Sitting on the train and having a coffee in the restaurant: it will soon be possible again. The SBB will open their rolling bistros on Friday. “On almost all lines”, it said in a communiqué on Tuesday. With the «entire range of rail catering services».
However, the SBB are not allowed to offer every seat in the restaurant. The minimum distance while drinking coffee must be guaranteed, according to the state railway. Meanwhile, in the wagon next door, some of the passengers are sitting on the stairs because there are no more seats.
The gastro lockdown at SBB lasted almost half a year. The SBB dining cars abroad and on individual routes in Germany will remain closed.
Mask requirement remains
There is also a return to post-corona normality at night. On the first weekend in July, night trains and night buses will be running again throughout Switzerland. For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. In Zurich even without the mandatory night surcharge of five francs.
The federal government gave the green light for the easing of public transport. The procedure is coordinated with the Federal Office of Transport and the cantons. Thus, from the beginning of July, the complete range of passenger services will be in operation again.
But there is nothing to shake about the mask. The obligation to wear continues. On the train and on the platforms. For vaccinated and unvaccinated people. For those who have recovered and those spared from Corona.
Sunscreen instead of disinfectant
The SBB want to continue to use cleaning rags every day. It is said that contact surfaces are cleaned six times a day. In the major train stations, disinfectants are available at the heavily trafficked entrances and at the main entrances. Nothing will change about that for the time being.
Israeli companies go other ways. In the flagship vaccination country, the pandemic is largely defeated. The number of new infections every day is negligibly small. The mask requirement falls. And the disinfectant dispensers? They are redistributing sunscreen.