[Video] Cow rides train in Switzerland
By Jan de Boer
With Swiss public transport famed as one of the best networks in the world, everyone from people going to work to families on excursions use its services to get from point A to point B - although that doesn’t usually extend to all creatures great and small: on Sunday, the regular wave of commuters in St. Gallen was added to by, of all things, a cow.
Passengers on Swiss train greeted by a cow
On February 26, passengers on the S1 Thurbo rail service between St. Gallen and Schaffhausen were greeted by a cow. The bovine passenger, who is yet to be named by the emergency services, successfully boarded the train at St. Gallen St. Fiden with an entourage of people, before alighting at Muolen 15 minutes later.
It was not long before the human passengers on the train took to the internet to share videos of the cow. In the footage, which you can see below, what was assumed to be the owners of the cow shouted back at passengers concerned for the cow's wellbeing, with one claiming that they are allowed to take a cow on the train as it was the equivalent of taking a dog on board.
Despite cow on board, Swiss train departs on time
With this being Switzerland, the new cow passenger did not stop the train from departing and concluding its journey on time. Speaking to FM1 Today, Thurbo spokesperson Christian Baumgartner said that the company was aware of the cow passenger as soon as it boarded the train, but chose to carry on anyway.
A spokesperson for the Swiss police, Roman Kohler, told the radio station that they were informed about the cow, but were told not to intervene. In fact, Baumgartner praised the cow’s companions for being “optimally equipped” with brooms and buckets - just in case the cow wasn’t “housebroken.”
No repercussions for Switzerland's bovine commuter
Despite the fact that the transport of an animal of this size is not allowed on Thurbo, the company said that no action would be taken, with Baumgartner concluding that they hoped “the even-toed ungulate was able to enjoy the ride on our train.” “We hope that at least one valid ticket was available," he joked, as the journey would have cost the cow 7,20 francs, so long as it sat in cattle class of course.
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Jan studied History at the University of York and Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield. Though born in York, Jan has lived most of his life in Zurich and has worked as a journalist, writer and editor since 2016.
While he has plunged head-first back into life in Switzerland since returning to the country in 2020, he still enjoys a taste of home at pub quizzes and karaoke nights.Read more