Train stations in Switzerland are usually quite beautiful and a good place to spend some time. Most of the larger train stations in Switzerland have some great restaurants and shops for passengers to use before boarding their train.
Other amenities to be found at train stations in Switzerland are similar to train stations across Europe and include storage lockers and attended left luggage bays.
Luggage handling at Swiss train stations
One superb facility offered at train stations in Switzerland is the possibility of checking in one’s baggage upon arrival at the station for a fee of 10 Swiss Francs per item. This saves train passengers having to lug around their own baggage across the station and onto the train, as the station staff will put the luggage on the train and the passenger simply collects it at their final destination.
Train timetables in Switzerland
All train stations in Switzerland have prominently displayed train timetables at various places around the station. Train timetables in Switzerland are colour coded to make understanding them easier.
Trains arriving at the station are marked in yellow whereas trains departing from the station are displayed in blue. For tourists wishing to travel extensively by train across Switzerland it may be worth investing in a comprehensive Swiss public transport timetable book for 16 Swiss francs.
This provides information on all Train services in Switzerland; however check that it will be valid for the duration of your stay, as train timetables in Switzerland tend to be adjusted slightly ever year, usually in December.
Tourists in Switzerland who simply want to make one specific train journey would be better off asking a train station official to prepare and print off an itinerary containing all the necessary train connection information for their train journey.
The Train system in Switzerland
Switzerland has one of the most modern, efficient, comfortable and cleanest train systems in the World. Trains are punctual and surprisingly cheap due to heavy funding from the Swiss government.
The national rail company is known as the SBB and its services and networks extend across the length and breadth of Switzerland. All SBB trains in Switzerland have 1st and 2nd class compartments which are very frequently patrolled by ticket inspectors.
Train stations in Switzerland do not have ticket barriers like other European countries so the only way of ensuring people pay for their train journey is the use of ticket inspectors. It is unadvisable to travel on trains in Switzerland without a ticket as an immediate fine of 65 Swiss francs is issued to anyone found to be travelling on trains without a ticket.
