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Nyon train station, CFF controllers will be helped by new transport police
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss transport police, who will have the right to make provisional arrests, will become part of the CFF rail system starting in 2011.
The Federal Council Wednesday 27 January approved legislation drawn up by a parliamentary transport commission which will create two security systems for public transport companies. The transport police, who will be identifiable by their uniforms, will be employed only by the CFF, and they will have greater policing powers than those given to security officers, who will be used by smaller transport companies.
Update 2, 22:45 Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Years of arguing and debate over the need for the Lake Geneva region to rapidly develop its train service were brought to a close Monday 21 December with a framework agreement signed by the federal and cantonal governments and the CFF rail company. The agreement acknowledges that the Geneva-Lausanne area is one of the fastest-growing in Switzerland and states the intent of the signing parties to develop a rail network and service that match the rapidly changing need for public transport in the area.
Third and possibly fourth rail line planned
The two cantons have agreed to put up CHF312 million in pre-financing for several projects, designed to speed up the project. The 20-year plan, to 2030, will increase the frequency of trains to one every 15 minutes between Lausanne and Geneva. The number of seats will double by 2020. Several congestion points are targeted: Mies in Vaud and Chambésy in Geneva plus the freight passing line between Nyon and Coppet. The three-phase plan calls for the main lines and RER regional system to be improved first, then the third rail line between Renens and Allaman to be built during a second phase, when the system will also be extended in the area west of Geneva. Main train stations will be modernized.
The third phase will involve building a fourth rail line and improving public transport access to Geneva’s airport.
No more worries about keeping an eye on your luggage at the back of the train car if you check it in
Zurich, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Air Berlin has announced that its passengers can check their luggage in at more than 50 railway stations in Switzerland, get their boarding pass there and be assigned their seats as of 1 December.
Air Berlin is Germany’s second-largest airline.
Links to other sites: Air Berlin, CFF information on air/rail baggage checking system
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Discounted train tickets designed to attract people who don’t normally use the online train sales service are proving so popular that the CFF rail company has decided to extend its Swiss travel campaign by a month. Some 25,000 of the tickets have been sold, reports 20 Minutes (Fre).
iPhone tickets for Swiss rail travel available 6 July 2009
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss rail company CFF has started to sell train tickets via iPhones. The company’s mobile phone sales service was opened in February 2009, but until 6 July has worked only for phones equipped with Java. There is no supplement for tickets bought via iPhone, although users will be billed by their phone companies for downloading the ticket and other information such as train schedules. The tickets are paid for by credit card.
Swiss rail premium class: more than a place to hang your coat
Bern, Switzerland (Sonntagsblick, Ger and ats/TSR, Fre) – Swiss rail company CFF is studying the possibility of creating a “premium” class that would provide the same kind of luxury travel that first class on airplanes affords.
Renens, Vaud, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The first team of volunteers at the train station in Renens went to work 3 June to help travelers and keep the calm. The volunteer project is part of the CFF rail company programme to reduce vandalism and violence. Renens, canton Vaud police and the CFF rail company joined forces to train the volunteers, who will work at the station every evening.
Similar systems have been in place in Yverdon and Aigle for several months and are linked to a larger CFF programme that includes Big Brothers working on trains, particularly evenings, to reduce violence.
Zurich, Switzerland (ats/romandie, Fre) – First-class travellers on Swiss CFF trains will have access to the rail company’s first lounge, in Zurich, starting 8 June. The lounge, with four rooms, is designed for 50 people and is open from 05:00 to 21:00 seven days a week. It is on the first floor of the train station building.
Zurich train station
Geneva, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – Switzerland’s weekend vote in favour of biometric passports is a positive sign in terms of the country’s closer relationship with the European Union (EU), but there are disquieting signs, too, says Jacques Barrot, EU vice-president. Barrot is interviewed at length in Le Temps about Switzerland the Schengen accord. Two areas for concern are the possibility that Swiss border guards’ patrols of Swiss trains could become routine and that the Swiss Federal Council could decide this week to exercise its option to reduce the number of foreigners allowed to work in the country.
Crossing the tracks (click on image to view larger)
Lake Geneva region (GenevaLunch) - Meteo Swiss is forecasting more rain for the next two days, so bring out your umbrellas, or do as the weeds do, and just get on with life. Temperatures with highs hovering around 13-14C, but by the weekend it should be warmer and sunnier.
Geneva and Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Swiss will be doubling the capacity and also the speed of its Internet connection lines in coming months, and enlarging its mobile phone base by 20 percent, it has told TSR. The combination should create a major improvement in mobile phone service, particularly Internet via mobile phone. A longer term project will take two years but should provide regular wifi service in CFF double-decker and Intercity trains, where reception is currently patchy.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Transport Office (STO) has told Cisalpino it can continue to operate the Switzerland-Italy train line, but that it must ensure it takes measures promptly to ensure that the trains run on time. The company has been plagued by delays in recent months. The STO in January warned the company it might lose its license to operate the line.
Zurich, Switzerland (20 Minutes/ats , Fre) – A passenger fined CHF80 for sitting in a first-class car with only a second-class ticket complained to the Swiss federal transport ministry that the fine was too high.
Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Swiss rail company CFF says some 500 ticket machines throughout Switzerland were out of commission starting Sunday night, 15 March (a day famously known for bringing down Caesar). Travelers were obliged to wait in line to buy tickets, but the company announced that its ticket-takers were being “tolerant” towards people without tickets.
The breakdown was due to a centralized system for the machines, which required several hours to repair.
Update 14:30 Lake Geneva region (GenevaLunch) – It was a rough Monday morning on the rails between Lausanne and Geneva, with trains carrying crowds to the Geneva Motor Show slowed down by a technical problem in the Nyon train station and other traffic disrupted as a result. In addition, a points malfunction in Gland will keep rail traffic running slowly until at least tonight (check directly: CFF traffic updates).
- Other Train travels with Tara
- Click on images to view larger
Introduction: This is part of a series of mini-travel photo stories on Switzerland that will run for several weeks. A very special 16-year-old named Tara takes the train on Saturdays to explore the country where she has grown up. Her mother, GL editor Ellen Wallace, goes along for the ride.
St Maurice, Valais - the Rhone runs fast and turquoise
The end of November, start of December: snow as low as the shoreline along the Rhone River in canton Valais. The sun was out and it looked like we could expect a balmy but wintry afternoon, as we caught the train in Sierre, heading towards Lausanne.
There are two good ways to get to Bern since December 2007, through the new Loetschberg tunnel or along the Rhone. The first is slightly more expensive because it is run by a private company, although you can buy tickets through the CFF rail company.
Tunnels are boring (accidental pun) and I want Tara to enjoy the scenery, so we took the longer and cheaper route, via Lausanne.
The shades are partly down, but the sun streams into the carriage.
The Rhone valley bed is the heartland of the famous apricots of Valais, so we studied the neat little rectangles that make up the orchards, row upon row of short, tightly pruned trees.
We come here in July to buy large boxes of very ripe fruit, some of it to eat but most of it to turn into cathedral window jams. The jam was always good but about three years ago we learned a Valais secret: crack the pit of the apricot and crush the inner pit, which is akin to an almond, and add this to the jam for extra flavour.
In my haste to make sure Tara was well prepared for this first, longer trip on a train, I forgot to prepare me – a reminder for anyone traveling with a person who is disabled or who needs extra help. You’re more effective if you’re comfortable. Valais in winter tends to be sunny and dry. I forgot sunglasses. Tara prefers the easy solution and covers her eyes.
Fribourg fog
Fribourg traditional farmhouse
The minute we left the station in Lausanne, heading up the hill towards Palézieux, a chilly damp air began to creep in. The sun disappeared and, as so often happens in early winter in this area between Vaud and Fribourg, fog obliterated the countryside. I very much regretted not wearing a warm scarf.
Here is what I took in our bag: a change of clothes for Tara, who doesn’t worry about tidiness and doesn’t always understand about using public toilets; a large bottle of water, finely sliced dried meat from a recent trip of mine to canton Graubuenden (excellent for train trips), paper towels to serve as napkins, four sandwiches with cheese and hearty brown bread, three apples, two yogurts, a spoon, nuts and raisins.
Mittens for Tara even though she has never worn them in her 16 years – she likes to put her hands in her mouth and mittens or gloves annoy her.
sunshine, apple in December
Here's what the trolley man sells on the train.
I thought we were well prepared but by the time we had ridden through foggy Fribourg the food and drink was gone. Tara enjoyed the scenery, but she enjoyed the food even more.
We bought a small pannetoni muffin and a bottle of orange juice from the train trolley man, who spoke only Italian, it seemed. Cost: CHF9. My German is limited and rusty, but Swiss trains are a good place to practice your language skills, on things like counting money.
Bern turned out to be exciting for Tara. The station was, as always, crowded and bustling and loud. When she was younger such situations caused her to stop in her tracks, apparently a case of sensory overload, but as she gets older she is able to handle this better and the crowds pleased her hugely.
A large and jolly Santa Claus was handing out sweets in the centre of the station, but since Tara can’t hold out her hand and doesn’t see the point of pushing to the front of a line, he never spotted her among the more aggressive little people. It was just as well she didn’t know what she missed.
Bern, new bear park construction and rose garden in background
My goal was to take a one hour walk, then take a train home, so we headed for the old bear pits, which I vaguely remembered were under construction. I also wanted to see the newly unveiled Parliament building, but with Tara, trips need to remain simple, with limited plans. The Parliament would have to wait.
Our hike took us to the outdoor Christmas market, filled with shoppers buying everything from cheap trinkets to fine artisanal tree ornaments and expensive jewelry. My favourite bit was a section near the hot mulled wine table where you could buy Santa Claus suits of all kinds, including some pretty skimpy ones for Mrs. Claus.
Lower end of Bern's arcades, beyond the boutiques
The long walk to the old bear pits, down the lovely arcaded Kramgasse road, gave us much to look at. Store windows are bright with colours this time of year and the chic (and expensive) clothes, jewelry, artisan and furniture shops here make excellent window-shopping. My favourite place, though, is the bottom of the street, past the noise of the clock tower with its tourists and the shoppers, just above the bear pit, now being turned into a bear park. It’s a magical place near the bridge, where you stand above medieval rooftops, now spotted with snow, and look out and up at the Rosengarten park, where there are always people strolling.
Tara, like most 16-year-olds I’ve met, is not impressed by the adult obsession with scenery. She tolerated my comments about the lovely rooftops, then tugged on my sleeve to get me heading back up the street. Another 20-minute walk to the station, with Tara marching briskly among the crowds and then a lovely long ride back down through Fribourg as the light faded, warmed by a spinach tart and a Swiss hot dog purchased at the very affordable Migros carryout at the train station.
This was our first long trip, five hours of peace for Tara’s father, and an interesting journey for us.
Views from the train, 30 November 2008
Valais, terraced vines use every bit of arable land
Bern Christmas market entrance, brrr
Endless vines and orchards in Valais
Switzerland has many small, private train lines.
Guess what the Swiss were voting on?
Train spotting!
Real toy train, Valais, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss traveled more kilometres and took the train more times than any other nation in 2007, show new figures from the UIC (world railway sector organization). With 47 trips a year on average and 2,103 km traveled per person, Switzerland is well ahead of the number two country for distance traveled, Japan.
This is the first of a series of mini-travel photo stories on Switzerland that will run for several weeks. A very special 16-year-old named Tara takes the train on Saturdays to explore the country where she has grown up. Her mother, GL editor Ellen Wallace, goes along for the ride.
Tara turned 16 in June and, like so many girls this age, she suddenly showed signs of independence, one of which was impatience with everything that had entertained her in the past. And, like many children of international families in Switzerland, she had traveled abroad more than at home, which is a shame because Switzerland is a country well worth exploring.
But Tara is quite unlike most 16-year-olds: she has several disabilities and she needs adult supervision at all times. She certainly can’t travel alone. One of her greatest joys in life is car travel but this year, the family decided, she should see Switzerland by train.
Our first outing was a short one, a 30 minute ride from Sierre in Valais, which will usually be our weekend starting point, to Brig, at the end of the Valais before it climbs to the Simplon Pass or the Goms (also known as Conches) valley. Then we would walk for an hour around town and take the train back.
Tara was thrilled by the train. Two teenagers sitting near us at first looked bothered by her presence. She doesn’t talk but she makes a lot of noise at times. She drools, which doesn’t go down at all well with other kids. But Tara was so clearly excited and happy by the train moving, then the scenery zooming by outside that pretty soon they began to laugh when she did, not unkindly.
Brig turned out to be a far more interesting town than I expected. I’ve known it as a jumping-off point for skiers going to Zermatt or Saas Fee, or for visits to the nearby Aletsch Glacier. But it was also at one end of the first modern road built over the Alps, by Napolean. It is at the foot of the Simplon pass, which gives it a colourful history linked to smuggling as well as legal trade over the centuries.
It has several architectural gems. The 17th century Stockalper chateau was home to a trader made rich by salt, silk and other wares carried over the Simplon mule route. The old town has dozens of patrician homes that speak of the wealth on this ancient trade route.
Tara and I found a quiet bakery where a young woman decided to try her English on us. We bought an apricot tart because it was the only thing she could say clearly and I thought we should encourage her. I had a very good cup of coffee, but before I could drink half of it Tara decided to leave. She is a girl of little patience and when it is time to go, we go.
It took us 30 minutes to walk up the hill to the top of this small town. I thought the return would be faster, but Tara was miserable when we headed downhill, and she refused to walk. The sight of a nearly grown girl sitting in the middle of the road is uncommon. This is a friendly town – several people stopped to ask if they could help. I thought this was a complaint from Tara that we had walked too far, but when we arrived home I learned the real reason. She walks on her toes much of the time, which wears holes in the tips of her shoes (she goes through a pair every six weeks or so) and sometimes her socks. We hadn’t noticed the socks were going but by the time we’d walked around Brig the holes had grown large enough for toes to poke through and hurt.
It’s times like this that I wish very much Tara could talk and say, “My socks have holes!” The good thing about Tara’s unhappiness is that it flies away as quickly as it comes. A train ride back to Sierre solved the problem in seconds.
And then I had my first lesson on train travel with Tara in Switzerland. She loved it, to the point where she refused to get off the train. Swiss trains don’t stop for long between stations. You have to be at the door, ready to leap off.
Fortunately, for travelers like Tara, Swiss trains have very helpful conductors.
Tip for disabled travelers in Switzerland - avoid peak travel times because the crush can make it hard to make connections.
Coming next: to Bern in late November
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Good news for the Lake Geneva region: the CFF rail company will be adding more trains on the Bern-Zurich and Lausanne-Geneva lines, starting 14 December when the new 2009 schedule goes into effect, with 5.5% more kilometres of rail travel on offer.
Title: Ride a steam engine train
Location: Lausanne, Vaud
Link out: Click here
Description: Conmemorate 150 years of history by going to Lausanne or Geneva in a steam-engine train.
Date: 16 Nov 2008
Lausanne, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – The talks are only exploratory and will remain theoretical, but Vaud cantonal councilor François Marthaler has met with a group of private investors, whose identity he will not reveal except to say they are European, to discuss a possible private-public approach to building a third rail line between Lausanne and Geneva.
Bern, Switzerland (TSR, Fre) – Security guards on Swiss trains, including those from private companies hired by the CFF and other rail companies, should be allowed to carry arms, the upper house of Parliament voted Monday. The lower house has already said it approves of the change. The security firms would have to be Swiss.
