The SBB fined four teenage girls from Lucerne 75 francs for standing in the 1st class entrance area with 2nd class tickets. The company points out that class distribution on trains also applies to the corridors and vestibules of the carriages.
On a weekday, four teenage girls board a regional train in Lucerne at midday. They travel from their school in Lucerne-Allmend to the train station, a four-minute journey. The entrance to the 2nd class carriage being crowded, the four young girls headed towards the next door leading to a 1st class carriage.
Questioned by two controllers when they had not yet joined the 2nd class, the four young girls were fined 75 francs each, despite their annual subscription for this line and their intention, according to them, to cross towards the second class.
The mother of one of them finds this sanction totally disproportionate and asks the CFF, responsible for collecting the fines, if it should not show more moderation given the circumstances. According to her, the young girls were in a common situation: in an emergency, it often happens to choose the first available entry before trying to join the right section.
The CFF responds that it is strictly forbidden to stay in 1st class with a 2nd class ticket. This ban “also applies to corridors, vestibules and railcar boarding areas”.
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“Regulations applied correctly”
However, in 2016, in an interview with online media Watsonthe CFF had indicated that such a tolerance existed for regional trains. At the time, controllers politely invited passengers to move to 2nd class without imposing a fine. However, this practice appears to have been abandoned.
The Luzerner Zentralbahn, which operates the train concerned, supported the approach of the controllers, believing that they applied the rules correctly. According to them, the duration of the journey – only five minutes – is not a relevant criterion in assessing the situation.
The company insists that all travelers should be treated equally, regardless of circumstances. In the end, she still made a gesture by reducing the young girls’ fine by half.
Yvonne Hafner (SRF)/ain
Swiss
