[Arno]

5 July 2018 at 18:14:51 #817104

Hi travelers,

The railways are carrying out major reconstruction and maintenance projects at the moment. Some projects won’t affect you much, e.g. if station buildings are being renovated. Other projects result in fewer trains, delayed trains, or trains replaced by buses (longer travel time). In any case you’ll be able to reach your destination. Note that most trips will not be significantly affected. If your route is affected on your travel date, the advanced online timetable will provide details: http://www.myswissalps.com/ti metable. If you are interested in more details, then read on.

The railways are referring to all of this as the “summer timetable”. This may sound like this is an annual event, but that’s not the case. The works are carried out between June 30 and August 26 because fewer commuters will be affected then. We as tourists are a minority 😉

Some major projects are:

• Lausanne to Bern via Puidoux-Chexbres. There are buses instead of trains from Lausanne to Puidoux-Chexbres. Alternatively you can travel the longer route via Neuchâtel or Biel all by train;
• Fewer trains between Basel and Olten;
• Fewer trains on the short section between St. Gallen main station and St. Gallen Winkeln.

For more information about all 30 construction sites you can check these pages:

• Map: company.sbb.ch/en/the-company/projects/map.h tml
• Overview: http://www.sbb.ch/en/timetabl e/rail-traffic-information/summertime table2018.html

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[andrew]

16 July 2018 at 11:26:37 #890338

Sorry Arno, but my middle name should be ‘pedant’.

There will be fewer commuters and fewer trains, not less. Basically, less means smaller and while the trains may be shorter I hope they will be the usual sizes. As for the poor commuters … 🙂

Andrew

[Arno]

17 July 2018 at 12:55:44 #890339

No problem Andrew, and thanks for your feedback. You’re of course right so I corrected my post. As a non-native speaker I can’t guarantee I won’t make that mistake again, but I can guarantee I’ll try 🙂

[andrew]

17 July 2018 at 13:24:21 #890340

Thank you Arno. Your English is usually better than mine and certainly better than some of the things we hear in the UK on radio and television!

Also, I should have thanked you for the useful information and links about rail engineering works in July and August. We’ve already had to adjust plans for our forthcoming visit but the updated online timetable came to the rescue as always.

Andrew