Swiss national rail app to sell international train tickets
Right now, you can buy tickets for travel within Switzerland on the mobile app of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB), but that option is not yet available for international travel. This is about to change.
If you want to travel from Switzerland to European cities, you can purchase your tickets from the SBB website, or else at the counter in physical SBB offices which, however, are becoming scarcer at train stations.
“The booking system for international travel is our ‘Achilles heel’,” the company's CEO Vincent Ducrot, conceded in an interview.
As a result, many Swiss passengers often buy their international tickets directly from websites of foreign railway companies.
But from 2024, the current SBB application will allow commuters to also buy tickets for foreign destinations.
“Our goal is to offer the sale of international tickets on the app during the course of next year,” according to SBB spokesperson Jean-Philippe Schmidt. “Our teams are working hard on this.”
More innovations also on the right track
Swiss media also reported that further improvements are expected next year.
In particular, it should be possible to reserve a specific seat for international travel.
Currently, the mobile app only allows passengers to select preferences, such as whether they want to sit next to a window or near the aisle.
An update of the booking system, however, would finally allow Swiss commuters traveling in groups to reserve seats side by side.
More cost-efficient travelcards
Other than a new app for international tickets, commuters in Switzerland will also be able to benefit from new travelcards / cheaper subscriptions, to begin from mid-December 2023.
All the benefits are described in this article:
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s new travel cards
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If you want to travel from Switzerland to European cities, you can purchase your tickets from the SBB website, or else at the counter in physical SBB offices which, however, are becoming scarcer at train stations.
“The booking system for international travel is our ‘Achilles heel’,” the company's CEO Vincent Ducrot, conceded in an interview.
As a result, many Swiss passengers often buy their international tickets directly from websites of foreign railway companies.
But from 2024, the current SBB application will allow commuters to also buy tickets for foreign destinations.
“Our goal is to offer the sale of international tickets on the app during the course of next year,” according to SBB spokesperson Jean-Philippe Schmidt. “Our teams are working hard on this.”
More innovations also on the right track
Swiss media also reported that further improvements are expected next year.
In particular, it should be possible to reserve a specific seat for international travel.
Currently, the mobile app only allows passengers to select preferences, such as whether they want to sit next to a window or near the aisle.
An update of the booking system, however, would finally allow Swiss commuters traveling in groups to reserve seats side by side.
More cost-efficient travelcards
Other than a new app for international tickets, commuters in Switzerland will also be able to benefit from new travelcards / cheaper subscriptions, to begin from mid-December 2023.
All the benefits are described in this article:
READ ALSO: Everything you need to know about Switzerland’s new travel cards
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