Like Clockwork

I realise that, as I am typing these words on a train to the airport, this could all come back to bite me but surely the Swiss transport system is one of the wonders of the modern world?. 

We left a small mount village at 05:40am and caught the 06:00am bus. Which as admittedly left two minutes late. This wasn’t the fault of the transport system, but instead an issue with a passenger  who decided to arrive at exactly the departure time and then continued to debate the price of the fare with the driver. Quite possibly the most annoying person we’ve come across this holiday. If this scene has payed out in the UK then the driver would’ve closed the doors in the late comer’s face and waved as they drove away. Equally, if this has been a scene from New Zealand then…. actually it wouldn’t have mattered because there wouldn’t have been a bus in the first place and even if there was, it would’ve either been late or not turned up at all.

Minor passenger related glitches notwithstanding, the bus caught up the lost time, despite the route being a tortuous, twisting and narrow road down the valley and arrived at the train station on time. That didn’t stop me giving the late comer a hard stare as we disembarked. I felt much better.

Ten minutes later we were on the train speeding north towards Bern and are expecting to arrive at the airport at 09:15, making two changes on the way each with only five minutes to make the connection. Who would’ve thought that fast and frequent public transport set make for a fast and efficient transport network? 

Express inter-city trains connect to regional trains that then connect to local trains. These then connect to trams, mountain railways, cable cars, buses or boats, depending on the desired destination. When viewed from high up in the stratosphere it must look like a well orchestrated ballet. It’s magic - except it isn’t really. So how is it done…..sorry excuse me, we are arriving into Bern and I have to go and change trains.

…..where was I? Ah yes, how is this done? I recall reading an interview with a Swiss transport network representative who was responsible for planning the timetable, and he was slightly dumbfounded when he was asked that very question. “Well, you plan one week and then repeat it across the rest of the year”’ was the simple and perhaps obvious response. Could it be as straightforward as that? It makes you wonder doesn’t it.

[post blog note - arrived at the airport at exactly the planned time. Shame the flight was an hour late leaving 🙄]