21st January 2020 · “Swiss Travel Wonderland”

Presenter: Sholto Thomas

What a magical mystery tour this was covering the 4 corners of that wonderful country. Sholto showed images of all forms of public transport, trains, trams, buses, ships, chair lifts, cable cars. The Swiss Travel Pass is valid on most of these, discounted supplements payable in some circumstances, mostly involving mountains! From Bellinzona and Lugano in the Italian quarter, up to Basel and Geneva in the French sector. Up, vertically, to Kleine Scheidegg, around Bern, Chur, Interlaken and right across the country we saw images of trains, heritage and modern, running along streets, arriving ‘on’ platforms, operated by SBB, BLS, Thurbo, WAB, AB and many other local operators. Freight services were displayed, with a colourful mix of Siemens and Bombardier traction operated by SBB, BLS, DB and others. Metre gauge (and slightly less) trains were depicted across the country. Stadler are developing a gauge changing passenger unit which will bring new travel opportunities. On the roads, Postbus not only serve remote communities but now also run city services in some locations. We saw heritage paddle steamers mixing it with newer diesel ships on regular timetabled services on the lakes. The country is a superb example of how a fully integrated public transport network should work.