24 Heures. After the tragic earthquake in Italy, some are wondering if something similar could happen in Switzerland. Speaking to the newspaper 24 Heures, geologist Raphaël Mayoraz, says “People tend to forget, but our country has already experienced earthquakes of 6 or more.” The Swiss Seismological Service (SED) at ETH Zurich completed ten years of […]
Solar powered tuk tuk stops in Switzerland on its way from India to London
On 21 February 2016, after spending his life’s savings creating a solar powered tuk tuk, 35 year-old electrical engineer, Naveen Rabelli, set off to London from Bangalore, India in his creation, with Austrian film maker Raoul Kopacka. The pair want to prove that being good to the planet is a state of mind and something […]
Get ready for a spectacular night sky light show
20 Minutes. Every year the prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle puts on a light show. The show’s climax occurs at the end of this week at around 1:30 am on Friday morning, when 200 to 300 lights will cross the sky within an hour. The name, Perseides, comes from a term found […]
Swiss solar plane completes 43,000 km round-the-world flight
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 […]
