Swiss Federal Railways. Switzerland. Railway Passion

Good day! Question for those who have been to Switzerland and used local railways.
1. Where is the best place to buy a Swiss Pass? Upon arrival at the Zurich airport or in Moscow at the agency.
2. Is it possible to pay for a train ticket at the station ticket office credit card Visa?
3. Has anyone used the Swiss Pass to get a 50% discount on lifts and high mountain funiculars and railways? How punctually they provide discounts and how they require to pay for the travel of a child of 3.5 years (if it is paid at all).

Thank you!

For more than 5 years I have always been buying a Half Fare Ticket at the airport upon arrival at the same time as buying tickets to the place right away with a 50% discount. We paid both in cash and by card - no problem, even a visa, even a mastercard. The tickets are nominal, but no one has ever asked for a passport. There is a discount on lifts, but not on all. For example, in Leukerbad he worked on large lifts, but not on a training one. A child under 16 (I don’t remember exactly the upper limit) travels free of charge with their parents. The discount applies to both first and second class carriages. Information of this, November. On the SBB website (www.sbb.ch) you can buy e-ticket but I haven't tried it yet.
Discounts if they work, they give like a clock, even a funicular, even a bus, in the summer they also work on boats. Yes, you can calculate your own route on the SBB website. If the price is discounted, then so be it. By the way, trains and buses also run like clockwork. We only had 1 5 minute late arrival in our entire stay.

Thank you ladies and gentlemen for your prompt responses!
2 Lucy: I just booked a hotel in Leukerbad. If you have been there, share your impressions .. (Mount Gemmi or maybe somewhere else to climb in those parts) It's a pity I don't ski, as I understand it, there are excellent conditions for this sport.
and further. I plan to leave for Zermatt for a day, climb the Matterhorn or Gornegrat .. what do you advise? There is an ice palace on the Matterhorn, what is your impression of visiting?

Thank you!

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Is this a Swiss Pass? It seems like the Swiss Pass (and all its other varieties - and there are several of them) is only sold OUTSIDE of Switzerland.

Andrey:
What hotel did you book in Leukerbad and for how long? I will be at Lindner Alpentherm from December 30th to January 11th. and we fly to Zurich. You can go to Zermatt from Leukerbad, interesting trip, the only hard one day. because the one-way trip is 2.5 hours, so you won’t be able to go to the Matterhorn and Gornegrat in one day, you just won’t have time to return. because the last train from Zermatt to Leukerbad at 16.30. There is another option - to go there by taxi. One local office offers a tour for 400 CHF for a minivan (7-10 people). if there are people who want it, then it will work out well for the money. It's good to go to Sion for a walk and go shopping. if the hotel does not have a pool, then it's good to go to Burgerbad to the thermae. You can climb Gemmi, Torent, walk to a restaurant in Bodman, go to a frozen waterfall. There are many places in Leukerbad for hiking. My husband and I don't ride either, only kids. But let's get out of the day, be healthy. we even went to Bern for a day out.

Figured it out by going to SBB sites
http://mct.sbb.ch/mct/reiselust/int-gaeste.htm and swisstravelsystem. There are 7 types of discount tickets according to swisstravelsystem:
1. Swiss Pass
2. Swiss Flexi Pass
3. Swiss Youth Pass
4. Swiss Transfer Ticket
5. Swiss Card
6. Swiss Half Fare Card
7. Swiss Travel System-Familienkarte
We are talking about different tickets- 1. Swiss pass entitles you to Free pass (mountain roads with discounts), and 6. Swiss Half Fare Card - 50% DISCOUNT on travel. The rest of these 7 types are also designed for different situations of travel with discounts.
Wherein different types these 7 tickets and are bought in different places. The Swiss pass can only be bought OUTSIDE Switzerland (mostly sold by travel agencies) and in the on-line shop, while the Swiss Half Fare Card sells most stations, travel agencies and also on-line shops. So you can't buy a Swiss pass at the Zurich train station.
For those interested - where can you buy all these types of discount tickets in Russia:

We used the Swiss Flexi Pass in Switzerland - we chose the right days from 2 weeks of our trip.

The soul of the poet could not bear it :)).

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Who told you this? How many did not go to Switzerland, SwissPass bought on the spot (specifically, in information center Cornavin station). I saw a similar one at the Geneva airport and at the Zurich train station. So what is it

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to put it mildly, unreliable.

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I completely agree. Plus another 40 minutes. either on the Gornegrat or on the Klein Matterhorn. You need to choose one thing.

Andrey:
If you are going to drive from Leukerbal every day, then it makes sense to take a SwissPass, if only a few times, then Flexi. All this is calculated on the site that Lucy pointed out to you (http://www.sbb.ch/).

Until Zermatt is unlikely to be blocked, because. Zermatt itself is at an altitude of 1600 meters. Something terrible must happen for the road to Zermatt to be blocked.
As for tickets: In my opinion Swiss Pass is quite expensive. A half ticket costs 99 CHF and is refunded immediately when you purchase an up-hotel up transfer, unless of course you are staying in Geneva. As you said Andrew. If you are in Leukerbad, you will immediately win back everything and then you will travel with a 50% discount. hitting 300 francs on one - it will be hard for you. not rest, but continuous, albeit cool, but electric trains.

and 2 more Andrey: now in Zermat on the Klein Matterhorn - a construction site, a hotel and a large panorama are being built (we were there in November of this year). you can ride, but if you just look, the cranes slightly spoil the view. But there is no such panorama from the Gornegrat as on the Klein Matterhorn. the very view of the Matterhorn from below from the village is simply mesmerizing. at 1600 this 4,000th Tooth looks fantastic. open a museum in the glacier, and they also made something like an ice hotel, where everything is made of ice. Zermett's website - www.zermatt.ch. Leukerbad website www.leukerbad.ch. Leukerbad will certainly be simpler. But if you climb the Gemmi, then in good weather the whole panorama of Monte Rossa is visible. We left the mountain according to the weather, if we have fog and snow, then on the other side of the Rhone, as a rule, the opposite is true. Also in the JungFrau region.

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Before you accuse me of unreliability, dear poet - go to the Swiss website
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/Fahrausweise.16.0.html

And you could buy at the station ANOTHER type of discount ticket (there are 7 of them), available for purchase in Switzerland.
By the way, such a system is not only there - in Japan it is also impossible to buy such tickets in Japan, only OUTSIDE. Will you also accuse me of unreliability to put it mildly? :)

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Before you accuse me of unreliability, dear poet - go to the Swiss website
http://www.swisstravelsystem.ch/Fahrausweise.16.0.html
and translate from German the phrase referring to the Swiss Pass there
In der Schweiz nicht erhältlich. Bezug bei den ausländischen Verkaufsstellen sowie online im Ticket Shop.

Marin, although the question was not for me, everything is fine with the translation, but ...)) The phrase you quoted with a footnote 1) refers to the Swiss Transfer Ticket.
Swiss Pass, Swiss Flexi Pass and Swiss Youth Pass can be purchased at most major railway stations in Switzerland. Swiss Transfer Tickets are sold only outside the country, Swiss Cards at the border and in railway ticket offices at airports, the Swiss Half Fare Card is available at most stations in Switzerland and at travel agencies. Also, all these tickets can be purchased on-line Ticket Shop on the SBB website.

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Lucy, what kind of construction is there? From there, and so the view is not the most advantageous, but if there are also cranes ((. Then I’d better take the people to Rothorn (do not offer Gornegrat). And Ice Palace You can also look at the Jungfrau: they are all the same.

Many thanks to everyone for such detailed explanations! In general, I own the technology of collecting and processing information. I’ve just never been to Switzerland, and there’s also trouble with German ... so I decided to disturb those who were in those parts ...
2 Lucy: I will be in Leukerbad from February 19 to February 26, 2008, so there is little chance of meeting there... and the hotel, of course, is Lindner.. this best ratio price / quality (for $ 221 per day, I did not find anything like it).
In fact, I am also flying to Zurich, upon arrival immediately to Lucerne, because. excellent hotels are offered there for extremely reasonable money (for example, Monopol 4 * opposite central station costs $160 for Dbl). From Lucerne I want to take a panoramic express ride to Bern, on a "simple train" to Zurich, well, I planned all this (including Lucerne to see) for 2 nights of living there, and then Leukerbad. And finally, a night in Geneva, so that you don’t rush to the plane from Leukerbad early in the morning, and you also want to look around in Geneva and walk along the embankment ...
the only circumstance that worries me a little is a backbiter 3 years and 8 months old, taken with him ... although he is a very independent young man, and in his years he has seen Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, Turkey (three times) ... I think I will get used to it ..
Again 2 Lucy: You are like a person who has own experience visiting Leukerbad, enlighten on the level of prices in local restaurants. In which the food is tastier, and in general, enlighten a little on prices. As far as I understand my German, the picture is as follows: medium hot 20-25CHF, salad or soup 5-18CHF, dessert or fruit 5-15CHF, tea, coffee, juice, water 2-5CHF
Am I right, or am I somewhat mistaken?

, SBB-CFF-FFS(German Schweizerische Bundesbahnen SBB, fr. Chemins de fer federaux suisses CFF, Italian Ferrovie federali swizzere FFS, Romansh. Viafiers federalas svizras VFS) - the state railway company (joint stock company) of the Swiss Confederation with the board in its capital Bern.

Swiss federal railways
German Schweizerische Bundesbahnen fr. Chemins de fer federaux suisses ital. Ferrovie federali svizzere romance Viafiers federalas svizras


Type	State company
Base	1st of January
Location	Switzerland: Bern
Key Figures	Andreas Meyer (Director)
Industry	railway transport
Number of employees	33, 119 (2016)
Affiliated companies	SBB Cargo[d] And SBB GmbH[d]
Website	sbb.ch (German) cff.ch (French) ffs.ch (Italian)
Swiss Federal Railways at Wikimedia Commons

network plan SBB-CFF-FFS

The newest RABe 511 train in the Zurich region

Train on the Gotthard Line

Legal status

From January 1, 1999 Swiss Federal Railways were withdrawn from the control of the Swiss government and transformed into a special open joint-stock company, the shares of which are owned by the Swiss state. The management and development of this joint-stock company is carried out according to the laws of a market economy, however, adjustments are also made every 4 years by the Swiss Federal Assembly, which approves a priority plan for SBB-CFF-FFS. The state also provides assistance in the development of the railway. infrastructure, and also ensures that income from passenger and freight transportation covers the cost of maintaining them.

Structure

From January 1, 2009 SBB-CFF-FFS divided into 4 services:

freight transportation
management and repair of railway lines
management of real estate owned by the company.

The central board of the society is responsible for financial policy and control, computer science and logistics, coordination and economic planning, personnel and security services. Separately in this system is the audit commission of the concern, directly subordinate to the presidium of the Management Board. Since the end of 2006 he has been leading SBB-CFF-FFS Chairman of the Board of Directors Andreas Meyer. Along with A. Meyer, it includes Jannina Pillo (passenger traffic), Jürg Stöckli (real estate), Nicola Perren (freight traffic), Georg Radon (finance) and Markus Jordi (personnel).

Along the Swiss border with Germany, on German territory in southern Baden, on the lines Weil am Rhein - Lörrach and along the route of the line Seehas traffic and passenger transportation are provided by a German subsidiary SBB-CFF-FFS, SBB GmbH. In addition, the company controls a number of subsidiaries in Switzerland: SBB Cargo AG (100%), Thurbo (90%), RegionAlps (100%), AlpTransit Gotthard AG (100%), as well as Zentralbahn (66%), TILO (50%), Lyria (26% of shares).

In 2002, in order to preserve historical heritage, SBB-CFF-FFS establishes the Swiss Federal Railways Historical Heritage Foundation. This fund preserves the historical rolling stock of past years, contains an infotheque in Bern - a large library on the history of the development of transport in Switzerland, with an archive, a photo archive and a collection of posters.

All lines SBB-CFF-FFS fully electrified.

General information

Number of passengers (for 2010, in million people): 347
Number of passenger-kilometres (as of 2010, in millions): 17.513
Number of ton-kilometers of freight traffic (as of 2010, in millions): 13.111
Number of employees (for 2010, people): 28.143
The total length of the railway network (for 2010, km): 3.212
Number of stations and railway stations: 804
Number of stations adapted for passenger traffic(as of 2010): 763
Number of stations adapted to receive freight traffic (for 2010): 247
Station receiving the largest number passengers: Zurich (more than 350 thousand passengers daily)
Quantity parking spaces for cars at stations: 25.630
Transport punctuality: 87%
Total investment in SBB-CFF-FFS 2007-2010 (billion CHF): 5.88
Profit generated (in 2008, in billion CHF): 8

Since 2001 SBB-CFF-FFS also deals with bus transportation. Since everything railway lines Switzerland is electrified, the company is also engaged in the production of electricity. It owns 6 power plants:

Amsteg (Canton of Uri)
Chatelard-Barberine (Canton of Vaud)
Etzelwerk (Canton of Schwyz)
Massaboden (Canton of Wallis)
Ritom (Canton of Ticino)
Vernayaz (Canton of Vallis)

The company has 17.703 vehicles, including (as of 2003):

1,141 train locomotives;
507 shunting locomotives;
3,883 passenger cars;
12,171 freight wagons.

Story

IN XIX century all railways in Switzerland were owned by private companies. Competition and regional tensions often led to the construction of parallel lines. At the same time, the introduced regional monopoly on the transportation of certain large companies, which guaranteed them large profits, met with serious criticism from the public. As a result of the referendum held on February 20, 1898 in Switzerland, the 5 largest private railway companies were nationalized. The first Management Board of the new state-owned company consisted of 54 members; on October 24, 1900, its first meeting was held, which adopted the company's charter. Since January 1, 1902 SBB-CFF-FFS exists as independent organization. On this day, the first trains, led by the Directorate SBB-CFF-FFS. Therefore, January 1, 1902 is the official date of "birth" Swiss Federal Railways. In the period from 1901 to 1909, 5 more large Swiss railway companies were nationalized and attached to SBB-CFF-FFS.

Early attempts to electrify railway lines SBB-CFF-FFS were undertaken as early as 1903 (in cooperation with the Zurich engineering firm Oerlikon), however, these technologies began to be decisively introduced only in 1919, due to a sharp rise in the cost of coal.

Since June 3, 1956 Swiss Railways, as is customary in other European states, go to categories passenger traffic 1st and 2nd class, abandoning the previous system of 1st, 2nd and 3rd class cars.

Major reform on the lines SBB-CFF-FFS was carried out as part of the Bahn 2000 program on December 12, 2004, when 90% of train routes were changed. At the same time, the number of trains involved was increased by 12%. In addition, the travel time of trains in the busiest transport triangle Bern-Zurich-Basel was shortened by 1 hour.

In 2013, the Swiss Federal Railways - that's their official name - carried 366 million passengers. This is a very impressive number. After all, the population of Switzerland itself as of September 30, 2014 amounted to just over 8.2 million people. Switzerland's railways have the densest network in Western Europe. Swiss trains are among the most reliable and comfortable in the world. The total length of the Swiss railway network as of 2013 is 3,033 kilometers. Here is the highest railroad station Europe: Jungfraujoch station at an altitude of 3,454 m in the Bernese Oberland.

How Swiss railways were created

The first section of the railway, which passed only through Swiss soil, was built in 1847 and connected the cities and Baden. The real railroad boom began with the passage of the Railroad Act in 1852. This law established that railways could be built and operated by private individuals or cantons.

A huge role in this was played by Alfred Escher, a Swiss politician, manufacturer and pioneer in the field of railway construction. He could rightly call the "Law on Railways" his brainchild. The construction of the Gotthard railway is one of his main achievements.

The St. Gotthard mountain railway, which is 274.2 km long, crosses the central massif Swiss Alps and connects Italian railways with Swiss and German ones. In addition, Escher was one of the founders of the credit bank "Schweizerische Kreditanstalt". Today it is the world famous bank "Credit Suisse".

It is not surprising that the monument to Alfred Escher, opened on June 22, 1889, stands in a place of honor - on the forecourt. At the same time, the passenger traffic of the station in Zurich is approximately 400,000 people per working day.

The creators of the "Law on Railways" clearly proceeded from good intentions. However, as a result, ruthless competition began. As a result of which, in 1861, the Swiss East-West first announced its bankruptcy. And in 1878 - the Swiss National Railway. These events influenced the point of view of both parliamentarians and ordinary citizens.

Demands for the nationalization of the railroad grew louder. As a result of a popular vote on February 20, 1898, the nationalization of the five "surviving" private railways was announced. January 1, 1902 was the birthday of the SBB: this is the abbreviation for "Schweizerische Bundesbahnen" - Swiss Federal Railways - in German.

Swiss railways today

On Swiss trains, along with the railway logo in German, you can also see the abbreviation CFF-FFS - from the French "Chemins de fer fédéraux suisses" and the Italian "Ferrovie federali svizzere", which once again emphasizes the multilingualism of Switzerland.

On January 1, 1999, SBB was transformed into an open joint stock company, 99% of whose shares are owned by the state. The Swiss railway network is fully electrified, with over 30,000 employees as of 2013. Until 2005, Swiss trains had smoking and non-smoking carriages. On December 11, 2005, along with a change in the train schedule, smoking was banned everywhere.

A trip on a Swiss train is, above all, comfort. These are comfortable, soft seats, large panoramic windows, clean toilets, air conditioners that work without interruptions, sockets for mobile devices. Most fast trains have a restaurant car and a mobile mini-bar: an SBB employee rolls a trolley down the aisle and offers passengers drinks - tea, coffee, mineral water, cola, beer, as well as sandwiches, crackers and chips.

Between the main cities of Switzerland fast trains run on average twice an hour. In addition, there are also trains here. suburban traffic"S-Bahn", that is, simply electric trains. At the same time, the price for all types of trains is standard. And the price is quite high. So, an 11-minute one-way 1st class trip from Zurich train station will cost you 10.80 francs. And for a trip from Zurich to Bern in 1st class there and back you will have to pay 176 francs, the same trip in 2nd class costs exactly 100 francs.

A train ticket in Switzerland must be bought at a ticket office or at a ticket machine, train conductors do not sell tickets now, although this was previously practiced - for an additional charge of 5 francs. A trip without a ticket will cost you a minimum of 80 francs and your personal data will be stored in the SBB central computer for 2 years. The 2nd ticketless trip will cost 120 francs, and the third - 150 francs. So it's better to buy tickets on time and enjoy a comfortable ride.

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 the child and old man, 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. Majority railway routes goes by 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, by ticket SWISS Travel Pass you can ride trains all over the country as much as you like. It can be purchased for a period of four days to a month. It also works in all kinds public transport at 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 nature lovers and mountain scenery These trips are like no other.

For example, on the route of the Golden Pass, you will see enough of spruce forests and green pastures with grazing cows. From the height of the road you can admire the lakes and distant snow-capped peaks 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

Main railway 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 most quick ways movement between cities such as Hamburg and Cologne. ICE has international connections in Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Switzerland and Austria.

If you need the most fast train pay attention to the train ICE Sprinter. This is the latest generation of ICE trains that travel daily during rush hour and make fewer stops than conventional trains ICE.

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 maximum comfort with ergonomic seats, free wifi, large selection of food on the menu, entertainment for children.

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.