A refreshing idea from Switzerland

[gg]

I am running in the equivalent of a national event in Switzerland this weekend. In fact it is a two day competition in Kandersteg (south of Bern in the mountains). The organisers have come up with the great idea that (I'm not sure if it is just for the elite or what) competitors get along with their entry a train ticket that will allow them to travel from anywhere in Switzerland to the event and home again for free (assuming they take the train that is). This seems to me to be an amazing idea and I have no idea how they arranged it.

Just think if we could do this in Britain - people might actually take the train to an event.

I realise this is a special case, not everywhere is accessible by train and the logistics must be difficult, but for events which are suitable for catching a train to this is a fab idea.

Thoughts?

[tendon]

6am to Waterloo; 6pm home; 5 days a week .... trains at a weekend - you gotta be joking!

[awk]

Thoughts?

In principal it's a great idea. For it to really work in the UK, events would probably have to be on a Saturday, as Sunday timetables are often awful (the day when, of course, most people want to use them according to one survey I read about!). In Switzerland the timetables are the same week round (for me Swiss railways almost define civilisation!).

Still worth investigating though.

[bendover]

is there still such a thing as 'public' transport in the UK?

if anyone was able to pull this off in england (for some reason, i could see a very small chance of it happening in scotland, not sure about wales) i would eat not only my shorts but kitch's sweaty o socks too.

[Domhnull Mor]

One of the Bern clubs arranges an event every year where you meet up on a train (timetabled service) without knowing where you are getting off (going to). Once on the train and moving the organisers then tell the competitors the destination. A mystery o-tour....

[Becks]

Forget it for now! It's impossible to get lower then Newcastle from Edinburgh on a Sunday, run a race, return to the station and then get back up on the "train" (read replacement bus service) unless you want to leave at half four in the morning and return home at half past midnight, and this is the case in so many places on a Sunday. Only when our rail network has finally finished these everlasting (this was a problem back in 2001!) "improvements" will the train to large events on a Sunday ever become a viable alternative.