Swiss MP challenges SBB over English train announcements

Swiss National Councillor Daniel Ruch (FDP/VD) is calling on the government to protect Switzerland’s four national languages, arguing that English should not be prioritised when it comes to announcements on public transport.

National languages should be prioritised, argues Ruch

While travelling through Switzerland on public transport offers many benefits, such as an impressive 94 percent punctuality rate, it can get confusing when announcements switch between the country’s four different national languages (German, French, Italian and Romansh).

Although not an official language in Switzerland, announcements on Swiss trains and at train stations are frequently made in English.

National Councillor Daniel Ruch (FDP/VD) disagrees with English being prioritised over other languages spoken in Switzerland, arguing that “the second language in which the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB/CFF/FFS) communicates with its customers should [be] a national language, not English.” 

Ruch is calling on the federal government to ensure that “at least two national languages must precede any non-national language in announcements to travellers.”

For example, in German-speaking Switzerland, announcements about public transport should first be in German, then French or Italian before being made in English.

In almost two-thirds of public announcements at train stations, “English effectively supplants a national language,” explained Ruch in a statement submitted to the Swiss parliament regarding SBB's language policy. 

Indeed, out of 50 recorded announcements in Zurich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich Main Station), 42 percent were in German and English, 23 percent prioritised English before French, and 25 percent “respected” the German/French or Italian/English order. Italian is “almost entirely absent” from announcements, he continued. 

SBB wants announcements to be clear and understandable

SBB told public broadcaster RTS (as reported by Watson) that the rail company wants to make train announcements as clear and easy to understand as possible, especially for the millions of tourists that visit Switzerland each year.

Ruch is pushing to prioritise national languages to encourage “linguistic cohesion” across the country and defend “Swiss multilingualism”. The Federal Council is expected to respond to Ruch’s query in a statement.