2025-11-12 Trains in Switzerland
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I wonder whether one of the reasons there is significant support for
the train network in Switzerland is that the autobahn between Zürich
(where many people live) and Bern (where the federal government has
many of its offices) is very congested and therefore many
parliamentarians take the train. First hand experience changes minds?

The alternative is a parliament where one of the perks is a government
car. Of course you’ll want to use it. And you’ll feel the pain of
congestion. So these parliamentarians are more likely to vote for
bigger roads.

This probably has the quality of hashtag shower thoughts but the train
connection between Zürich and Bern is the busiest in all of
Switzerland and I can’t help but think this must have an effect.

A map of Switzerland showing rail passenger frequency with red lines
of increasing thickness and Zürich is a big blotch of red with lines
stretching east and west but mostly west towards Bern. There are small
inset graphs for various locations, showing the numbers go up over
time except for the Covid lockdown and the following months. In 2024
the numbers are as high as ever.

Source: PDF

One way I could imagine going from the world of cars to the world of
trains is that pesky "fitness to drive a car" test. When I see some
older relatives, I wish they’d stop driving. But they pass the tests
and they enjoy the mobility and autonomy – and they feel they are too
old to learn their way around riding trains and navigating ticket apps
and computers and train switching. So now I’m thinking: In a world
where the parliamentarians have cars, is there a way to force them to
use the train while they still are in power, while they still have the
ability to adapt, to change? We could – just a thought! – make this
car aptitude test super hard and start doing it at 60. Some
parliamentarians would fail the test and would have to switch to train
rides.

Sneaky enough? Maybe not! 🤔

In order to get it passed, we could frame it as “self-driving cars are
the future and this move supports the new technology, supports local
car makers, helps us fight car racing by foreigners and makes the
roads safer again.” Many parliamentarians will overestimate their
abilities and vote in favour, thinking that there is no way they would
be among the ones that failed the test.

#Switzerland #Trains