How to pay for public toilets at Swiss train stations
A traveler named Felicity is preparing for a train trip in Switzerland and wants to understand how public toilets work at train stations. She is particularly confused about the CHF 1.50 fee for bathroom access and whether to buy an optional card for payment. The trip will involve daily train travel.
- Keep some small coins on hand for public toilets, especially in larger cities.
- Most train stations have free toilets, and trains provide free WC facilities.
- In bigger cities like Zurich and Lucerne, expect to pay around CHF 2 for toilet access.
- Many stations accept card payments, but it's good to be prepared with cash.
- The availability of free toilets varies by location, so check individual stations.
AI-generated summary-
I am not clear about how the public toilets work at Swiss train stations. I have read the SBB info here.
It seems we will need 1.50 CH in coins to access bathroom facilities. Is this right? Do you recommend the optional card that can be purchased? We will be traveling by train every day.
Thanks!
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We left Wengen and moved on to Lucerne. The majority of the train station bathrooms are free. Wengen and most jungfrau stations We encountered pay bathrooms in the Luzerne station , although right outside they are free (although inside they took cards) and in the montreux they as well took cards, but a few blocks down there were free WCs.
in Summary, in the regions we traveled, finding non-pay bathrooms was not an issue. Don’t forget that most trains have free toilets as well
Hi Felicity,
In big cities such as Zurich. Lucerne and Bern, you can find public toilets (WC) at the rail station which charge roughly CHF2 per usage. These are well-maintained and cleaned regularly. You can pay with coins or cards.
In some regional stations like Interlaken Ost, the WCs are free. So it really depends on the location. Most trains also provide free WC facilities as Gordon has pointed out above.
Probably best to keep some small coins with you if you need to pay to use the public toilets.
Hope this helps.
Regards,
Anna
Hi Felicity,
In my experience, both last September and Sept. 5+ years ago, the only stations that charged for toilets were Lucerne and Zurich, respectively. Both were CHF 1.50. This past September, I didn’t encounter any station in Wengen (although, I didn’t nececeraly look) that charged. In Wengen, as I remember, it was just downstairs.
I read through the link you provided, and even that confused me a bit. The info in the link indicated to me that “IF, the station is cashless,” it worked with the card. But does that mean “all” stations are ”cashless”? Thats where I found it to be confusing. As Anna said, it doesn’t hurt to have to have some coins available. Especially if you really need to go! The last thing one needs to do is to try to play with a machine if one really has to go. That’s just my opinion, especially if your travels are mostly by train. It’s a toss-up as to which stations do and don’t charge. It seems to me that the larger the station, the better chance of charging.
Have a great trip.
Regards,
Danielsan
Hi Felicity,
I agree, having a few coins handy would be useful. Though many of the larger train stations, if they do charge to use the public bathrooms do have the option to also pay by a credit or debit card too.
Kind regards,
Yolanda
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