I first visited Switserland in 1976, and learned that almost everything I had learned about passernger trains and public transit growing up in the US and working at the SP was wrong. I learned that passenger trains and public transit could be effective and efficient.

The Swiss ran their systems right aimed at providing maximum benefit of the users, not "grudginly" as some kind of "welfare" program for those "less fortunate" who weren't "real people" and didn't have "cars" as we did in the US.

Frequent, fast, and reliable services, when you needed to go, to most of the places you need to go, day or night, and not whenever the agency or rail operator felt like it, or just hte bare minimum they could get away with, as is still unfortunately mostly the case, in most of the US, today. I later learned the secrets of how they planned and operated these systems right, and do indeed think the methods and practice used in Switserland, and much of western Europe are still the "gold standard" of modern rail and transit systems.

I only wish I could say that America finally gets it. We still don't seem to run most of our rail passenger and tranist systems "right", even after spending hundreds of miillions or even now "billions and billions" on them, we still run them very poorly, with poor frequencies and a lack of custome focus. As we still, build things as gold plated fiascos like the CHSRA, while neglecting good economic analysis, with poor cost benefit in alternatives analysis, and failing miserable at system operational planning and design. So America still has a long way to go to meet that "gold standard".

I can actually say that trip, and the Swiss railroads and transit systems, changed my life forever, as I finally decided finish my education (put aside in my youth to run off to the "circus" and become a hoghead....) to get an economics degree, and eventually change careers from running trains to building some. And nearly 50 years later and a lot of miles of HOV lanes, transit lines, local bus systems, dial-a-rides, rail projects, alternative fuels projects, and millions of alternative fuel vehicles now on the road, it has indeed been a "long strange trip" as Jerry Garcia would put it...

Chris Ogilvie Wrote:
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> Just amazing how any subject broached in this
> forum quickly degenerates in venom and bile
> spewing. So entertaining.
> Maybe it is time to go outside, get some fresh air
> and give the keyboard a rest?
>
> But back on topic: I consider the Swiss to have
> the gold standard in passenger rail transport,
> just as the US has the gold standard in freight
> rail.
> Having said that, the Swiss are not afraid to
> close down marginal rail lines. Examples are the
> RhB line from Belinzona to Mesocco and the Biasca
> to Aquarossa operation. They certainly do not
> operate passenger rail willy-nilly whithout
> regards to costs. They simply are focused on
> providing a quality product which operates on
> time. You can set your watch to it.
> This can be a challenge when making a transfer to
> another train on another platform only reachable a
> pedestrian bridge at the end of the platform.
> Don't ask me how I know. Mildly entertaining to do
> this in 3 minutes with luggage and a small child
> in tow...