SBB pours CHF 3,8 million into staff language training, including English

The Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS) is doubling down on its efforts to improve communication skills among employees, investing almost 4 million Swiss francs in online language courses by 2031.

SBB wants to bridge the language gap on Swiss public transport

The company is pushing to improve employee communication skills as language barriers "repeatedly cause frustration and anger" among passengers, according to Blick. The national rail operator has announced that it will spend 3,8 million Swiss francs on online language courses for its employees between 2027 and 2031.

A company based in Munich is set to provide the training to SBB’s 36.000 employees, with a focus on customer-facing roles such as ticket inspectors and conductors.

The training will not only help staff communicate in German, French, or Italian, but will also include English to better serve the millions of tourists and international residents living in Switzerland who rely on the country’s public transport network.

While language skills have been an important part of company culture until now, the renewed effort reaffirms a focus on "collaboration within SBB and for contact with customers, partner companies and public institutions," explained SBB spokesperson Carmen Hefti.

Language barrier almost led to train crash in 2025

A close call last year highlights the programme's importance, after two trains nearly collided near Neuchâtel "due to a language barrier between French-speaking and German-speaking Swiss [rail staff]," continues Blick. At the last minute, train drivers were able to slam on the brakes to avoid a crash.

Hefti explained that the near miss is "in no way related to the SBB's internal language learning programme", as SBB has been running the course for several years.