A recent study which put the Swiss Federal Railways as the second-best rail company in Europe was based on a miscalculation; in an updated version, the company is in fact 11th, Swiss public broadcaster RTS reports.
In a study by the NGO Transport et Environment (T&E), published at the beginning of December and cited by various media including SWI swissinfo.ch, Swiss Federal Railways was ranked as the second-best rail company in Europe.
T&E based its findings on a comparison of 27 European companies, with the aim of encouraging European rail companies and governments to make progress and learn from each other.
However, as RTS reported on TuesdayExternal link, the ranking was incorrect. Alerted by train enthusiasts and connoisseurs of European railways who were surprised by the Swiss score, the NGO explained that it had made a mistake in its calculations and published a correction. As a result, the Federal Railways has dropped from second to 11th, behind France’s SNCF and the national railways of Austria, Spain and Sweden.
The reason for the new lower score was an initial error in how the NGO recorded ticket prices. When contacted, T&E told RTS that it had based its findings on ticket prices as indicated on the Federal Railways’ website. However, the default display on this website shows the price for a half-fare ticket; not the full fare paid by passengers without the discount card.
This error makes all the difference, since ticket prices are a major factor in the study, accounting for 25% of the evaluation.
In the sub-category of pricing, the Federal Railways has even fallen to among the worst in the class after the correction: it is now one of the three lowest-ranked companies in Europe, alongside Eurostar and GWR, a British company.
T&E nevertheless assures that it’s not all doom and gloom for rail travel in Switzerland. Among other good points, says study author Victor Thévenet, buying a half-fare travel card in Switzerland is very advantageous, and many people have one. The NGO also says the general conclusions of the study remain unchanged: the Swiss Federal Railways is a model in terms of punctuality, ease of booking and travelling with a bicycle.
The Federal Railways has not yet responded to RTS due to end-of-year office hours. According to RTS, the company has also not yet provided any comment to T&E after this latter informed it of the correction.
Adapted from French by DeepL/dos
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