switzerland, Hungary and Czech Republic. Railjet train speed up to 230 km/h. With this speed, you can drive from Vienna to Budapest in just 2.5 hours. Railjet offers the ultimate in comfort – ergonomic seats, free Wi-Fi, a wide selection of food on the menu, entertainment for the kids.

Railjet routes

The map shows the routes of the Railjet train. It connects the following cities:

Routes high-speed train Railjet

Booking Railjet Tickets

Reservations can be made on the official website of the Austrian Railways

Facilities and Services on the Railjet

Air conditioner
Children playground
Disabled facilities
Newspapers magazines
Sockets
Restaurant / bistro
Video screens
WiFi Internet

* Services may vary by train and route. But all trains have sockets for charging. mobile devices as well as free Wi-Fi.

Restaurant on the Railjet

Railjet High Speed Train

TGV high speed train

The TGV is a high-speed train with routes all over France and beyond. It is possible to travel from romantic Paris to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.