Switzerland abounds with rules and regulations — including a slew of ‘unwritten’ ones. Some of them also apply to train travel.
Sitting on a train and minding your own business seems like a simple enough task.
But if you are a new arrival, you may not be aware of these little-known ‘tricks’ that are nevertheless an important part of Swiss ‘train culture;’ breaking them, even inadvertently, can result in a fine and / or glacial stares from other commuters.
Some things that apply to riding on Swiss trains are common elsewhere as well — such as not playing loud music, or speaking loudly on the phone, or else not keeping your unruly children under control.
But others are possibly commonplace only in Switzerland.
Let’s start with seating.
Luggage on an empty seat
As The Local recently reported, it is a definite ‘no-no’ to place your luggage on a seat next to you on a crowded train, where passengers are looking for vacant seats.
If that happens, and requests to place your bags on an overhead rack or in a special luggage compartment go unheeded, then the conductor can demand that you purchase an extra ticket for your baggage.
READ ALSO: Why putting your luggage on the seat on a Swiss train could cost you
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Sitting in the ‘wrong’ seat
While placing your bags on an an empty seat of a crowded train is a blatant violation of common courtesy in many countries, this next one is implicitly Swiss — because Swiss people like to regulate pretty much everything, even if it makes no sense whatsoever to people from outside the country.
There is apparently the correct way of choosing a seat in a row of four (two seats each facing each other) when there is already a passenger occupying one of the seats.
The “implicit rule” is that if you join a single person in a four-seater compartment, then you should not choose the seat directly next to or directly opposite them, but the seat that is diagonally across from them.
It may help you to carry a chart with you which you can consult every time you board a train.
Sitting without permission
This may sound like going a tad overboard — no pun intended — but you should not just take the first available seat.
Not in Switzerland, anyway.
If there is someone already sitting in that section, you should ask if it is okay for you to sit down (always respecting the implicit seating chart, of course), lest the passenger’s companion is in the restroom.
By the same token, if you are travelling alone, and someone asks to sit diagonally across from you, you should not refuse.
You can’t treat the train, which is a public transport, as your own personal space.
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Correct boarding procedure
Common sense and safety concerns suggest that you should always enter the train through the doors and then take your seat.
While this probably seems intuitive to everyone, apparently some people prefer to get on through the gangway — that is, the area between the carriages — and then ride on the roof.
At least, that is what this video from the national railway company, SBB, suggests.
Let’s just say that if you are inclined to try this — don’t.
Watch what you eat
There are no rules against eating on the train, but you should definitely not bring anything with you that will cause other commuters any degree of discomfort.
This means nothing that smells, drips, sticks or crumbles should be consumed on the train when other passengers are in close vicinity.
For the same reason, you should never leave any trash behind: if it doesn’t fit into the garbage space on the train, take it out with you and throw it out into the bin at the station.
Last but not least: train tickets
This particular rule is not exactly ‘little-known’ as it has been sufficiently covered in the media, but if you are a new arrival or a tourist, you may not be aware of it.
You must purchase your ticket before you board your train; if you do it later, or after the train departs, you will be fined.
Anyone who does this, for whatever reason, is considered a fare dodger.
This means that if you are attempting to buy a ticket while standing on a platform before your train arrives, but your app doesn’t cooperate and you receive the confirmation of purchase a few seconds after the train’s departure, you are in trouble.
If the controller notices the infraction, you will be slapped (though, thankfully, not literally) with a 90-franc fine which, depending on the distance you are travelling, may be much more than you actually paid for your ticket.
READ ALSO: Can you buy tickets after boarding trains in Switzerland?
This rule, by the way, is in force not only on trains, but on other modes of public transport as well — trams, buses, and trolleybuses.
