With a potentially record-breaking heatwave on the way, the SBB app will show which carriages have aircon or not over the summer months.
Switzerland’s state railway will again provide information which trains have air-conditioning over the summer months, available to view via the SBB app.
From June to September, the SBB website and app will display a thermometer icon alongside the message ‘No air conditioning’ for train services that are not air-conditioned during the summer.
This comes as Switzerland braces for a heatwave that could see temperatures soaring up to 38C.
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The feature has been in operation since 2024 and runs from 1st June to 30th September each year.
However, for most train travellers in Switzerland this summer, finding a train without air-con would be unlucky: around 98 per cent of SBB trains are air-conditioned, according to SBB data.
Those without are almost always older rolling stock. Currently, a total of around 9,100 air-conditioning units are installed on SBB trains.
Fortunately, both the SBB website and the SBB mobile app will indicate which trains do and do not have air conditioning so passengers won’t be caught out this summer.
“SBB specifically highlights those services in the timetable where individual carriages are operating without air-conditioning. This allows us to provide transparency for our customers,” says Mara Zenhäusern, SBB’s media spokesperson.
The feature was first introduced and tested in the summer of 2024. Since then, the trial period has been extended on an ongoing basis.
“The symbol in the timetable has proved its worth over the last two summers, which is why SBB is using it again this year,” says Zenhäusern.
However, a train without air conditioning in Switzerland would be a rare exception.
“Very few trains are affected, mostly older rolling stock,” says Zenhäusern.
