Marc Guggenheim, product manager for self-service bicycle transport at SBB, faces a complex challenge: he has to reconcile the constantly growing demand for bicycle transport on trains with a technically rigid infrastructure and limited capacities - especially on popular weekends in the direction of Valais, Ticino or Graubünden. In a recently published interview with Schweiz Mobil, Guggenheim provides an insight into planned measures and their limitations.

Drop in the ocean

One of the most important innovations: 100 long-distance coaches will each be equipped with five additional bicycle stands. These will be used on all trains on the IC8/81 line (Romanshorn-Bern-Zurich-Interlaken/Brig) from June 2025 and also on the IC6/61 (Basel-Bern-Brig/Interlaken) from late summer. Although this measure will ease the situation somewhat, it is a drop in the ocean. The main problem is not the total number of bicycle spaces, but their availability in short, busy time slots.

In order to transport more bicycles at certain points, SBB is planning to open logistics compartments at the top of the train in future, which will create some additional opportunities to take bicycles with you, but will also require additional staff. But even here, the benefits are limited. "On some weekends, we reach the capacity limits on individual trains, but also in general. We can only use double-decker trains with a maximum length of 400 meters. More is not possible," says Guggenheim in the interview.

Regional solutions with more potential

There is more movement in regional transport: the new regional transport fleet will offer multifunctional areas in over 300 trains. There will be no folding seats in order to avoid conflicts with other passengers - for example with luggage, baby carriages or bicycles. "The new trains will generally have plenty of storage space. We hope this will lead to a noticeable reduction in conflicts of use in everyday life," explains Guggenheim.

Conclusion: summer 2025 will be a game of poker 

With this in mind, it is now clear that mountain bikers who want to ride the train to Valais, Ticino or Graubünden on beautiful weekends in summer 2025 will probably experience déjà vu. The battle for free places will also be part of the mountain bikers' weekend this summer. What's new is that cyclists now have to play poker: do they bet on a free seat in the logistics compartment at the Zugspitze or speculate on a free seat in the multifunctional compartment at the other end of the train?

The full interview with Marc Guggenheim can be found here:
schweizmobil.ch/en/the-bike-has-come-to-stay