Switzerland has earmarked funds for international train routes; some municipalities have banned public nudity on their beaches; and more news in our Friday roundup.
Switzerland invests into international rail service
The government will help finance the development of international train links, the Federal Transport Office (FOT) announced in a press release on Thursday.
Most of the funding — 10 million francs a year — is earmarked for the new Basel–Copenhagen–Malmö night train.
The FOT is also contributing 5 million francs toward the SBB’s Giruno train for direct journeys from Switzerland to Venice and Genoa.
In addition, the government is providing the SBB with 1.9 million francs to maintain the current quality of service on the EuroCity Zurich–Innsbruck–Graz route — namely, to continue dining services for this almost 10-hour-long journey after the current restaurant cars are decommissioned.
Some Swiss towns are cracking down on public nudity
A number of municipalities have long been tolerant toward nudity on public beaches.
Now, however, many are banning this practice on their territories, Tribune de Genève reports.
For instance, even though its ‘Petite Amérique’ beach used to allow naked bathers, nudity has been banned since April in Yvonand (VD), after local residents have cited “unpleasant situations.”
This move is reportedly “part of a broader trend: Switzerland is tightening its stance against naturists.”
In Zurich too, a petition was launched at the beginning of July seeking to close the nudist area on the Limmat River, on the small island of Werdinsel.
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How long do Swiss people want to live?
This question — specifically, until what age would people in Switzerland like to live if they could choose their lifespan freely — was the gist of a recent population survey carried out by the consulting firm Deloitte.
It turns out that the magic number is 93, which surprised the study’s leader Marcel Thom.
“We didn’t expect this age to be 93. That’s quite high,” he said — especially since, according to the Federal Statistical Office, life expectancy in Switzerland is 84 years.
READ ALSO: Why living in Switzerland means you’ll (probably) have a longer life
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Some cantons are experiencing a shortage of teachers — this is where
To see which cantons are most affected ny the insufficient number of public school teachers, Nau news platform surveyed several Swiss German cantons to see how many teachers they are short of for the beginning of the new school year.
This is what it found out:
Bern: 55
Zurich: 36
Basel-City: 7
St. Gallen: 33
Lucerne: 50
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at news@thelocal.ch
