Colloquially it was called the “Spanish Brötli Railway”: In August 1847, the Swiss Northern Railway (SNB) was the first railway in the country to start operating between Zurich and Baden AG, popularly called after the Baden specialty called Spanish Brötli. This means that the railways in Switzerland are 175 years old this year.
Reason enough to celebrate in the railway country of Switzerland, which in terms of rail use per capita is only in rankings worldwide Japan must give up. For “175 Years of Swiss Railways”, the SBB, which has over 36,000 employees, organizes events in all parts of the country with other public transport providers. And at the SBB works in Yverdon-les-Bains VD, locomotives in the anniversary dress were unveiled on March 9, 2022.
The SBB anniversary program
To mark the “175 years of Swiss railways” anniversary, SBB is organizing events at very different locations across the country. The program is extremely varied and includes all aspects of public transport and events ranging from visits to museums and rides in historic trams to guided tours of SBB facilities, live music and exhibitions on the future of SBB and public transport. The regions and dates:
North Region: May 21 and 22, 2022
East Region: June 11 and 12, 2022
Central region: September 3rd and 4th, 2022
West Region: October 1 & 2, 2022
Central Switzerland and Ticino region: 22 and 23 October 2022
Information on all events can be found here: 175-jahre.ch. An anniversary day ticket (from CHF 5.50) should also make it easier to get there.
To mark the “175 years of Swiss railways” anniversary, SBB is organizing events at very different locations across the country. The program is extremely varied and includes all aspects of public transport and events ranging from visits to museums and rides in historic trams to guided tours of SBB facilities, live music and exhibitions on the future of SBB and public transport. The regions and dates:
North Region: May 21 and 22, 2022
East Region: June 11 and 12, 2022
Central region: September 3rd and 4th, 2022
West Region: October 1 & 2, 2022
Central Switzerland and Ticino region: 22 and 23 October 2022
Information on all events can be found here: 175-jahre.ch. An anniversary day ticket (from CHF 5.50) should also make it easier to get there.
Past meets future
The two locomotives in the celebration design: an SBB Re 460 and a SBB Cargo Re 420 freight locomotive. The model railway manufacturers Märklin and Roco-Fleischmann acted as sponsors. A historical train is shown on one side and a new train on the other. Both locomotives will run throughout the anniversary year on the 5,317-kilometer route network with its 1,772 stations and stops.
SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot (59): «SBB connects Switzerland. Yesterday, today and in the future. Together with all Swiss public transport companies, we are taking the anniversary as an opportunity not only to look back on the successful history of public transport, but also to show how it will continue to develop.” And Ueli Stückelberger (52), Director of the Association of Public Transport (VöV), emphasized the growing importance of public transport with regard to climate goals. According to the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), 73.3 percent of all traffic emissions in Switzerland come from cars – but only 0.2 percent from the train.