SBB CFF FFS Reviews 

35 mins late and cannot even get a sparkling water in the on board restaurant.

SBB is perfect if you have been wanting to read Homer's Odyssey forever. Not only will they be so late that you have time to read the entire thing but also, if you don't feel like reading the whole thing just travel with SBB and experience it yourself!

I would give it zero or minus score if possible. Leaving the constant delay and stop-skipping practices aside, they were soooo incompetent that my husband’s SwissPass picture was mistakenly updated to my account. Between just finding out about this ridicule and needing to go to work, I didn’t have a chance to go to the counter to tell them how to do their job before hopping in the train. During the train ride, I explained to the ticket controller the problem and showed him my ID (because my on-file name is still correct). Yet he started accusing me of traveling on my husband’s Pass! It’s already outrageous that they made the mistake, causing me inconvenience. On top of that they aggressively accused me of being the faulty party!!!!! Now I’m waiting in line to go to counter to correct their mistake. It looks I’ll need at lease 35min in the line and miss the train I intended to take. UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE!!!!

I am writing this review considering strictly their currency exchange service. I ended up paying CHF 16.5 to exchange CHF 50 to MKD. I had to pay the official CHF 4 commission, and later on saw they took approx. CHF 12.5 in the exchange. This is such a rip off and can't even believe it is legal.

They will do anything to get as much money out of you as possible, including selling you the same ticket twice and the only explanation you will ever recieve upon complaint are standardized answers, to keep the money and their uneducated staff.

We wont talk how expansive it is, we all know it.
BUT ITS ALWAYS LATE! ALWAYS!!!
and every time i try to get tickets to go outside the Switzerland, i have to spend HOURS booking it, because it keeps lagging and kicking me out. AND when we try to do it on the train station, in ZUG, amazing lady yells at us SITTING INFRONT OF THE COMP, to go home and try to do it again with comp not phone. WELL WE DID... and IT DIDNT WORK!

My experience has been totally humiliating and out of character. I have a zone abonament to go from the town of Rüti to Rapperswil (where I study german every week) If I want to go from Rüti (where I live) to Zurich HB I can buy my ticket from Bubikon because beyond that it is no longer considered Rüti. I was in the way to Zurich HB and in Bubikon I bought my ticket through the app as always. Coincidentally those who review your ticket got on at the same time. They fined me 90ch because they claimed that my ticket was bought out of time (by the way the trained was delayed) and that I just bought it when I saw them. This is totally FALSE! because I have the right to buy my ticket from Bubikon to even if I come from Rüti because I HAVE A ZONE ABONAMENT. They even were not dressed with the uniform, they were normal...so how could I realize were them?, they just came and asked me for my ticket 1 minute after I bought it. I understood then that I should have bought it before leave Rüti but from Bubikon. The man did not care, he didn't believe me even showing him my abonament just because he saw me already seated when they get the train in Bubikon. I explained him the situation but he was totally inflexible and after realizing that I was a foreigner I think he made value judgments. He practically treated me like a criminal in front of the other passengers getting advantage of the fact I am new here. Very humiliating, I am still feeling attacked and stolen. This company has inhumane, inflexible policies typical of a dictatorship; it should disappear because it has no respect or consideration for anyone (I am not the only one who think this) I will fight for this and not because of the money, that is the less important, what I really matter is that they made me feel quite bad. This is the ONLY bad experience I have in Switzerland since I am visiting and since I am living here....!

The worst service ever experienced. Trains always full and small for the amount of expected travellers – countless times ended up with no seat. Bad infrastructure, unfriendly and unpolite train crew. Bad customer services. Ridiculous refund policies. Non-sense expensive rates for the offered service. Often delayed and/or not fully operational.
They kill the competitors by imposing their service (often careless) and promoting an anti-democratic monopoly – e.g. shameless withdrawal of the bus service from Lugano to Malpensa Airport and back.

THE WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER, extremely rude, incompetent and unprofessional train conductors. On top of that really bad infrastructure, constant delays and cancellations, dirty or not functioning toilets, very long waiting times at the customer desk etc. Those ridiculous train prices are not justified in any way. Times when Swiss trains were looked upon, are long gone.

Much too expensive, no service, control bothered me even on the restroom and missed my train three times due to lack of staff! Also more ticket counters should be opened. I waited half an hour in the line!

I experience many many times already with Delayed Train or simply technical problem!!
The things were the next train didn’t wait! I lost many hours in whole connection just like domino effect. I lost times which is more worth than money.
SBB is day by day more disappointing
The toilet also often broken.
I mean when it comes to passengers forget the tickets they have no mercy.
But when it comes to customer they could do so much better than this!
Switzerland used to be known as Best Public Transport, punctuality. But now not anymore. I am very disappointed. And If I want to claim it is only little money return to me, while I lost my time. It is not worth it. Please! Improve your service! This is far from first world country public service.

Always late, often make you miss your Correspondence. You pay a price of a Ferrari to get the performances of a Citroen. They should be ashamed….

Sbb is where ridiculously expensive service meets average quality. It's half as reliable as swiss like to think. It's super-duper slow, while neighboring countries have trains with 300kmh+, sbb trains usually stroll with like 100 kmh or so (60mph).
Plus, there are hidden discounts, which indicates that they want to get as many people to pay the full price they can get. Way to comlpicated pricing. Sometimes you have to pay fro Zones double because ticket system is so badly designed.

Disgusting costumer service. Two ticket staff both male shouting and discriminating one lady. Had a Ticket for an earlier train which I missed because of a delayed flight. Absolutely disgusting how I was approached. I have taken further steps.

Travelling during COVID and my friend and I were eating light snacks right after we boarded the train so we didn’t have our masks on obviously. Grumpy-looking train conductor approaches and out of courtesy, I put on my mask as I knew he was going to stop and ask us for our tickets. Unlike other conductors who greet you at least, he simply stood there without saying a word, assuming we know what to do. He scanned my ticket, I said “merci” and he didn’t respond at all, he turned to my friend, scanned her ticket, she says “merci” and he simply walks off, no response whatsoever. I knew at that moment that something was off with him.

I removed my mask to continue eating/drinking and 15 mins later, we were just about finishing up our meals (I had my mineral water in my hand and my friend a coffee) when he suddenly came to us and started scolding us in French. It was a really long angry speech he gave; he really went on and on. We aren’t native French speakers but made out that he was unhappy we weren’t wearing our masks and was lecturing us about ‘respect’. I said in English that we thought it was ok to remove our masks to have food and drink. He replied in English that that was not a good enough reason and sarcastically said he doesn’t expect us to “die of thirst” on their trains but that we should be putting our masks on/off between sips.

Even if that were true, I think a simple “Hi, could you please put on your mask if you’re not eating? Thanks” would have sufficed and gotten the job done. His long tedious lecture was really uncalled for, especially since I had actually put on my mask earlier while he was checking my ticket and he had not given us any kind of first warning or indication before that that we were doing something wrong. Also, I have seen PLENTY of other commuters not wearing masks while eating/drinking, even in front of train conductors and in super crowded trains (our train that day was virtually empty) so what gives? Seems like he had a personal grudge/prejudice going on and was on an ego trip trying to assert power over others.

SBB has the most inhumane old school dictator rules and policies you can ever imagine. I can’t believe that state is pumping taxpayers money to literally bully us and make rules as it fit their pockets and moods of low qualified jerks ( only some not all) tickets checkers. If the board of this institute want to urn the trust of people they have to start with improved service:
- have some quality in your hiring process of ticket checking people and give them an IQ test before they are allowed to go show off their power to people who genuinely pay and travel not to blindly use illogical inhumane policies of SBB ( the one lady checker who was in the train from affoltern am albis depature 6.12 am. to hinwill on 27.11.2021 ) no common sense using the male checker together enjoy harresing people.
- your ticket machines have the worst user interface which practically misguiding people to make mistakes and ticket checking bast* are harresing passengers with pleasure even if it’s clear that it was unintentional.
- This is not the only situation because we have lot of international travelers comming to Switzerland and many of them have told me stories you cannot believe. Eg. The terrifying ux of ticket machines driving them to buy wrong tickets.
- give training to all customer facing people to treat people with respect and dignity. After all we are your clients and when you are in trouble the state is paying you our tax money so you can live your lives with respect.

Couple years ago my disable son (suffered a stroke and was dealing with frontal lobe deficits) and I rode the Swiss trains (over ten times back and forth) due to our not being able to find his backpack a staff member removed while we were in dining car. I knew when my son asked a staff member if he spoke English, that this would be the kiss of death for our ride and it was. My son had been dealing with how to execute inquiries without sounding disrespectful. The staff member was highly offended and proceeded to move through the train and remove his backpack. It wasn’t until we left the station were we aware the backpack was gone. It was literally a nightmare. A Swiss speaking gentleman helped us figure out what had happened and relayed that our panic to another train staff member. By then it was too late, all staff new we were a problem and proceeded to make our lives miserable. After ten rides back and forth looking for the backpack, we finally retrieved it and then they proceeded to give us misdirections to the airport and this cost us our flight and our sanity. It was horrible. Errs my son dealing with his own post surgical brain issues while his mother is crying to the staff begging them to find his backpack, with his meds and medical equipment. I understand that it would have been more respectful to learn the language prior to our trip but since we were on a multi country trip, we only spend a day there. I cannot fathom what the staff was thinking or the conductor? Why no one went out of their way to help us beyond me. Sad.

My daugther is 100% disabled and completely blind, went from Basel to Dornach by train with a care assistant. The care assistant got a fine because without ticket. In fact the ticket had to be paid by my daugther which is 100% disabled. She is 22 and was always informed from the very beginning that she can take public bus/train without ticket and with an assistant. Might be she was informed wrongly. Anyway for her it wouldn't be possible without a care assistant to take any public transportation. Even if this are the rules, which is a shame, at least from a human point of view I would have closed an eye because they did not intend to do something illegal but just because they thought it is right. The train ticket controller did not care and so this is another minus point which brings them to -1.

It’s been a horrible experience. It’s 10 degrees outside and they set the Aircon super cold at 17 degrees. It’s unacceptable.
Don’t use Swiss trains. Just rent a car.

A miserable highly dishonest train company eagger to fabricate reasons in order to fine passengers without any serious grounds for profit purposes ,rude controlleurs careless complaint department personnel the travel services most of the time of very poor quality , defect toilets ,continous delays and cancellations etc - I believe one of the worst train companies in Europe . In my case I travelled from Lucerne to Basel on Sept 2021. Due to drunken and not wearing passengers who boarded the train I decided to change to first class and sat there near the controlleurs who were hidding there , they saw the reasons on why I had to change the class wanting to pay extra for 1st class . They fined me for black travelling , I will go to court with SBB , I refuse to pay the fine of Fr 75, Two years before the train from Engelberg arrived late then boarded 20 minutes later than booked, they fined me as black traveller. So they expect me now to pay now Fr 145, which I won't. Additionally unlike their other Swiss offices the Customer Service Department in Basel especially their older employees are highly arrogant,business unlike , provocative and chauvinist !