This is how it was in the smoking compartment Smoking was banned on SBB trains 20 years ago
Legs up, beer and then a smoke: A cigar on the train, as here in 2003 on the Schuepfheim-Konolfingen line, is unthinkable today.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Smoking on the train as a lifestyle: in the padded 3rd class coaches of the SBB, people smoked in suits, as here in 1951.
Image: KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Str
In the wild 70s, smoke was a must in the compartment: Two train passengers in an SBB smoking compartment at Zurich main station, taken on February 19, 1976.
Image: KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Str
Recruits in the smoking compartment of a train in 2003.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
There was still no problem with beer and a cigarette in the noughties, as long as you were in the smoking compartment.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Smoking on the train became increasingly unpopular over the years.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Enjoying the smoke to the full once again: Shortly before SBB banned smoking in 2005.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Rare symbol: years before the smoking ban, the number of smoking compartments on SBB trains was reduced.
Image: KEYSTONE/Peter Gerber
It wasn't just normal cigarettes that filled the compartments: a young person smokes a joint on a train journey.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Legs up, beer and then a smoke: A cigar on the train, as here in 2003 on the Schuepfheim-Konolfingen line, is unthinkable today.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Smoking on the train as a lifestyle: in the padded 3rd class coaches of the SBB, people smoked in suits, as here in 1951.
Image: KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Str
In the wild 70s, smoke was a must in the compartment: Two train passengers in an SBB smoking compartment at Zurich main station, taken on February 19, 1976.
Image: KEYSTONE/PHOTOPRESS-ARCHIV/Str
Recruits in the smoking compartment of a train in 2003.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
There was still no problem with beer and a cigarette in the noughties, as long as you were in the smoking compartment.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Smoking on the train became increasingly unpopular over the years.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Enjoying the smoke to the full once again: Shortly before SBB banned smoking in 2005.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
Rare symbol: years before the smoking ban, the number of smoking compartments on SBB trains was reduced.
Image: KEYSTONE/Peter Gerber
It wasn't just normal cigarettes that filled the compartments: a young person smokes a joint on a train journey.
Image: KEYSTONE/Martin Ruetschi
It was exactly 20 years ago that smoking came to an end: Smoking on SBB trains was banned in December 2005. Protests followed, but not the great revolt. It was the end of an era, as evidenced by nostalgic images.
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- 20 years ago, on December 11, 2005, smoking was allowed on SBB trains for the last time.
- The abolition of smoking compartments led to protests at the time, but a smokers' revolt failed to materialize.
- What remains are memories and nostalgic images.
Anyone who regularly traveled by train over two decades ago will have experienced them, and above all smelled them: Smoking compartments were a natural part of train travel in a way that seems hard to imagine today. Folding tables with recessed ashtrays and cigarette sales on the train included.
Exactly 20 years ago, that was all over: the last cigarettes in the compartment had to be stubbed out and smoking on SBB trains was banned from then on. Anyone who did not comply had to pay a fine of 25 francs. The smoking ban, which came into force in December 2005, marked the end of a decades-long era on Swiss railroads. Today, only memories and nostalgic images remain.
When the smoking compartments were to be abolished, the excitement was correspondingly great. For some, the smoke-free train was seen as an attack on personal freedom and cherished rituals. Numerous complaints were received, and it was not uncommon for people to threaten to switch to a car. There were even resignations from the passenger organization Pro Bahn because the association had publicly supported the ban.
No major revolt
On the other hand, many smokers already preferred to sit in non-smoking compartments. The smoke in the compartment, even the cold smoke, could take your breath away. Most recently, the occupancy rate in the smoking compartments was only 25 percent. The mood seemed to have changed even before the ban. In 2000, SBB had already reduced the number of smoking seats per train from half to just a fifth of all seats.
The great revolt that once occurred in the 1990s when an attempt was made to ban smoking on suburban trains did not happen 20 years ago. Just one day after the ban came into force, SBB reported that the changeover had been met with great understanding overall. Only in a few cases were there problems - especially on early morning connections where young people were on their way home after a long night out.
After closed areas such as ticket halls, waiting rooms and covered platform areas with little air circulation were also included in 2005, the smoking ban at stations and on platforms followed in 2019. Since then, smoking has only been permitted in certain areas. Even if some passengers still do not comply.
