I am an expatriate living here and have three more years to spend in this lovely and beautiful country. My family and I use SBB services almost daily, and this forum has been very helpful, although I understand that all those contributing comments are volunteers.
I have feedback for SBB, and those in similar situations may wish to add their comments. This concerns the language barriers encountered while using trains.
Switzerland now seems to have a significant foreign population, perhaps around 30%, although this is just an estimate. Many of them, like us, do not speak the local language, which can be challenging when using trains, especially during delays, which seem to be quite frequent in the French-speaking region.
Recently, I was travelling from Gland to Geneva Airport. The airport is usually small and check-in doesn’t take two hours, so I typically allow one and a half hours or even less. However, my recent trip was a nightmare,, as I almost missed my flight due to a train delay in Geneva, where I needed to change trains. The delay seemed to have been announced, but not in English, until I learned that no train would arrive for another 15-20 minutes. The platform was changed three times, and I struggled to find someone who could help, but I managed to cope with the stress. This has happened a few times before, but those situations were not urgent.
I truly believe that major stations like Geneva should have announcements in English, and it would also be helpful to have announcements in English throughout the train journey, as many foreigners use the train service.It may not be a priority for Swiss, but it will help people like us.