MySwissAlps.com features ads, commercial and non-commercial Routes justify buying 1st class Swiss rail pass?
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Haha. There are places in Europe I know a lot better than I know Switzerland, so maybe if you are going somewhere else I might have a tip or two. But you are way ahead of me when it comes to Switzerland. I especially appreciate the tip to keep checking the schedule in case of repairs and such (I thought everything in Switzerland worked like clockwork everyday!) and I will double check with the hotel desk before doing anything that requires extra exertion or getting up early.
It is really my husband who is the view collector, especially an ultimate or extreme view (like, you can see 4 countries from this spot, or this is the furthest point west on the continent, or the highest peak in wherever). I only care whether views are beautiful, and get more excited if I also get to see a cow or a marmot, so I often just sit with the luggage and a cup of something and take pictures of him disappearing up the path. However, he also likes to sleep in and eat a big breakfast, so if the weather itself doesn’t nix the early morning plan to spend more time in Rigi Kulm, it will be his call about whether he wants to make the extra effort to go.
Thank you!
Hi Connie-
I have become used to the high reliability of Swiss trains, plus occasional oral and signboard announcements when a train was going to be 6 minutes late (gasp!). That is the experience that underlays my most persistent memory of train travel around Tuscany and Umbria.
That is the column on all the train sign boards or video screens that was missing in all the other countries I have travelled in – there was a permanent column for how many minutes the train would be late.
Switzerland has a lot of such peaks for peak collectors, in the Jura, the Emmental, the Berner Oberland, etc. It’s not hard to see a whole lot of countries from a small country. The critical need- clear air. Septemebr and October, or some Winter days can provide that best.
There are other times and other months, but ,on average, September is a good one. I hope he can get a few new ones highs ;-0
Slowpoke.
I tend to like height spots that give good pictures. Attached
Slowpoke
As this is a very active thread for you Slowpoke, I thought I’d ask you a question about this thread here: https://www.myswissalp s.com/forum/topic/cred it-card-usage-in-switzerland#h_EE9KDW9m qS6v8AAFcRTQ
About US credit cards without a PIN and using them successfully in Switzerland. 🙂
We travel first class because the seats are more comfortable and we have more room for luggage. We’ve been there on business and need room for suitcases with business and casual clothes. We also had snowboards, hiking boots, etc. last year. It may be more expensive, but it is quieter and less crowded. The differences are less noticeable than on other trains, for instance we took the TGV from Paris to Basel and that was a world of difference in service, etc. between first and second class. Your trip sounds wonderful, enjoy!
Hi cam223 –
<<“The differences are less noticeable than on other trains, for instance
we took the TGV from Paris to Basel and that was a world of difference
in service, etc. between first and second class. Y”>>
I’ve had the same experience.
Both networks have a function of uniting the country by reducing travel barriers between cities or regions. Swiss rail is moving toward a model of fast, frequent service between major cities at least twice per hour.
However, there are a few factors that contribute to the difference between the Swiss approach and the TGV approach.
The TGV is meant to travel longer distances at high speed, to a significant degree competing with the airlines. The distances in France are greater. Switzerland is a small country, compared to France. Although you can fly between some Swiss cities, the distances are short enough that air travel is definitely not the first choice. The Swiss trains do not have to compete with the airlines. The TGV does.
The Swiss system is intended to provide mass inter-urban travel, having reduced but not eliminated its role on secondary routes in the country side. As such, second class is the ordinary mode of using the trains…everyday travel. The standards are such that second class travel is an acceptable and comfortable experience. There are certainly intercity and trans-European trains in Switzerland, but they don’t serve quite the same role as the TGV.
Geography is a concern. There are a lot of mountains in Switzerland. The really fast trains run on the new long relatively straight trans-Alpine tunnels, such as the Gotthard Basis Tunnel. Speeds there approach TGV speeds. The only other part of Switzerland where high speed track is practical in the “Mittelland” along the axis from approximately Olten to Bern. That high speed stretch has made the roundabout route from Geneva to Bern via a northern loop through Oftringen ( close to Olten) faster over a notably longer distance than the old, more direct route through the Emmental via Langnau.
There are not many places in Switzerland where you can build long stretches of high speed rail. If there were, you’d find TGV-type speeds to be common in Switzerland. But, then, the travel times wold be so short that any sort of luxurious service in First Class would likely not be leisurely…..probably…more rushed.
Those are not absolute reasons for the differences. But , they contribute. And, the French are quite proud of the TV and work to make it a superb symbol of French technology and culture.
My opinions, anyway.
Slowpoke
That line –
<<“That high speed stretch has made the roundabout route from Geneva to
Bern via a northern loop through Oftringen ( close to Olten) faster over
a notably longer distance than the old, more direct route through the
Emmental via Langnau.”>>
Should have read <<“….from Geneva to Luzern….”>>
Slowpoke
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