Swiss Railways are often regarded as the BEST in the world, from frequent
and fast timetables to amazing timekeeping. But things don't ALWAYS go to plan. Today I'm
going to be showing you Switzerland's FAILED high-speed train: the TWINDEXX Swiss Express!
I'll show you around this new trains' interior, and experience the luxury on-board dining,
exploring just what went wrong with this troublesome and bumpy train. So join me,
as I ride across the length of Switzerland, on what people say is the country's WORST train.
Hello and welcome back to another video, today I'm here at Geneva Cornavin station,
and I'm going to be travelling over to Zürich with the Swiss Railways on-board one of their new
TWINDEXX Swiss Express double-decker trains. I'll be in First Class for this journey - let's go!
This is Switzerland's third busiest station, the beautiful Geneva Cornavin,
extensively overhauled in 2014. Let's head inside and take a look around.
The first thing you'll notice upon entering is the sheer amount of shops and food outlets. They
cater to all shopping needs here, as long as you can afford the high Swiss prices that is.
Another thing you'll notice is the sheer scale of the main hall here,
which wasn't quite so apparent from the outside.
My favourite part of the station, other than the platforms of course,
has to be this small waiting hall in the middle of the station building.
This features a pair of maps, one showing Switzerland, and the other shows all of Europe.
Also be sure to check out the beautiful architecture,
including the historic Swiss Railways logo.
My train today will run on the IC 1 route, departing at 12:42 to Zürich.
The service will have already made the short journey from Geneva Airport,
and will eventually continue to St Gallen.
The station has a large staffed ticket office, as well as some ticket machines.
For onward connections, Geneva Cornavin is served by a handful of tram routes,
and is well integrated to the city's bus network.
Anyway, let's head up to the platforms and await my train's arrival.
You can find eight platforms here. Numbers 1 to 6 are in general use
for trains to all parts of Switzerland, while 7 and 8 are equipped with customs
controls for regional and TGV Lyria services across the border into France.
Looking at the iconic Swiss railway clock,
it's only half an hour until my train leaves, so I'll head up the ramp.
The majority of trains here are operated by the Swiss railway company. Internationally
this is known as 'SBB', but in French speaking regions, they instead use the abbreviation 'CFF',
with Italian regions using 'FFS', hence why each train is branded three times.
Long-distance trains depart frequently for almost every major city in Switzerland,
with a variety of trains, both new and old being used, but all to the same high standard.
There's also the recently introduced Léman Express,
an international commuter service operated by the Swiss Railways and French Railways together.
Lastly, the TGV Lyria departs for Paris multiple times a day,
connecting Geneva to the French capital in just over three hours.
My train arrives from Geneva Airport on-time. This is one of the many
TWINDEXX Swiss Express units built by Bombardier, which have caused no end
of problems on the Swiss network - I'll be sure to go into more detail later on.
Seat reservations are available for a nominal charge of 5 CHF,
but this 16 carriage train had more than enough seats, so I didn't bother.
Level-boarding is available to the lower-deck thanks to a sliding step,
but I'll be heading upstairs, where there are more seats and better views!
Almost all seats are at a table of two or four, so I took this table for two on the left side.
Today's route will see us travelling generally northeast across Switzerland, running alongside
Lake Geneva, and through Switzerland's acting capital city - Bern. The journey is scheduled
to take two hours and 46 minutes to cover the 275 kilometres, or about 171 miles.
We depart Geneva on-time, at 12:42, beginning our trip across the country.
We'll take a look around the interior a little later on,
but first, why are these trains such a failure?
Our story goes back to 2010, with an order of
59x double-deck units intended to be Switzerland's top long-distance train.
The fleet promised an innovative design, with smart interiors and enhanced smoothness of ride.
With entry to service promised by 2013, the fleet quickly started testing.
However by 2018, five years after the planned start date,
the trains had spent more time in sidings than in service.
And as time went on, technical failures became more apparent, resulting in the eventual
abandonment of the new smooth-ride technology - something we'll go into more detail on later.
The Swiss rail network is incredibly dense,
with much of the journey spent passing through stations and over junctions.
Though, the best thing about the railways in this country could well be the scenery,
with this part of the journey offering fleeting views over Lake Geneva...and
these top-deck windows are just perfect for viewing this beautiful country.
But let's briefly turn our attention to the interior of the train,
to see if it was all worth the wait.
First Class is in a 2+1 seating layout, as you'd expect.
All seating is situated around a table of either two or four,
with the exception of a single misaligned seat per carriage, found next to the stairs.
I just love how the train looks too,
the simplistic design really works in making a truly classy interior.
I'm particularly a fan of the soft warm lighting, giving a relaxed ambience.
Anyway, time to look at the seats here in First Class. These have been subject to
a bit of criticism from travellers, so I was interested to see what they were like myself.
Padding is okay, and the ergonomics are also decidedly average.
A small head cushion can be found on the seat's slightly winged headrest.
Recline is available by pulling this lever beneath the seat cushion, but the amount of
recline offered is some of the worst I've ever seen - there's no point in having it.
You can also find adjustable armrests at every seat, which were large and comfortable.
The seats definitely aren't uncomfortable for this sort
of journey, though I can't help but feel disappointed given this is First Class,
and it's not exactly cheap either - more on the price towards the end of the video.
After around half an hour, we're on the approach to Lausanne. This is Switzerland's fourth largest
city, located halfway between the Jura and Alps mountains, upon the shores of Lake Geneva.
A brief three minute stop is made at this major interchange, before we head north towards Bern.
The city serves as a junction for the line to Brig and onwards to Italy,
which is served several times a day by international EuroCity trains.
Anyway, I'm beginning to feel pretty hungry,
so we'll soon go for lunch...but first, let's finish looking around the interior.
All windows are fitted with a sun-blind, though I can't say it was very effective,
due to not being very dense.
There's also a reading light fitted for every seat.
Luggage provision is in the form of these luggage stacks, cleverly situated above the stairwell.
Overhead luggage racks also exist,
but as is often the case on double-deck trains, they are completely pointless.
Thankfully, there's a lot of room between seatbacks for luggage too.
All seats get a Swiss-style power socket,
which is compatible with SOME but not ALL European style plugs.
There's a mix of half and full size folding tables throughout the train. When folded out,
these offer a large surface for working on...as well as a cupholder.
Beneath this, you can find a small bin.
Right, well time to go and take a look at the
on-board restaurant car. And this is where you have to be careful.
This train is formed of sixteen carriages, two eight car units coupled together.
Though as you can see, there's only one restaurant car provided.
Make sure you choose the right half of the train.
When heading east, this will normally be the front set, and the rear set while heading west.
The SBB Restaurant car is something quite special,
with a smart design that even features tablecloths and plants.
Waiter service is available, as well as the option to visit the bar.
The options here are plentiful,
but pricey. Hot meals and snacks are available, as are alcoholic beverages.
I went for the hot vegetable ciabatta, with a can of Feldschlösschen beer.
This was a tasty light meal,
and there's really no restaurant view better than one that's always changing.
Our next station is Fribourg/Freiburg. The city sits on the border between French speaking and
German speaking parts of the country, hence the station's bilingual name.
Back in the
restaurant, I decided to order myself another can of beer,
and go for dessert in the form of Panna Cotta in raspberry sauce.
This was absolutely delightful, and I really enjoyed my meal today.
In total this cost 30.70 CHF, which is definitely expensive for what I got,
but that's just how it is in Switzerland.
As I finished my meal, the train arrived into Bern.
This acts as Switzerland's capital, despite the country officially not having one.
Departure from the city means that Zürich is our next stop, so I decided to head back to my seat.
We're now on the Bahn 2000 route,
a relatively new railway opened to speed up journeys from Bern to Olten.
This route allows our train to reach its maximum service speed of 200km/h (125mph),
which shows just how rough these trains ride.
In part, this is due to the abandonment of the 'WAKO' system,
which was intended to dynamically counter any violent movements in the train's ride.
Unfortunately, this was just too unreliable, which has resulted in
a rougher ride, and even permanent speed restrictions on certain pieces of track.
Olten marks the end of this high-speed line,
as we begin the final stretch of the journey over to Zürich.
Before we arrive though,
let's take a look at some of the train's other interesting on-board features.
This is Second Class, which is broadly the same as First Class,
just with narrower seats in a more dense layout.
Now this is really cool! The last Second Class carriage features a children's play
area - I'm sure I would have enjoyed this a lot if I visited when I was younger.
Now let's have a quick look downstairs.
You can find limited seating here,
with most of the lower deck reserved for electronics and other components.
All carriages have dedicated space for two bikes,
which must be reserved during peak season and busy days. This costs 2 CHF.
Now let's take a look at the toilet.
I've got to say, I really liked the decals on the ceiling here.
As for the important bits, the soap and water were
both working fine. Paper towels are provided to dry your hands.
Lastly, the Wifi situation on Swiss trains is very strange. Instead of just being able to connect,
you instead have to download an app, and already own a local SIM card.
Needless to say, I didn't bother, and opted to enjoy the scenery instead.
Anyway, as our journey is nearly over, let's look at how much a ticket would cost for this trip.
I was using an Interrail pass, so I just used this to travel. However,
a short-notice flexible First Class ticket would have set me back 154 CHF.
This price is insanely high, and I really don't think this represents good value at all.
Admittedly, most locals get 50% off transport, and you can save money by buying in advance,
but personally I would just choose Second Class.
Zürich is Switzerland's biggest city by population,
with 1.3 million living in the urban area.
It's therefore no surprise that the city sees an incredible rail service,
with its 26 track main station serving nearly three thousand trains daily,
many of these are commuter trains, serving the city's expansive S-Bahn network.
The last bit of our journey is spent on the amazing approach to Zürich HB, where
the train runs past sidings full of other trains awaiting the evening peak,
and meanders over junctions and flyovers to reach our platform.
This train arrives on Platform 33, which is one of the underground through
platforms that allows the service to continue through to St Gallen.
Arrival is of course on-time, at 15:28.
In conclusion, I have mixed feelings about these trains, the whole experience feels rather average.
With a smart looking interior, but mediocre seating, and a fantastic restaurant car and play
area, yet a very rough ride. At these high prices, I'm also left wanting something a little better.
As always, let me know what you thought of the TWINDEXX Swiss Express in the comments,
and for a ride on one of Switzerland's incredible
scenic railways, then click up here to continue the journey.