Early this morning, the solar powered plane, Solar Impulse II, piloted by Bertrand Piccard, landed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, completing a full circuit of the globe. The aircraft’s 17-leg journey involved 23 days of flying, covering a distance of 43,041 kilometres. Piccard took off from Egypt and arrived in Abu Dhabi […]
Luc Hoffmann, co-founder of the World Wildlife Foundation dies
Born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1923, Luc Hoffmann, co-founder of the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) and grandson of one of the founders of Hoffmann-Laroche, now known as the pharmaceutical giant Roche, died at his home in southern France on 22 July 2016. Hoffmann co-founded WWF in 1961 and was the foundation’s first vice president until […]
Restored paddle boat “Italie” makes its first test run on Lake Geneva
Taken out of service in 2006 for renovation, the paddle boat “Italie” left dry dock this morning for a test run on Lake Geneva. The vessel, which originally went into service in 1908, made the weekly return trip from Geneva to Le Bouveret and back for nearly 50 years. The 66 metre ship can take […]
Switzerland reduces CO2 emissions by 3 million tonnes
20 Minutes. Government subsidies of around CHF 260 million cut Swiss emissions by a CO2 equivalent of more than three million tonnes in 2015. The Swiss government’s “Building Programme” has two parts to it. The first subsidises improvements to building insulation. In 2015, subsidies of CHF 179 million encouraged improvements to the insulation of 3.6 […]
Could peak travel surcharges become reality in Switzerland?
20 Minutes. Bern would like to discourage travel at peak times. One option under consideration is charging extra for travel at peak times. According to official figures, there were around 4.3 million commuters in Switzerland in 2014, a little over half the population. Many travelling at peak times suffer from crowded trains or traffic jams. In […]
The new Swiss trains with WiFi
At some point between now and 2019, travellers on some Swiss trains will be able to connect to WiFi. The WiFi equipment will be installed in trains used for two routes. The new Giruno trains linking Zurich, and nearby cities, to Italy via the new Gotthard tunnel, and the former Cisalpino trains linking Geneva to Italy […]
Driverless buses let loose on the streets of Swiss Alpine town
The “SmartShuttle” is Switzerland’s first driverless bus. It’s running on an experimental basis through the narrow streets of the old town of Sion, the capital of The Valais. I took a ride on Wednesday. The bus has the same appeal as the old Volkswagen Beetle: ugly as hell but so practical. PostAuto’s yellow and white […]
Traffic jams cost Switzerland 1.6 billion francs a year
The Swiss government has calculated that traffic congestion costs the country CHF 1.6 billion annually. The report, published on 23 June 2016, shows that traffic congestion costs the country CHF 1.6 billion annually (2010) in lost time, wasted fuel, environmental damage and accidents. And these costs continue to rise. The cost of time lost in […]
Heatwave warning in Switzerland
20 Minuten. The weather website MeteoNews warns of a heatwave in Switzerland. After a more or less non-existent summer in Switzerland so far this year, temperatures have shot up. Many parts of the country are experiencing temperatures above 30 degrees today. MeteoNews has issued heatwave warnings for Switzerland’s central plateau, the Basel and Rhone regions, […]
Swiss solar plane arrives in Spain after 71-hour Atlantic crossing
Both plane and pilot are well. After a 71-hour 8-minute (three days and three nights) flight, the Swiss designed 100% solar powered aircraft and its lone pilot, Bertrand Piccard, touched down at Seville Airport in Spain at 7:38am local time. The total flight distance across the Atlantic from NYC was 6,765 km. Solar Impulse 2 has now […]
