Switzerland Archives

How do you even say “Takt” for a timetable in English?

I am doing some comparative research about railways in Europe this summer and that has led me to the question: what makes a good train timetable? And that then leads inevitably to a Taktfahplan or, better still, a Integraler Taktfahplan (German language Wikipedia here) By which point I have lost[Read More…]

16.08.2023 4 comments

Mapping all of Europe’s #CrossBorderRail lines

In the summer of 2022 I crossed all of the internal borders of the European Union (and Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein) you can cross by train. That ended up with 95 borders crossed (you can find all the routes I took here). But that is long way away from crossing[Read More…]

23.12.2022 1 comment

The next problem for night trains in Netherlands: the locomotives are too heavy (or the track too unstable)

We’ve previously examined the headaches finding rolling stock (i.e. carriages) for the new Zürich – Amsterdam NightJet that will run from December this year, but now another problem has come to light – the locomotives, and specifically that they are too heavy. We’ve been pointed towards this PDF issued by[Read More…]

15.10.2021 0 comments

Rolling stock for a new night train: even SBB and ÖBB have plenty of difficulties

As we reported yesterday, Swiss railways SBB are keen to increase their night train offer. But they, like every other player in this market, have the same rolling stock problems to overcome as anyone else. In this post we are going to look at the new NightJet service due to be launched[Read More…]

15.06.2021 0 comments

SBB boss Vincent Ducrot talks about the future of night trains to/from Switzerland

Tagesanzeiger Sonntagszeitung features a long interview with boss of Swiss Railways SBB Vincent Ducrot – you can read the whole interview here (free registration required). The headline strikes us as slightly off. “Nachtzüge werden nie profitabel sein” “Night trains will never be profitable” he says. Perhaps he ought to have a[Read More…]

14.06.2021 0 comments

Revival of the Trans Europ Express (TEE) – these plans are going to need some new trains

Nostalgia is important in railways. Families and enthusiasts alike visit heritage railways, and railway companies across Europe try to motivate passengers to take trains today using symbolism of the past. And there is no symbolism stronger in cross-border rail in Europe than the Trans Europ Express (TEE), probably because more people alive[Read More…]

08.06.2021 0 comments

Non-Schengen compliant border control at Buchs SG station, 1 July 2015, 0700

I was a passenger on the EuroNight 60466 D. Budapest-Keleti at 2100 on 30 June 2015, scheduled arrival Zürich HB at 0820 on 1st July 2015. I was a passenger in the Sleeping Car on this service (there are three carriages from Budapest – a carriage with seats, a couchette[Read More…]

01.07.2015 6 comments

The worst international train service I’ve taken for a long time – in Switzerland! (OK, with an Italian train)

The Cisalpino joint venture between the Swiss SBB and Trenitalia no longer exists, wound up in 2009 due to failing service quality and problems with an order of new trains. The sad news is that now, with the EuroCity trains between Switzerland and Italy using some of the same railsets[Read More…]

01.09.2013 0 comments

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Jon Worth

Switzerland

How do you even say “Takt” for a timetable in English?

Mapping all of Europe’s #CrossBorderRail lines

The next problem for night trains in Netherlands: the locomotives are too heavy (or the track too unstable)

Rolling stock for a new night train: even SBB and ÖBB have plenty of difficulties

SBB boss Vincent Ducrot talks about the future of night trains to/from Switzerland

Revival of the Trans Europ Express (TEE) – these plans are going to need some new trains

Non-Schengen compliant border control at Buchs SG station, 1 July 2015, 0700

The worst international train service I’ve taken for a long time – in Switzerland! (OK, with an Italian train)

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Recent Analysis

Policy proposals to fix Europe’s railways

We know what’s wrong with European railways. Mostly. But how do we fix it?

The #CrossBorderRail plans for autumn 2023, and some press coverage

Recent Guides

A diagram to explain EU cross border rail passengers rights – and to push for political change

Germany’s 49 Euro Ticket Deutschlandticket – a FAQ

How to use Deutsche Bahn’s De Connect tickets for train trips between Germany and London

Recent Quick takes

Strasbourg? Karlsruhe? No – Saarbrücken? Where the future Paris-Berlin ICE stops is not the issue

Toute l’Europe – a future night train map that’s very, very bad

TimeOut makes a right hash of the new Milano-München trains story

Recent In the media

Quoted in the FT “‘We are full’: the rebirth of Europe’s sleeper trains”

Meeting Michael Peterson with Die Zeit, and quoted by CNN about shift from planes to trains

Quoted in Berliner Zeitung about the Brenner pilot project

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