I need to vent a bit and also curious if others had similar experiences. Occasionally, I commute from Bern towards St. Gallen, usually via Zürich, as it’s the fastest connection. Since it’s a long ride, I try to work on the train. A couple of weeks ago, I did exactly that. The SBB app showed normal availability (white for both classes). Still, this was a morning connection from Bern to Zürich. I was skeptical, so I paid for a class upgrade to make sure I had a spot to work. Reality: the train was completely packed. Not just “busy”, but full. I stood the entire ride between wagons with several other people. No seat in 1st or 2nd class. The frustrating part is that the app showed normal availability, which clearly did not reflect reality. So not only was the train overcrowded, but the information provided beforehand was misleading and made it impossible to plan accordingly. I mean, everyone knows how popular this route always is. And still they run a short, single-level train. So I requested a refund. First reply from SBB: They ask me to provide proof from train staff that 1st class was full. How exactly am I supposed to do that days later? Are we expected to hunt down controllers after the fact? There is no public way to contact them. Meanwhile SBB obviously has all the data about train composition and occupancy. Second reply: They say refund is not possible “according to tariff conditions”… but as a “gesture of goodwill” they still refunded me part of it and deducted a CHF 10 fee 🤡 So basically: They misrepresent train occupancy They cannot provide a single seat They still charged me for the unavailable space in 1st class And then they make me prove their own failure What bothers me most is the principle. If they cannot deliver on their offer, there should be a clear and fair rule for refunds. Not this bureaucratic ping-pong. With prices going up again, but no visible improvement on overcrowded trains, this feels quite disrespectful to commuters. Honestly, next time I’ll just take the direct train, even if it’s a slower connection, to avoid the Zürich crowds, even if it costs me extra time. At least I might be able to sit and work. What are your horror stories of the overpriced/overcrowded SBB trains? submitted by /u/marhurram
Originally posted by u/marhurram on r/Switzerland