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A clockface timetable run with Swiss precision, plus the Gotthard, the Lötschberg and the narrow-gauge world of the RhB – hardly any country offers more subjects per kilometre.
10 locations listed
Switzerland runs to a clockface timetable, and that is the real tool for spotters: what comes at 8:14 also comes at 9:14. Hardly any other network allows such precise planning – including the connections that let you combine two spots in one morning.
Photography is permitted on platforms and public paths. SBB points to its house rules, but in practice only intervenes when someone crosses the safety lines. The same applies on the private railways in the Bernese Oberland and Graubünden.
The mountain routes are at their most striking in winter, when snow lifts the contrast – for that you need south-facing locations and patience with the light. In summer the afternoons are often hazy; the clearest air comes in the hours after a föhn wind has passed through.
Main stations with high train frequency and many operators. Ideal for beginners: platforms are publicly accessible, departure boards make traffic predictable and the haul is high.
Bern Hauptbahnhof
Bern
Bern is the hub the Swiss timetable is built around. Two major railway companies share the same platforms, a narrow-gauge railway with its own terminus lies beneath the station – and the platforms are among the narrowest in the country.
Zürich Hauptbahnhof
Zurich
Zürich HB is Switzerland's busiest station and, at the same time, one of its most complicated: above-ground head-end tracks, two underground stations and its own suburban railway one level further down. Once you understand the hub principle, you'll see more here in twenty minutes than elsewhere in two hours.
Ramps, horseshoe curves and Alpine crossings. Heavy trains, often double-headed or banked, plus scenery that carries any picture.
Gotthard North Ramp at Wassen
Wassen
Between Gurtnellen and Göschenen, the Gotthard mountain line spirals up the hillside through loop tunnels, passing Wassen at three different heights along the way. Since the base tunnel opened, far fewer trains run here – but the views remain among the best in Switzerland.
Gotthard South Ramp at Giornico
Giornico
Between Lavorgo and Giornico, the Gotthard mountain line winds through the Biaschina in two spiral tunnels – levels of the line stacked above each other, chestnut woods all around, and light you simply don't get north of the Alps. Traffic has thinned since the base tunnel, but the views haven't.
Lötschberg South Ramp at Hohtenn
Hohtenn
Above the Rhone valley, the Lötschberg mountain line of 1913 runs like a balcony along the rock face: stone viaducts, galleries, tunnel portals and behind them Valais's four-thousand-metre peaks. Since the base tunnel opened, less runs here – but the high trail remains one of the best railway walks in Europe.
Marshalling yards, port connections and freight corridors. Maximum variety of locomotives and wagons – but observation strictly from outside operational railway land.
Bellinzona
Bellinzona
Bellinzona is the point where all the Gotthard traffic fans out again on the southern side: towards Locarno, towards the Ceneri and Lugano, and on into Italy. Add to that a workshop tradition, Mediterranean light and three castles above the tracks.
Erstfeld
Erstfeld
For more than a century, Erstfeld was the place where heavy trains picked up banking locomotives before tackling the Gotthard north ramp. Since the base tunnel started running beneath the mountain, the place has changed – it has stayed interesting, but for different reasons.
Where the electrification system, operator or track gauge changes: locomotive changes, long dwell times and vehicles from two countries in the same yard.
Bridges, viaducts and stretches of line that have been photographed for decades. Usually away from stations, but with a clear view of the whole train.
Rack, narrow-gauge and heritage railways. Slow trains, predictable timetables and rolling stock that disappeared from the main network long ago.
Record every vehicle with location and time – and see what other spotters are reporting here right now.
See also
The vehicles you will come across in Switzerland are listed in the rolling stock database. You can find out who runs them in the railway operator database. And the guide Planning a spotting tour explains how to plan a tour properly.
