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The density of the rail network is world class. And the Swiss Federal Railways are not just a means of transport, but a national cultural asset.
SBB – three magical letters that we have internalized since childhood. A small linguistic peculiarity clarifies the identification: In Germany you travel by trainbut in Switzerland you take the train.
Today, almost a million people travel with SBB every day. It was created in 1902 as a product of a railway crisis. At that time there was a veritable proliferation of private railways. The SBB should standardize the Swiss railway traffic.
Born in 1973, I know the first decades of SBB mainly from family accounts. My great-grandfather started out as a stoker at SBB and worked his way up to become a train driver.
I also vividly remember how grandpa raved about the showpiece of the Swiss railway network: the Gotthard railway.
With the NEAT, this myth found a worthy continuation. The Gotthard Base Tunnel is considered a masterpiece of engineering.
Another childhood memory is the gatekeeper in our neighborhood who looked after the level crossing on my way to school. The keeper’s cottage was in the garden of their family home, right next to the track.
However, SBB was not only anchored in people’s minds thanks to its infrastructure. From the 1950s she also ran successful advertising campaigns. Slogans such as “The clever one travels by train” and “Good idea – SBB” are still in use today.
Legend:
commerce.sbb.ch
In many places, the SBB had a lasting impact on the townscape. For example in Bern, where the construction of the new station lasted from 1957 to 1974.
Details in the design promote the cult factor in the appearance of the SBB. The station clock is particularly striking.
“Who rests, rusts”, as the saying goes. In order to be at the forefront, SBB always had to stay in the fast lane in terms of technology.
Technical progress is sometimes a tightrope walk. Cameras are currently being talked about, with which SBB wants to better guide its customers through train stations.
Delayed SBB trains were considered an absolute rarity for years. In 2022, at least 93 percent of all connections left on time.
It is outstanding how comprehensively Switzerland is developed in terms of rail technology. The network density of 136.902 meters of rail per km2 means third place worldwide.
Incidentally, the mini-states Vatican and St. Kitts and Nevis are the frontrunners here, but they simply owe their high network density to the very small area of the country.
Smoking has only been banned on SBB trains since 2005. Previously, each wagon had a compartment in which travelers were allowed to puff.
And during Corona, a ban on eating on Swiss trains was even discussed.
Regardless of social circumstances and temporary trends, the examples show one thing very clearly: SBB is and will always be a hot topic in Switzerland.