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Hi from Geneva
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Ari <space.of.ari@...>
Gr�tzi the list,
My name is Ari and I'm a student from the city of Geneva. I used to have some trains and I'm always in admiration in front the St-Gothard model in the Luzern transport museum� TRAINS The Swiss railway network is one of the most extensive in Europe, with around 5,000km, (3,100mi) of track (almost all electrified), 1,800 stations and 650 tunnels. It includes 2,000km (1,242mi) of private lines operated by some 100 private companies, although they aren't strictly private as many are run by canton governments. The Swiss federal railways are usually referred to by their initials, which vary according to the local language: SBB (Schweizerische Bundesbahnen) in German, henceforth used to refer to the Swiss federal. railways, CFF (Chemins de Fer F�d�raux) in French and FFS (Ferrovie Federali Svizzere) in Italian. The SBB celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1997 and became a private company in 1999. It's renowned for its punctuality (although building or maintenance work and bad weather occasionally delay trains), comfort and speed, the only disadvantage being that the speed of some trains doesn't allow time to admire Switzerland's beauty (if you're sightseeing, catch a slow train). Despite frequent fare increases in recent years to try to reduce SBB's deficit, Swiss trains remain relatively inexpensive if you take advantage of special tickets, excursion fares, family reductions and holiday package deals. Over long distances trains are cheaper than buses. The Swiss are Europe's most frequent train travellers and average around 1,600 km a year, per head of population. Most trains consist of 1st class, denoted by a yellow stripe along the top, and 2nd class carriages. Trains are categorised as local trains (Regionalzug/Lokalzug, train r�gional), fast trains (Schnellzug, train direct), Intercity (IC), InterCity Express (ICE) and Eurocity (EC), depending on the number of stops made. Intercity and InterCity Express trains are fast trains servicing the main Swiss cities. Eurocity trains are fast international trains, providing regular services between major Swiss towns and over 200 European cities. They are air-conditioned and provide both a restaurant and a mini-bar trolley service. A supplement is payable by all passengers on EC trains and a seat reservation is obligatory (optional on Intercity and many domestic fast trains). The reservation fee is Sfr. 4 and bookings can be made from 24-hours to two months in advance (up to three months for compartments in sleeping cars). Sleeping cars and cars with seats that convert into berths (couchettes) are available on most Eurocity trains. A private CityNightLine (CNL) sleeper train service (a joint venture with Austria and Germany) was introduced in 1995 and CNL plans to make Zurich the sleeper capital of Europe. International car trains also operate from Switzerland to a number of countries. It's advisable to reserve seats in advance, particularly when travelling during holiday periods or over weekends. In recent years the SBB has invested heavily in expanding and modernising its rail network, introducing new rolling stock and improving services. The latest examples are new S-Bahn (S is short for schnell or fast) suburban train services in Berne and Zurich with new double-decker trains. Fast regional trains, called RegioExpress, have also been introduced in some areas, e.g. between St. Gallen and Chur. The TGV from Berne, Geneva, Lausanne and Neuch�tel to Paris and southern France, at speeds of up to 300kph. Geneva to Paris takes around three-and-a-half hours. From spring 1996, 200kph (120mph) Cisalpino (CIS), Pendolino tilt-body trains have connected major Swiss towns with Milan, and German ICE high speed trains link Interlaken and Zurich with cities throughout Germany. Switzerland is building two new high-speed rail tunnels through the Alps to carry heavy lorries, the New Transalpine Railway Project (Neue Eisenbahnalpentransversalen/NEAT), which is expected to be completed between 2015 and 2020 and will cost some Sfr. 15 to 20 billion. In addition to the SBB, there are many small private railways in Switzerland. Among the most interesting, for both train enthusiasts and tourists alike, is the Glacier Express, the slowest express in the world (average speed 20mph). It runs from St. Moritz to Zermatt and negotiates 291 bridges and 91 tunnels during its 7 and 1/2 hour journey (the Swiss make holes in both their mountains and their cheese). The Montreux Oberland Bernese (MOB) railway from Montreux to Zweisimmen/Lenk/Lucerne is 1st class only, with ultra-modern panoramic or superpanoramic (sounds like a cinema screen) express coaches and a saloon bar coach with hostess. The Bernina express from Chur to Tirano in Italy, has the highest (2,253m/7,390ft) railway traverse in the Alps and provides a unique and beautiful experience. Switzerland Tourism (ST) publish a brochure for steam train fans entitled Steam in Switzerland, containing general information, schedules and fares for all private steam trains. Most public and private trains and carriages can be chartered for special occasions. You can also charter a special Panorama 'Vista Dome Car' and have it hooked onto most scheduled trains, or alternatively charter a whole train. You can even charter the Orient Express! An excellent book for train buffs is Switzerland by Rail by Anthony Lambert (Bradt Publications). Information about Swiss rail services is available via their information telephone number 1572222 (calls cost Sfr. 1.19 per minute) and via the Internet (www.rail.ch). Tch�ss Ari (I am also the Switzerland Onelist owner http://www.onelist.com/group/SWITZERLAND).
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Giger-Baumann <giger.baumann@...>
Sorry, I have to publish a few corrections on what
Ari wrote:.... 1,800 stations and 650 tunnels. It includes 2,000km (1,242mi) of.... exact mileage see messages nr. 15 and 16 http://www.onelist.com/messages/SwissRail no, not RUN by canton governments BUT: OWNED for a big share by cantons: typically about 30% of the shares are held by the Swiss Confederation, about 60% by the cantons interested and about 10% by others. As important exceptions I should mention: - BLS: majority held by the canton of Berne, Confederation only 20% - BVZ (Brig - Visp - Zermatt): no public shareholders - FO (Furka - Oberalp): Confederation about 80%, Cantons about 20% (a consequence of the break-down of the BFD in 1915 after having finished only half of the stretch, with subsequent bankruptcy in 1923, auction in 1925 and opening of the rest of the line in 1926, then electrification during 1940-42) - all cogwheel railways going to "nowhere" (no town) as Jungfrau, Pilatus, Gornergrat, Brienzer Rothorn etc. have no or few public shareholders. .... Swiss federal railways are usually referred to by their initials,... in the Swiss commercial register, an official name in two other languages figures: Viafiers federalas svizras VFS Swiss federal railways SFR http://www.hrabe.ch/cgi-bin/fnrGet.exe?fnr=0358021438&amt=035&lang=4&hrg_opt =11000&shab=0000000 .... anniversary in 1997 and became a private company in 1999. It's.... no, not a private company, but an independent company ("Aktiengesellschaft des �ffentlichen Rechts" so of public right) with 100% of the shares held by the Confederation .... Despite frequent fare increases in recent years to try to reduce.... not only SBB but the whole public transport of Switzerland increased prices, for all railway and bus companies have the same problem: they need subsidies. In ticketing there are only few SBB offers, standard are public transport offers with participation of all long-distance trains and most regional trains and busses. .... trains remain relatively inexpensive if you take advantage of special.... there is no long-distance bus service in Switzerland because no concessions are delivered for this. Exception is Chur - Bellinzona where only a road tunnel but no rails give a connection. But the numerous border-crossing busses are in general cheaper than trains. .... Trains are categorised as local trains (Regionalzug/Lokalzug, train.... there is no "Lokalzug". The correct categories are: - Regionalzug/train r�gional or S-Bahn/RER (all trains NOT bold printed in official timetable) - RX RegioExpress (regional trains with limited stops, generally subsidized) - Schnellzug/train direct (bold printed trains without RX, IR, IC sign or other) - IR InterRegio (air conditioned train with stops about every 10 to 20 minutes) - IC InterCity (air conditioned trains with few stops) - EC EuroCity, EN EuroNight, CIS Cisalpino, TGV, ICE etc. (border-crossing trains) .... supplement is payable by all passengers on EC trains and a seat.... no supplement and no mandatory seat reservation within Switzerland on EC trains! .... trains. A private CityNightLine (CNL) sleeper train service (a joint.... Austria already went out of CNL and SBB will sell its shares to DB, so CNL will be an offer of DB in the future .... In recent years the SBB has invested heavily in expanding and.... no double-deckers in Berne! S-Bahn Berne is not an SBB project! S1, S11, S3 are run by SBB, S2, S22, S33, S5, S51, S55 by BLS, S4, S44 by RM (Regionalverkehr Mittelland) ..... Interlaken and Zurich with cities throughout Germany. Switzerland is.... the two tunnels will see passenger trains, freight trains and probably some trains carrying heavy lorries. BLS-built L�tschberg is due 2007, SBB-built Gotthard about 2013 .... cheese). The Montreux Oberland Bernese (MOB) railway from Montreux to.... MOB has lots of second-class panoramic cars! and as of mai 28 there will not be any 1st class only train on MOB. Narrow gauge MOB ends in Zweisimmen, where you have to change to continue on standard gauge. .... Markus Giger
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