Swiss railways: booking and buying tickets, tips, useful information. Swiss Railways

Switzerland is a railway country. In almost any locality can be reached by train, S-Bahn, rack railway or rail funiculars. I won't talk about federal railways, since I didn’t have to use them on the trip, but we used the most interesting local railway routes.

1. Introduction to railway infrastructure began with the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn narrow-gauge railway, or rather with its section on the Furka Tunnel at an altitude of 1,564 m above sea level, 15.34 km long. The peculiarity of this section is that special platforms transport cars, and with passengers.

2. Buy a ticket, enter the platform and in 25 minutes you are on the other side of the pass. Fast, convenient, safe. Getting out of the car while driving is prohibited!

3. And now the steepest railway in the world Pilatusbahn with a maximum gradient of 48% and an average gradient of 35%. The line runs from Lake Lucerne to final stop near the top of Pilatus at an altitude of 2,073 m. The first steam locomotive lifted passengers on June 4, 1889, and on May 15, 1937, electric trains appeared on the route.

4. Ascent and descent along the route Alpnachstad - Pilatus Kulm and back costs 72 Swiss francs, and you can also go down to the city of Kriens using the funicular. A trip with a dog will cost you an additional 14 francs.

5. We plan to spend the night at an altitude of 2132 meters, so our "chumodans" are loaded into the unused rear driver's cab.

6. Let's go! I will show the views from the window in another report, but now only transport photos.

7. The road is single-track, in the middle of the route there is a place for passing with oncoming trains.

8. Pilatusbahn car at the entrance to the summit.

9. Station, aka Hotel Bellevue, aka a restaurant for tourists. Of course, all these establishments are located on different floors :).

10. Our next route starts in the municipality of Lauterbrunnen, canton of Bern. The Wengernalpbahn rack railway, opened in 1893, will take us to the village of Wengen, so that from there we will take a trip on the highest railway in Europe, the Jungfraubahn.

11. It is not visible in the photographs, but it is already dark, it is pouring light rain, nothing was visible from the train window at all. Therefore, I will return to this road later, after a trip along the Jungfraubahn.

12. "Retro trains" are also still working, but we'll go on this one, which is on the right.

13. Clean and modern trains Wengernalpbahn.

14. A train at the Eismeer intermediate station of the Jungfraubahn railway. The train stop is 5 minutes, so you can get out and admire eternal ice and the majesty of the rocks. Interestingly, Guyer received a building permit subject to proof that the rarefied air of the highlands would not harm the health of the workers, and later the passengers of the railway. Therefore, on September 15, 1894, at three o'clock in the morning, a group of subjects set off from Zermatt to Breithorn in the Pennine Alps (Valais canton). Seven people aged 10 to 70 years were carried on a stretcher to a high plateau at a height of 3750 m, the result of a second examination did not find a negative effect of walking on their health, after which a permit was issued.

15. Elevation difference 1400 meters, length 9 km. For those who like to vomit, there are bags.

16. And again Wengernalpbahn.

17. The ticket is inexpensive, within 5 francs, trains are used not only by tourists, but also by local residents.

18. The views are mesmerizing.

20. We meet a retro train that runs 2 times a day.

21. Beautiful?

22. And here we are again at the Lauterbrunnen station.

23. Berner Oberland Bahn rack railway train.

24. And finally, the Montreux Vevey Riviera (MVR) railway.

25. The peculiarity of the road is that the train must be stopped using a button on a special column. If this is not done, then it passes by. The same button is in the car.

26. I can’t say the cost of a ticket for this train, since all hotels in most cities in Switzerland give guests transport cards, which includes travel on city trains and funiculars. And in the canton of Geneva, even an express train to the airport.

27. Part of the car is allocated for first-class passengers.

28. Having risen on the Territet - Glion funicular, we see the trains of the Montreux-Glion-Rochers de Naye (MGN) railway. Cool, behind the train there is also a cargo trolley.

29. And here is such an unusual device.

30. Train of the Swiss Federal Railways SBB-CFF-FFS at the station in Vevey.

31. By the way, on the sections of the railways I came across sooo old rails. Here is a rail report. There will be many more interesting things from Switzerland, stay tuned!

All the most operational can be viewed in my

Swiss railways run along picturesque places, so many guidebooks recommend using such a convenient mode of transport for travel. Road rails were built along lakes and streams, beautiful mountains with snow-capped peaks. Trains pass through the mountains through tunnels, and canyons and gorges are overcome by beautiful bridges.

In the article, we will consider which railways in Switzerland are state-owned, which are private. What are trains with gears, thanks to which you can climb even to the top of Mount Pilate? We will also give travelers tips on how to cut down on train fares, as everyone knows the high cost of transport in this rich country. Consider photographs of train cars belonging to different railways in Switzerland.

State trains

Most of the trains and tracks laid out are owned by a state-owned company. Its name is very long, so they usually use the 9 letter abbreviations - SBB-CFF-FFS, which are written on all trains that have white with red and gray colors. They are easy to recognize at Swiss railway stations by their colors.

All trains are comfortable and modern. They differ in their height. Although Switzerland is a small country, the company has more than 4,000 wagons, and the length of municipal tracks is 13,000 km. Transportation is carried out as passengers on short and long distance, and cargo.

Passenger amenities

To enter the train car, you need to press the button on the door, the same action should be performed when leaving. The seats on Swiss railway trains are comfortable, soft, and the aisles are wide. Above each seat are spacious shelves for things. The carriages have the cleanest toilets with necessary accessories.

Sitting on the train, you can not only admire the gorgeous views from the window, but also charge your phone or camera, use Wi-Fi or dine in a restaurant. For travelers with bicycles, strollers, skis and other bulky items, a special wagon with mounts is provided. The guide will take your bike with a smile and put it in the rack. After leaving the car, he will take it back to the platform and wish him a successful excursion.

The trains have corners for small children with toys, shells, slides. Children cannot sit still for a long time, so the company's leaders took care of the little passengers.

On the second floor, the seats are arranged somewhat differently: closer to each other, one behind the other or opposite. Between them there are comfortable sliding tables, so you can have a bite to eat or put a bottle of water, put a laptop or tablet. Restaurant cars are located only on the second floor, food in carts on international trains they also deliver there, but at the same time, passengers from below are notified about this using a scoreboard.

Schedule overlap

Sometimes, to get to your destination, you need to change from one train to another. The accuracy of the Swiss is known to everyone, the electric trains also move with scrupulous timing. If a transfer is required, then when you exit the platform, you will have to quickly move to another platform and immediately board the next car. The schedule is designed in such a way that you won’t have to wait long, as well as look for the next train at the station.

Since the railways of Switzerland (there is a photo in the article) are considered popular and environmentally clean view transport, then in addition to the state company, there are several private railways, mainly located in the mountains. Next, we will consider several popular and beautiful routes where you can climb on special jagged overpasses.

Rack railways

In Switzerland, there are more than 20 railways equipped with special gears. The mechanism is located between the rails and helps to raise the cars on the slope of the mountain.

The steepest train climb in the world is also located in mountainous Switzerland. The gear train climbs down a 48% slope and takes tourists to the top of Mount Pilat, which is located near the city of Lucerne. In winter, closed wagons take skiers up to the popular mountain areas.

Monument from the UNESCO list

The Rhaetian railway in Switzerland is considered a real monument, a miracle of technology and human labor. The most picturesque train track was built at the end of the 19th century. Now the Albulskaya and Berninskaya branches are especially popular, which amaze with the height of the rails, passing over the deepest abysses, beautiful views to the mountains from the windows. It delights and at the same time frightens passengers.

Narrow gauge connects small town Tuzis with resort place Saint Moritz. It is only 67 km, however, the construction lasted 14 years. The railway passes through 42 rock tunnels and 144 bridges over chasms with viaducts. unique bridge 136 meters high, it consists of 6 arches and is a symbol of the Albulian road.

This passage for trains was built back in 1902 using technologies unusual for those times. This is the most amazing railway in Switzerland. Every year, millions of tourists from all over the world admire the beauty of mountain country while riding trains. The routes are thought out to the smallest detail, because the Swiss love their trains very much. By rail you can get to anywhere in the country, to all resorts and mountain hotels, to lakes and glaciers in the Alps.

Part of the Rhaetian road of the RhB line lies in the largest tourist area the canton of Graubünden and reaches the border with Italy at Davos and as far as Tirano. The entire path with bridges and tunnels is listed as a feature world heritage UNESCO. Now part of the railway in the mountains of Switzerland on this route is closed for the reconstruction of tunnels.

The slowest train

The slowest yet most famous train route in the world in Switzerland departs daily from St. Moritz to Zermatt. The duration of the trip is 7.5 hours. During this time, the express passes through the mountains through 91 tunnels, crosses 291 bridges over the gorges. This Glacier Express itinerary must be included in any tour of Swiss Alps.

This legendary journey will be remembered by the guests of the country for a lifetime, as the trip combines the wonders of technology and impressive landscapes.

The steep climb

The sharpest ascent is carried out by trains on a narrow gauge railway to Mount Pilat. The uphill speed is 12 km/h, and back is even slower - 9 km/h. The track was built back in 1967, old cars are used, but the braking system has been improved.

Brakes are used parking, resistor, electric. They are independent of each other, which increases traffic safety.

Alpine narrow gauge railway

The highest railway in Switzerland is also considered the highest in Europe. This is the "Jungfrau" or Jungfraubahn. It belongs to the jagged lines, follows the Bernese Alps and the canton of Bern. The length of the railway tracks is 9 km, while the elevation difference is 1,400 meters.

Most of The path along this route passes through tunnels (7 km) through the massifs of the Eiger and Mönch mountains and climbs to the very top of the Jungfrau. Tourists have chosen this place, as at every stop along the train you can get off and enjoy the views. So at the station "Eigergletcher" you can look at the waterfalls.

At the station "Aigervand" opens great view the valley and the walls of the Eiger are visible. The Eismeer stop is famous for its views of glaciers and magnificent cliffs.

From the terminal station, you have an all-round view of the Aletsch Glacier, the peaks of the nearby Jungfrau and Eiger mountains, as well as the magnificent Grindelwald valley.

• Even in summer time when climbing mountain peaks, you need to wear warm clothes and be sure to take sunglasses.
• It is recommended to take seats on trains near the window in the first or last car of the train, as you can take not only a photo of the area, but also the train itself at numerous turns.
• Since train tickets in Switzerland can reach up to 50 euros, it is recommended to take a special ticket for a week or 15 days. Swiss Travel System allows you not only to easily transfer from train to train without buying tickets separately, but also to ride buses, boats and even go to museums. It is very convenient and economical.

Useful first-hand information about Swiss railways: ticket types, fares, how to get there in Switzerland,

description, instructions for booking Swiss tickets, how to buy tickets in Switzerland, tips, train differences

Switzerland is a country that is damn beautiful and at the same time damn expensive: if you manage to find a hotel in the suburbs of a Swiss city for less than 100 euros, then this can be considered a great success. It's expensive to live here, it's expensive to eat here, and, of course, it's expensive to travel. The local transport system works naturally like clockwork and clockwork, only its use will ruin anyone: an hour-long voyage of about seven dozen kilometers will cost a passenger about seven hundred rubles!

Such prices will instantly ruin anyone, so it would be quite fair to save a little on travel. To do this, you can use the so-called "Supersaver ticket" system. These tickets are relatively inexpensive, but are only valid for specific trains. At the same time, their use allows you to almost halve the cost of travel. Let's say that if the trip from Lausanne to Bern mentioned above costs 31 Swiss francs in the usual case, then a similar voyage under a special offer will cost only 18.60 francs.

“Not all destinations are ready for use in this form, and each time, when planning a voyage, it would be nice to know exactly how things are at the moment.

To avoid such difficulties, you should use reusable travel cards, of which the Swiss have come up with a great variety. Alas, some of them are of little use, because, let’s say, a very reasonable “9 o” clock travel pass ticket, which costs only 48 francs and allows you to move around the country from 9 am to midnight on weekdays, is available only to happy owners of “Half -Fare travelcard", that is, for the most part local residents. It seems to be a good idea to buy such a card for yourself, but it costs 165, 300 and 400 francs for 1, 2 and 3 years, respectively - few people travel to the Alps with such enviable regularity to recoup such acquisitions.

The situation is similarly bad with the 1-day travelpass, which is valid without a morning time limit. It costs 56.70 francs, but, again, you need a damned “Half-Fare travelcard”.

The only thing available in this plan is the "Happy Birthday travelpass" for 33 francs, but it can only be used on the passenger's birthday, which greatly limits the ability to maneuver.

Thus, those planning more or less active trips around Switzerland find themselves without an alternative in front of a set of Swiss Pass cards.

Such a ticket is valid for 4, 8, 15 or 22 days, and in the usual case, these days are in a row - you can not split them separately. For such events, there is a “Swiss Flexi Pass”, which gives the right to ride the entire transport system for 3, 4, 5 or 6 days during the month. Naturally than more days you are supposed to travel, the higher the cost of the pass, and while a purchase for 4 days will cost 266 francs, an 8-day trip will fly into 384 francs. Similarly, a separate ticket for 3 days will cost 254 francs, its counterpart for 4 days is 308 francs, and so on.

It is easy to see that the more days on the ticket, the cheaper it is on average every day. And here it is necessary to mention another way to save: those traveling in a group buy their tickets with a small discount, which is why for each of them the first option indicated will cost 226 and 326 francs, respectively, and the second at 216 and 262 francs - no, but the benefit ...

There is also such a thing as the "Swiss Transfer Ticket", which cannot be bought in Switzerland - only online or in other countries. Its essence is free travel from any border checkpoint of the Confederation to any of its points and back. At the same time, the entry and exit points may not coincide, the main thing is that the trip in each direction ends during the day and follows the shortest route. There is a similar travel 130 francs.

Now that understanding the possibilities of the Swiss transport system we have developed, you can go directly to the process of buying tickets.

This process is quite simple, and begins right with the order.

Switching to English language with the "en" button at the very top, we must then enter the desired points of departure and arrival, in order to get a schedule of approximately this form.

Since tickets are sold for a certain distance in Switzerland, it almost always makes sense to choose high speed trains to arrive faster. Although, honestly, usually the time difference between them and the trains is not too big - the routes are a bit short ...

Now, when the train is selected, it becomes necessary to enter your data into the computer's memory, specifically the name, surname and date of birth.

After this stage is over, it remains only to remember if there is a discount voucher at hand.

Usually, travelers do not have such a voucher at their disposal, so you can safely proceed to making a payment, for which you must first enter your registration data - this is necessary for the banking system.

And finally, here it is, a page with payment data, filling in the fields that we can press the coveted button "Purchase" and buy a ticket.

The use of ticket machines in Switzerland is also quite affordable for any person with a slightly tolerable command of at least some language.

This is what these machines look like.

The menu is arranged in several languages ​​at once, we will choose the most popular - English.

We don't need German at all in this case, so click on " English"In the lower right corner of the screen.

Thanks to this pressing, the world becomes clearer, and all possible options are at a glance.

By entering the departure and destination stations, we often get travel options - through a specific station or there by the shortest route.

Of course, you need to choose a one-way trip, or a round trip. In the latter case, a certain discount is provided.

The choice between second and first class is obvious.

The apparent complexity of the next screen is actually not worth a penny: these tricks are needed by those who have the "Half-Fare travelcar" mentioned above, those who carry animals, and so on. We select 1/ 1 and the key in the right column that corresponds to the number of passengers.

Having made a simple choice, we proceed to search for the desired date.

By default, the date is always today - this must be borne in mind.

Changing the date is easier than sending two bytes - there is a special button "Later date" at the top right for this.

Finally, we have the price and with it the payment options. It is worth noting that at the Swiss border stations, machines also accept European coins and banknotes, giving change, however, in Swiss francs.

And for greater importance, consider the option when we need not a simple ticket, but some kind of travel card. To do this, select the "Other tickets/offers" option, and then various offers will appear.

Here, those travel cards that were discussed above are just displayed - as you can see, it will not be difficult to purchase them.

In general, have a good trip to Switzerland...

Active traveler Lyovik, who was born in Moscow but moved to live in New York, talks about his romantic love for railroads:

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, it was the case that I was shocked all night in an old Asian carriage instead of a half-hour flight. But ride on Swiss trains- a pleasure, it's fast, beautiful and convenient.

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

Behind me you can see the constant unhealthy admiration for the Japanese railway system. I still believe that the Japanese are ahead of the rest in the issue of rail transport, but the Swiss are not so far behind them.

(Total 48 photos)

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 are owned by the state railway company with the beautiful name SBB CFF FFS.

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

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, including in English.

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

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 travel on most transports throughout Switzerland. It can be purchased for first or second grade. 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 a longer period. Subscription can be purchased at railway ticket offices(including the airports of Zurich and Geneva), it entitles free travel on trains, urban systems public transport.

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. Another company, 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. The high-altitude tram in Zermatt and the gondolas in the wonderful Lauterbrunnen valley are included in this category of transport.

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 at the entrance has a white number "1" or "2" written on it.

Like its German neighbors, Switzerland has a majority intercity trains two-story. Red and white gamma is the corporate identity for the compositions owned by SBB CFF FFS.

I didn’t travel in first class and I don’t advise you - without an appropriate ticket. 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.

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 laptop.

Even in second-class carriages there is an opportunity to recharge, however, here the sockets are not located in a witty Swiss way.

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. Here, for example, in the photo - 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.

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 him, and the passengers in the rest of the cars are calm.

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. On the picture main station Zurich is a huge building with high vaults, under which the works of sculptors are hung. There are several more underground levels.

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

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

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.

Monitors hang on the platforms showing when and where the next train will arrive, where it will stop on the platform and where the first and second class cars will be located, and where the restaurant will be.

Even the smallest stations have a clock tower. Right time here is a very important thing, 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 arrive at, in order to give passengers a chance to walk at a normal (but not relaxed!) pace from one train to another. On the rare occasions when there are minor delays, the train you want to transfer to will also wait a couple of minutes.

But for railway platforms, the company ordered special model hours. 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 improved railway clocks. (On the other hand, why not, if in the USSR in 1942 they could think about a new letter of the alphabet.) In short, the Swiss railway clock has since become a national symbol and an example of good laconic design. They are even exhibited here in New York at MoMA.

It turns out that this watch is so famous that Apple decided to borrow 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 gadget manufacturer, however, the case did not reach the court. Apple entered into an agreement allowing it to use this design. The exact amount of the transaction is unknown, but analysts believe that the Swiss received about 20 million francs.

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 the other clocks at the station. Thus, all clocks at the station always show exactly the same time.

Yes, Swiss trains are comfortable and run on schedule, but that's 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 how green hills, high mountains, blue Lakes and small towns with pointed churches.

Switzerland. Railway Passion