Related Content
Travel On Train IC (LD/Twindexx) (Switzerland)
The front end a SBB LD/Twindexx train - note the red frames the black

IC (LD/Twindexx) (Switzerland)

This guide to travelling on the new Twindexx trains now operating on Intercity routes in Switzerland will tell you all you need to know.

Share

At a Glance

Travel Pass Supplement

Rail Pass Reservation Fees
Reservations

Available
Time of Day

Day
Catering

Food services available

Restaurant
Bar (sandwiches, snacks, salads)
Accessibility

Accessing the train

Wheelchair Spaces
Bikes Allowed
Train Specification

Attributes of the train

Double Deck
Has a Conductor
Country

Which country these trains operate in.

Switzerland
Travel Passes
Eurail
InterRail
Swiss Travel Pass
Saver Day Pass

On Board

First Class

Perks
Power Socket

The Power Sockets on these trains are compatible with Swiss-style two-point plugs.

Trolley Service:

A catering trolley with hot and cold drinks and snacks should be taken through the train at some point during its journey.

Upper deck 1st class seating saloon on a SBB LD/Twindexx train Upper deck 1st class seating saloon on a SBB LD/Twindexx train
A luggage rack on a SBB LD/Twindexx train A luggage rack on a SBB LD/Twindexx train

All power sockets on these trains are only compatible with Swiss 3 pin plugs.

A catering trolley MAY be pushed through the train to provide an at seat service of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks.

Second Class

Perks
Power Socket

The Power Sockets on these trains are compatible with Swiss-style two-point plugs.

Trolley Service:

A catering trolley with hot and cold drinks and snacks should be taken through the train at some point during its journey.

Travel info:
Upper deck 2nd class seating saloon on a SBB LD/Twindexx train Upper deck 2nd class seating saloon on a SBB LD/Twindexx train

All power sockets on these trains are only compatible with Swiss 3 pin plugs.

A catering trolley MAY be pushed through the train to provide an at seat service of hot and cold drinks, sandwiches and snacks.

IC (Twindexx) travel guide:

These are the brand new double-deck trains which the Swiss national rail operator, SBB has begun to introduce on its IC (InterCity) routes/services.

SBB refers to these trains as 'LD trains' and more info about these trains is available on the SBB website.
Though these trains seem to more commonly referred to as 'Twindexx' trains.

ShowMeTheJourney has produced a specific guide to travelling by these LD (Twindexx) trains because they represent a step forward from the other SBB IC trains.

Routes:

According to the SBB website these Twindexx trains are now operating on these routes

IC 1: St Gallen - Winterthur - Zurich Flughafen - Zurich HB - Bern - Fribourg - Lausanne - Geneve - Geneve Aeroport (now virtually all departures)

IC 3: Basel - Zurich HB - Landquart - Chur (most departures)

IC 21: Basel - Luzern - Bellinzona - Lugano (a few departures)

These trains, without the restaurant cars being available for use, are also be used on this route on which the trains are designated IR
Luzern - Zug - Zurich - Zurich Flughfaen - St Gallen - St Margrethen - Buchs - Landquart - Chur
The same on board experience is available when used for IC services, except for the lack of catering.

Train facilities summary:

In comparison to the older decked Swiss IC trains, these new LD (Twindexx) trains have:

(1) Electronic info screens on board, which give details of the route and list the details of the connecting departures available at the next station, which the train will be calling at.

(2) Power sockets available in 2nd class, as well as 1st class

(3) More wheelchair accessible compartments and toilets

(4) Toilets which have baby changing facilities

(5) A dedicated family car with a play area for young children

(6) More space for prams/pushchairs/strollers

(7) More bike racks

Travelling on the upper deck:

All the routes taken by these trains have scenic highlights, so an obvious advantage of being on the upper deck are the better opportunities to make the most of the views.

However, there are less obvious advantages of heading to the upper deck:

  • it is easier to move through the train at the upper deck to seek out spare seats
  • the restaurant is at the upper level.

The lower deck can feel more spacious as there’s more headroom - and if you have heavy luggage it obviously saves you the effort of heaving it upstairs.
There are luggage racks in the lower and upper deck seating saloons.

The toilets are also located on both decks.

The (WiFi):

Swiss national rail operator SBB does not provide wi-fi on its trains in the conventional sense - meaning that passengers can't log on to a SBB portal for wi-fi.

Instead SBB has equipped its IC trains with signal amplifiers to enable enhanced connectivity with local mobile networks.

The coaches/cars equipped with this equipment have symbols by the doors - and SBB suggests that passengers who wish to access wi-fi during a journey, should travel in these coaches in order to access these 'hotspots'.

Catering:

The interior of the restaurant car on a SBB LD/Twindexx train The interior of the restaurant car on a SBB LD/Twindexx train
The exterior of the restaurant car on a SBB LD/Twindexx train The exterior of the restaurant car on a SBB LD/Twindexx train

The restaurant car can be popular at meal times, as prices aren't exponentially more expensive compared to standard restaurants.
If you want to have a meal head direct to the restaurant car when boarding and spend the first part of your journey in the car.
Though something to watch out for is that two Twindexx trains can be joined together on many departures and when that is the case, the restaurant can only be available in one part of the train and not the other.
So use the info on the departure screens on the platforms (gleis/voies) which will tell you in which part of the train the restaurant car will be located.

A catering trolley may also be pushed through the train to provide an at seat service in both 1st and 2nd class.

Boarding:

The departure information on the platform (gleis/voie/binaro) at a Swiss station will indicate in which 'Sektor' (zone) the 1st class, 2nd class and restaurant coaches/cars will occupy when the train arrives.
Swiss stations don't have a system which will tell you, in which specific 'Sektor' (zone) you should wait, if you have a reservation in a specific coach/car.

Don’t be surprised if the 'Sektor' (zone) you need is some distance from your entrance point to the gleis/platform/track.

If you haven't reserved, a tip is to head for the respective zones/sektors furthest away from the entrance to the gleis/platform/track.
Fewer people will have headed to the far ends of the train, so you should increase your chances of finding a seat - particularly if there is an option to board towards the front of the train.
Walk through the train if need be.

Few seats are generally reserved on IC trains so finding seats shouldn’t be a problem outside business hours.

hand-money

Please support ShowMeTheJourney

Help keep us advertising and paywall free!

Donate

This second version of ShowMeTheJourney is exciting and new, so we are genuinely thrilled that you are here and reading this, but we also need your help.

We’re striving not to let anything get in the way of providing the most useful service possible, hence a facility has been set up with DonorBox which can be used to support the running costs and make improvements.

Instead of advertising or paywalls, your financial support will make a positive difference to delivering an enhanced service, as there’s a lot of ideas which we want to make happen.

So if you have found the info provided here to be useful, please consider saying thank you.

Take the stress out of your journey Everything planned to your specification, so sit back and relax… Try Concierge
See if there’s a unique journey guide for your trip, featuring info on the trains, tickets & stations.
Leaving From
Going To
ShowMeTheJourney

This is one of more than 100 train travel guides available on ShowMeTheJourney, which will make it easier to take the train journeys you want or need to make. As always, all images were captured on trips taken by ShowMeTheJourney.