European Railroad Discussion > Questions about Switzerland

Visitng Switzerland this fall.Plan on visting the area of the Alps and the Matterhorn.Looking for towns in the area with major lines that are easy to acess, as I wont have a vehicle.Like small towns and want to see freight action as well . Thanks Much
 

Mike Mautner
Maryland Hts., MO

Generally it is a fantastic system.  Essentially most services run every 30 minutes and connectivity at junctions is designed in.  The major routes, the meter gauge mountain routes and the postal busses all coordinate their times at stations.  And if  you miss a connection there is usually another train in 30 minutes.

Most stations have a shop or kiosk with beverages and prepackaged sandwiches.  Many of the major trains have a cafe car but the minor trains do not.

Some trains are very busy: Waiting for the 0800 express on a Monday in Bern to go to to Zurich a few years ago our party was elbow to elbow with literally masses of Swiss citizens.  One could not have fallen on the platform. No wads of gum on the pavement and no cigarette butts in the ballast.  A very interesting country. Oh, and that train cruised most of the way at around 100 MPH with a stretch on new track at 125 MPH.

Enjoy your trip.

Jeff

Pick any main line station,  they are all busy.  May not be as freight busy as you would see in the US>

You need not an auto.

No problem with photography on platforms. Just none of any military facilites, as few as they are.

A railfan paradise. Why were the Swiss Alps  formed? So the Swiss could run a railway to the top of course. 

Mautner Wrote:
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> Visitng Switzerland this fall.Plan on visting the
> area of the Alps and the Matterhorn.Looking for
> towns in the area with major lines that are easy
> to acess, as I wont have a vehicle.Like small
> towns and want to see freight action as well .
> Thanks Much

The major town at the foot of the Matterhorn is Zermatt, a fairly expensive place to spend the night. At the bottom of the Rhone valley lies the town of Visp, a decent location for viewing freight and passenger trains, though not the busiest in Switzerland. Freight trains between Germany and Italy west of Milano, Genova and Novarra, will pass through as they use the Lötschberg Base Tunnel which begins just west of Visp. East of Visp lies the large Lonza chemical works with lots of freight activity. .A bit further east is the town of Brig, this is where the Lötschberg summit line meets the Rhone valley and is the location of the Simplon Tunnel's north portal. Quite a bit of freight traffic still uses the summit line as the base tunnel is single track for most of its length. One thing to note is that domestic freight traffic in Switzerland disappears on Sundays, and the only freight trains you will see are along the Gotthard and Lötschberg routes. When you have a better idea of an itinerary drop me a line and I can give you more information.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/19 10:26 by SOO6617.

I'll second SOO6617's places:  Brig or Visp.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/20/19 10:50 by sums007.

There are hiking trails close enough for photograpy of the rail lines in many areas.  
I had always imagined I could take a local out to a small town (particularly along the narrow gauge) and walk out along the line, or even to the next town, I sure saw a lot of people out hiking.
We stayed 3 nights in Brig.  My friend, who invited us to join him and his wife, saw that I did not recognize the name of the place so he said "the Barstow of Switzerland" and I saw his wisdom.

Swiss life is expensive so be prepared. I did not find the railfares expensive, but food and housing are not cheap. Tourist towns such as Zermatt are very expensive.

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