by A Zurich-bound train in St Gallen on Monday morning. (Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller) Swiss public transport has been widely reduced as of Monday, with the Federal Railways cutting back on services as part of nationwide anti-coronavirus measures. The scaling back of Europe’s most-used rail network in an effort to combat the spread of Covid-19 was announced last week as part of wider measures to reduce social contact and slow down the pace of life in the country. As of Monday, the density of services on various major intercity lines has been reduced, while some smaller connecting lines will be scrapped altogether. Federal Railways boss Andreas Meyer called it the biggest timetable change in the network’s history. Some cross-border routes have also been affected,
Topics:
Swissinfo considers the following as important: 3) Swiss Markets and News, 3.) Swiss Info, Business, Featured, newsletter
This could be interesting, too:
Frank Shostak writes Assumptions in Economics and in the Real World
Conor Sanderson writes The Betrayal of Free Speech: Elon Musk Buckles to Government Censorship, Again
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Bitcoin erstmals über 80.000 US-Dollar
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Kraken kündigt eigene Blockchain ‘Ink’ an – Neue Ära für den Krypto-Markt?
A Zurich-bound train in St Gallen on Monday morning. (Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller)
Swiss public transport has been widely reduced as of Monday, with the Federal Railways cutting back on services as part of nationwide anti-coronavirus measures.
The scaling back of Europe’s most-used rail network in an effort to combat the spread of Covid-19 was announced last week as part of wider measures to reduce social contact and slow down the pace of life in the country.
As of Monday, the density of services on various major intercity lines has been reduced, while some smaller connecting lines will be scrapped altogether. Federal Railways boss Andreas Meyer called it the biggest timetable change in the network’s history.
Some cross-border routes have also been affected, including the newly inaugurated Léman Express line connecting Geneva, in southwestern Switzerland, and surrounding France.
More changes and reductions in services are planned for Thursday March 26. In the meantime, timetables are being updated by 8:00 pm the previous evening on the network’s websiteexternal link.
The scaling back, which also affects local bus and tram networks across the country, is a proactive measure taken under the country’s anti-coronavirus strategy. It coincides with plummeting demand as many people now work from home, if at all.
Passenger numbers were estimated to have dropped by up to 20% in the first week of March. On Monday, the Keystone-SDA agency said this figure could reach 80%.
You Might Also Like
Online shopping breaches CHF10 billion mark
Swiss shoppers spent more than CHF10 billion ($11 billion) online last year, an increase of 8.4% from 2018, according to a study of retail habits. Electronics and fashion goods dominated orders. Food accounted for just 2.8% of the total goods consumed (up from 1.8% in 2018), but the report’s authors expect orders to increase this year with people reluctant to go to supermarkets in view of the coronavirus outbreak.
How will we judge multinationals when the epidemic is over?
Our regular analysis of what the biggest global companies in Switzerland are up to. This week: responsible business in an epidemic, child labour on coffee farms, and Responsible Business debate. What has made multinational companies in Switzerland so successful is exactly what is making them particularly vulnerable in a global epidemic.
Swiss lawyers seek to keep special ‘advisor’ status in the shadow economy
The Swiss government faces resistance to efforts to tighten anti-money laundering rules that close loopholes for lawyers who act as “advisors” in setting up offshore financial structures. Anti-corruption expert Mark Pieth writes how the lawyer lobby in Switzerland is trying to maintain their special status at the expense of Switzerland’s attempts to improve its reputation as a laundering haven.
Enough food for months, government assures
The Swiss authorities say there are food stocks available to consumers for more than four months to cope with the current coronavirus epidemic. “There is no reason to panic over food,” the government’s delegate for national economic supply, Werner Meier, said in an interview published on Wednesday in various newspapers belonging to the CH Media group.
Coronavirus catches managers off guard
The coronavirus has laid bare the fragilities and complex dependencies generated by globalisation. American-Swiss professor Suzanne de Treville, a specialist in helping firms relocate their industrial activities to the west, hopes that this crisis will trigger some major soul-searching.
Banks lobby regulators to relax post-crisis rules
The global banking industry is demanding regulators relax or delay a raft of post-crisis rules on everything from capital and liquidity to accounting and climate change, which they argue are hampering their ability to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
Sygnum bank creates digital version of Swiss franc for trading
Sygnum bank has launched a digital version of the Swiss franc (DCHF) to allow faster payments when trading a new breed of securities. The DCHF digital tokens will be backed by the corresponding amount of Swiss francs that Sygnum will hold at the Swiss National Bank (SNB).
Switzerland faces recession in 2020 due to pandemic, experts warn
Switzerland is headed towards a severe recession this year due to the economic fallout of the coronavirus, experts warn. If the pandemic is brought under control, the Swiss economy should rebound strongly in 2021.
Tags: Business,Featured,newsletter