• Zipitydew@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      1·
      8 days ago

      Yeah and those cities exist in that configuration because they’re where the farm land is they grew out of. There are mountains running along the northern and southern borders of the country. Most people live in the valley between.

      It’s like the same as wondering why much of Chicago’s train system runs north/south. There’s a big ass lake to the east stopping expansion that direction.

  • Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
    1·
    8 days ago

    “Main train line” what is that supposed to mean exactly?

    What about Lausanne-Yverdon-Neuchatel-Biel-Solothurn-Olten? What about Basel-Olten-Luzern? What about Zürich-Zug-Bellinzona-Lugano? What about Lausanne-Montreux-Martigny-Sion-Visp-Brig? What about Bern-Thun-Spiez-Visp-Brig? What about Zürich-Pfäffikon-Sargans-Lanquart-Chur?

    Basically just look at this interactive map if you want a fuller picture, or at this PDF if you want to see a reduced view about the long distance lines only.

    And to everyone saying: “Well obviously it follows the valley!” The Mittelland is not some valley, it’s a plateau between the Alps and the Jura mountain ranges and it contains about 30% of our area. Besides, you should know about the longest railway tunnel in the world, the Gotthard Base Tunnel and about the Lötschberg Base Tunnel and about the Simplon Tunnel. The Swiss rail system doesn’t give up because of some mountains in the way.

    • Skunk@jlai.luEnglish
      1·
      8 days ago

      Well, it’s probably the longest one, joining west to east, Leman to Konstanz.

      It’s also the busiest intercity, mostly because of the Bern-Zurich part but still.

      It is named IC1 for a reason, not IC2.

      And not stopping in Olten is another big plus 🤷🏻‍♂️

  • OmegaMouse@pawb.socialEnglish
    1·
    8 days ago

    Isn’t this statement kinda backwards though? Surely the big cities developed along that line due to the natural geography (flat land, near bodies of water and with protection from the mountains) and then once trains first came along, it made sense to connect those cities. It’s not that people happen to live within 5km of the trainline, but that the trainline was built there because that’s where people lived.