Swiss Federal Railway

The clean and efficient rails that scale the enormous mountain heights and descend into the decadently green and luscious valleys are a fun and fast way to see the sights in this little european country. As you wait for the official to come click your ticket, you watch the wind brush against birds and tree branches, feeling excited to start your adventure in such a beautiful place. Swiss Federal Railways is the national railway company of Switzerland headquartered in Bern. In the 19th century, all Swiss railways were owned by private ventures. The economic and political interests of these companies led to lines being built in parallel and some companies went bankrupt in the resulting competition. On 20 February 1898 the Swiss people agreed in a referendum to the creation of a state-owned railway company. The first train running on the account of the Swiss Confederation ran during the night of New Year's Day in 1901 from Zurich via Bern to Geneva. January 1, 1902 is regarded as the official birth date of the Swiss Federal Railways. In the meantime, the trains were run by the Swiss Confederation on behalf of the private companies. On 22 June 2005 a short circuit on a long distance power transmission line in central Switzerland led to a chain reaction. The entire Swiss Federal Railways network was out of service during rush hour and an estimated 200,000 people and 1500 trains were stuck at stations or somewhere on the track. Announcements for local trains are made in the local language, those for long-distance trains and for trains which cross the language border in both appropriate languages. Long-distance trains at major stations also have announcements in English.