No free seats in Bern: SBB declares the train to Zurich to be “fully booked”
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No free places in BernSBB declares the train to Zurich to be “fully booked”
According to the display board at the SBB train station, an InterCity from Bern to Zurich was fully booked on Monday afternoon. A “fully booked train” in Switzerland? The SBB clarifies.
An announcement on the blue screens at Bern train station caused a stir: “Train fully booked”, as of Monday afternoon at 4.30 p.m. on the display boards on platform 8. Travelers to Zurich and St. Gallen were offered an alternative connection – the slower IR35 in Direction Chur – indicated. In Switzerland, where there is an open railway system and seat reservations are voluntary, the problem of “fully booked trains” is not really known. “A rather rare picture in Bern train station,” commented a Bernese Twitter user on Monday afternoon’s SBB ad. “Booked up? Fascinating… », says another.
The fully booked IC on Monday afternoon is actually a special case, as SBB reports on a 20-minute request. Because the train had been occupied to the last seat since the previous stop at Freiburg station, the train in Bern was declared “fully booked”.
Too few cars, a disruption and many commuters
An accumulation the other way around would have led to this situation. On the one hand, the composition was only carried out with one double-decker car instead of two, says SBB spokeswoman Jeannine Egi. «Furthermore, the disruption on the Bahn 2000 route affected train traffic for almost the whole day, which led to a shift in the flow of passengers. So the train arrived in Bern with more passengers than usual,” says Egi.
Was it no longer possible to get on in Bern? The SBB spokeswoman said no – boarding was still allowed. “However, it could not be ensured that all travelers would find a seat. For this reason, the SBB tried to direct the travelers to the IR35 with departure at 4:39 p.m. », says Egi.
Red men indicate the expected utilization
It is very rare for SBB to have to declare a train fully booked. According to Egi, seat reservations, which cost five francs at SBB, are still not necessary in everyday life. “SBB only recommends reserving seats on the approved routes on peak days, such as public holiday weekends.” These are mainly the railway lines between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
In order to be able to estimate the volume of commuters, SBB also warns its commuters: SBB has had the so-called “occupancy display” in the SBB online timetable for several years. A displayed symbol figure means a low capacity utilization in the respective class, two figures a medium capacity utilization and the three red figures signal a high capacity utilization in the train. For this assessment, SBB uses its experience, the weather forecast or, in the case of international trains, the status of seat reservations.
(mew)