I love to commute by train, and I use three different Swiss train companies for my daily work commute to the Lucerne University of Applied Sciences in Horw, near Lucerne. Returning this evening, I enjoyed a beautiful view to the snow-covered mountains from my home destination. I’m lucky, and this is yet another reason why I love my commute:

I love commuting by train. And I’m lucky that both my home base and work office are only 10 walking minutes away from a train station. Depending on my schedule, I have to switch trains usually twice or three times, using three different railway companies (SOB, SBB and Zentralbahn). Here is why:

1. I get two hours a day which I can use for focused work: answering emails, preparing lecture material, writing articles or learning from a book or article. No phone calls, no new emails (except if connected to the internet) and no interruption. I get so much work done in this two hours, sometimes more than during the day!
2. I get to my destination on time (with very, very few exceptions): no overloaded roads, no traffic jams because of accidents, no longer commute because of snow or icy conditions. Commuting by car might be faster, but it will not be productive.
3. It is less expensive: having a yearly train pass, the commuting costs are 20% of the cots compared using a car for the commute. And I don’t have to pay for a parking slot.
4. It is more environment friendly: less pollution, less environment impact. The Swiss Federal Railways are using more than 90% renewable energy.
5. The Swiss trains are exceptionally punctual. The Swiss don’t run the trains by the clock, they set their watches by the arrival and departure of the train! ;-).
6. Every day, I get a workout for free :-). I get every day at least a 30 minute walk with fresh air. And I have to pay attention to the weather forecast too :-).
7. In the larger train stations, I get a free newspaper in the morning and one in the evening. That way I’m always informed about the important (or not so important) events in the world.
8. Many days during the year, I get freebies from companies testing and introducing new products: chocolate, soft drinks, new apple, yoghurt, magazines, …
9. People watching (ok, I usually just work). But that can be really fun. Strange looking travellers, listening to stories from near and far, teenage issue discussions, students complaining about the teacher, a mixture of culture, language and styles.
10. Stunning views, beautiful sunrise and sunsets, or a beautiful landscape like the one below.

I know that a commute by train is not possible for everyone, and I know and appreciate that the trains in Switzerland are special too.

Want to see more pictures about train stations? There is the web site http://www.schienenverkehr-schweiz.ch which has a large collection of train station pictures, so here some on my daily commute:

Arth-Goldau:

Immensee:

Küssnacht:

Merlischachen:

Meggen:

Meggen Zentrum:

Luzern Verkehrshaus:

Luzern:

Luzern Allmend – Messe:

Happy Commuting 🙂