Meeting points in Switzerland for passengers who use wheelchairs.

At support stations with a Mobilift (hydraulic lift), we wait for you by the Mobilift ten minutes before departure. 

Detailed information on the meeting point at each support station can be found on the synoptic map for people with restricted mobility. 

For journeys on IC2000, the double-deck trains: We wait for you by the first passenger coach (1st class) directly behind the locomotive ten minutes before departure. There is also an accessible toilet in this passenger coach.

Meeting points in Switzerland for people who are blind or have visual impairments.

Please arrange the meeting point with the SBB Contact Center Handicap and meet at the arranged meeting point ten minutes before the departure of the train.

Who will be helping you?

Usually, customer assistants ensure assistance with boarding and alighting at support stations. In some cases, assistance with boarding and alighting is provided directly by passenger attendants who can be found on the relevant train. In all cases, these people have been specially trained in providing professional assistance.

Your assistants.

• Customer assistants.
• One of the passenger attendants (on the train). Wait by the Mobilift or at the agreed meeting point.
• ‘SOS Bahnhofhilfe’ (only at railway stations where this agency is available to provide assistance to passengers).

Meeting points abroad.

Meeting points and reporting times for assistance with boarding and alighting are different in each country. When alighting on the outward journey (Switzerland–abroad), the assistant comes to the platform area where the passenger coach stops. When you alight, confirm the precise meeting point for your return journey with the service staff on site.

The following table shows the meeting points in neighbouring countries.

SBB Inclusive: an app for blind and visually impaired passengers – and for everyone else.

SBB Inclusive is a customer information app that makes travelling on public transport easier, particularly for blind and visually impaired people. The app brings the visual and digital customer information for stations and long-distance trains directly to your smartphone and always shows you the information relevant to your location. This way, you can always be sure that you are on the right train. 

Here’s how SBB Inclusive works.

• You get location-specific travel information which is relevant to you sent to your smartphone. 
• If you are at a station, information on upcoming departures, platform allocation and train formation is automatically displayed for you.
• When you get on an SBB long-distance train, the app lets you know which train you’ve just boarded and where you are in the train via a push notification. What’s more the app shows you the progress of the train and information on the upcoming stops. You can also have this information read out aloud.

The app currently works at all Swiss railway stations and on all SBB long-distance trains. Please continue to use the SBB Mobile app to plan your journeys.

SBB train equipment.

In the 1st and 2nd class SBB passenger coaches, the first compartment to the right with opposite seating displays the label ‘Please vacate this space for passengers with restricted mobility’. Depending on the equipment, this compartment can be used by wheelchair users or only by people who are blind or have mobility problems.

You can check the train information for every connection directly in the online timetable or on the SBB Mobile app.

Equipment on regional trains.

The table shows the equipment on regional trains for passengers with restricted mobility. 

Equipment on long-distance trains.

The table shows the equipment on long-distance trains and international trains for wheelchair users.

Night train equipment.

The table shows the equipment on night trains for wheelchair users.

Wheelchair-accessible toilets on InterCity tilting trains and double-deck trains (IC 2000).

On InterCity tilting trains (ICN) and on double-deck trains (IC 2000), the wheelchair compartment and a toilet accessible for wheelchair users are located in 1st class. These compartments can be used by a wheelchair user and a companion with just one 2nd class ticket, as long as they hold the Companion Card ‘Disabled Passenger’s ID Card’.

This applies to the following passengers:

• The wheelchair user and the companion regardless of which holds a valid ticket for travel.
• The person registered on the Junior Travelcard, if the person using the wheelchair or the companion is registered as the parent on the Junior Travelcard and at least one ticket for travel has been purchased.

Every 2nd class passenger coach in an IC2000 train formation has a wheelchair compartment with folding seats (please note the pictogram when boarding) but not a wheelchair-accessible toilet.

Members of the public may also provide assistance with boarding and alighting from trains at all stations. However, members of the public are not allowed to handle the Mobilift or the folding ramp. SBB cannot accept any liability in the event of damage or accidents.

Information on low-floor coaches.

Low-floor technology with low coach floors makes it easier for all passengers to board and alight. Obstacles can nevertheless still arise: The SBB Contact Center Handicap provides information if something is unclear.

• Depending on the stopping point, customers may still need to navigate a smaller or larger height difference and/or gap between the platform edge and the train door, even on low-floor vehicles.
• Low-floor coaches with automatic sliding or retracting steps (LD double-deck trains, Giruno, IR-Dosto, Regio-Dosto, FLIRT, DTZ S-Bahn Zurich, GTW Seetallinie, SPATZ, TILO): At stations where the platforms are as high as the train door, the automatic sliding or retracting steps will bridge the distance to the platform to minimise the gap and enable customers to board and alight independently. Contact the SBB Contact Center Handicap for more detailed information.
• Low-floor vehicles without automatic sliding or retracting steps (old IC2000, GTW Jura, THURBO network in Eastern Switzerland): Depending on the stopping point, there may be a smaller or larger height difference and/or gap between the platform edge and the coach where passengers are boarding or alighting. At support stations, you can request assistance from the railway company. However, if you do not request this, you will be responsible for boarding and alighting from the train yourself. At non-support stations, you will need to arrange assistance with boarding and alighting from the train yourself.
• Depending on the stopping point, customers may still need to navigate a smaller or larger height difference and/or gap between the platform edge and the train door at some stations, even on low-floor vehicles.

General information.

• If you board and alight independently with your wheelchair, the railway company will not assume any liability in the event of damage, loss or accidents.
• In the event of train cancellations and changes to rolling stock, there is no guarantee that vehicles will have low-floor entry and sliding steps. In some cases, the replacement vehicle may not be wheelchair accessible. The SBB Contact Center Handicap can inform you about later accessible connections.

Basically, you always need a valid ticket for travel on public transport. If you travel without a valid ticket, just showing your Disabled Passenger’s ID Card is generally insufficient to make you exempt from paying a surcharge. This is only possible if your disability makes it infeasible for you to purchase a ticket from a ticket machine or from SBB.ch or the SBB Mobile app. In this case, you pay only the relevant fare but no surcharge.

Find out about the tickets you can buy and the discounts you receive on the following pages:

Travel planning
Travel discounts

OK:GO – accessibility information in tourism is becoming standard.

The OK:GO initiative allows people with reduced mobility to plan their journeys independently by providing information ahead of time. On the data platform ginto, any tourist service provider can very easily enter and publish their accessibility information themselves. The information is transferred to guests in neutral and objective form and provides travellers with an overview of the accessibility of the services in advance. 

Accessibility details entered in full are published on the website of the service provider with the OK:GO emblem and are therefore accessible to everyone. The OK:GO initiative includes services covering all categories, such as restaurants, hotels, mountain lifts and railways, boats, museums and other tourist leisure activities. Together with numerous service providers from around Switzerland, the OK:GO initiative pursues one goal: making it easier for everyone to experience more of Switzerland.

A number of partners from the Swiss tourism sector are already involved in the OK:GO Initiative: 

Accor Hotels Switzerland | Basel Tourism | Engadin St. Moritz Tourismus AG | Fribourg Region | GastroSuisse | Geneva Tourism | Holiday Inn Express | HotellerieSuisse | Hotel Schweizerhof Bern & Spa | Interlaken Tourismus | Jura & Three-Lakes region | Kinderregion | Lindt Home of Chocolate | Lucerne Tourism | Motel One Zürich | Naturzentrum Thurauen | Swiss Parks Network | Niesenbahn AG | Pilatus-Bahnen AG | Schifffahrtsgesellschaft des Vierwaldstättersees AG | Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) | Swiss Youth Hostels | Schweizer Reisekasse (Reka) Genossenschaft | Swiss Tourism Federation | Switzerland Tourism | Swiss Cableways | St. Gallen-Bodensee Tourismus | swisscamps - Swiss Camp Site Association | Ticino Tourism | Toggenburg Tourism | Tourismus Engadin Scuol Samnaun Val Müstair AG | Val Poschiavo Tourism | Valsana Hotel & Appartements Arosa | VAUD-Région du Léman | ACH - Association of Christian Hotels | Public Transport Union | Zurich Tourism  

Are you interested in taking part in a project? Or want to find out more about the initiative?

Questions and contact:

Accessible Switzerland Association.
Tel: +41 44 461 14 82
Mail : contact@ok-go.orgLink opens in new window.

Accessible Switzerland Association.

The Accessible Switzerland Association (FVBS) helps the Swiss tourism industry address the travel requirements of senior citizens and people with disabilities appropriately and in such a way as to meet their specific needs. From the moment it was established in 2016, the FVBS has been supported by prominent service providers in the Swiss tourism industry and by disabled people’s associations.

ginto.

The ginto platform is operated by the AccessibilityGuide association and provides accessibility information about locations to make taking part in social life easier. In doing so, ginto focuses on the diverse needs of its users and not on their physical limitations.

The OK:GO Initiative is supported by Innotour, the funding instrument of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), and by the Federal Bureau for the Equality of People with Disabilities (FBED).