Not a trace of social distancing

The mountain railways and the cable cars in Switzerland were literally stormed at the weekend. Trips to Zug’s local mountain were also in  demand on Saturday

It doesn’t fit into the picture: although the whole country is again reduced to a minimum of activity order to reduce the number of corona cases, restaurants have long since been closed and the lights in the shops will remain off until at least the end of February, people are queuing at the Schönegg valley station of the Zugerberg mountain railway. Almost packed together. Social distances were not being observed, and masks rarely covered the faces of those waiting. A local resident reported that there was a crowd there all day, with the queue sometimes reaching the parking areas.

So much snow hasn't fallen for a long time, so it was understandable that there are many sledgers on the Zugerberg. And this doesn’t particularly bother the local resident. The nonchalance of those waiting, however, astonished him, and he appealed to self-responsibility and to the authorities. Reproachfully. "But the problem really goes back to the responsible politicians and authorities, who allow such a patchwork of prohibitions and exceptions in the first place." He finds queues, like those last weekend, risky – and he’s not alone: as can be heard, many residents are disturbed by the queue at Schönegg.

The operator has a different view of things
The Zugerland Transport Authority (ZVB) operates the Zugerberg mountain railway. In contrast to many other cable cars in Switzerland, the funicular to the Zugerberg does not exclusively serve tourists, but also has a connection function for the Montana Institute and other residents who live on the Zugerberg. The media spokeswoman of the ZVB, Karin Fröhlich, assures that "the Zugerberg mountain railway is also subject to the public transport protection concept". As the ZVB spokeswoman also points out, "we have taken protective measures against Corona at the Schönegg valley station that go well beyond the public transport protection concept." In addition, Fröhlich mentions the palisade fences in the valley station, which serve to steer the customers. Mobile ticket sales outlets are also in use in the open air.

A queue formed around the valley station of the Zugerberg mountain railway
Reader's photo

The police were briefly present in the Schönegg on Saturday
It’s well known that the equipment of winter sports enthusiasts is more bulky than that of hikers. As a result, only around 60 people can be transported per ascent, which lasts six minutes. There are expected to be around 80 people at a time during summer operation,. The ZVB media spokeswoman Karin Fröhlich also didn’t forget to mention that the sledgers had ensured busy conditions at the railway last Sunday. The toboggan run prepared by the city of Zug is only open until 7 p.m., however. The Zugerland transport company is not supporting evening sledging and the sledge rental. The ZVB also advises people time and again to plan their trips to the Zugerberg carefully, and to switch to marginal times where possible. Additional staff were also present on site last weekend, and the Zug police confirm that they deployed to the Zugerberg mountain railway valley station on Saturday evening. But there was nothing illegal  going on, according to Judith Aklin, communications officer of the Zug Police.

In principle, the Zugerberg mountain railway runs without staff on site from 7 p.m. onwards. There is an automatic load measurement to ensure that the funicular is not overloaded when running in this mode.

Use a detour to avoid the overcrowded bus r and stay healthy
The problem of bus journeys, which are very full in the morning and evening, is somewhat more nuanced. Karin Fröhlich from the ZVB says: "In principle, the public transport protection concept also applies to these connections." The canton is thereby the customer, while the ZVB is the transport company that provides the transport.

"Student flows vary greatly depending on the day of the week and the time of day," says the ZVB spokeswoman in this context. Efforts are made to "coordinate the timetables or the flow of pupils from the individual municipalities and the transport capacities as well as possible". One option, for example, is to start the school day in stages. With regard to the well-frequented direct connection from the Ägeri valley in the direction of Menzingen, there is also a detour via the Talacher. ZVB spokeswoman Karin Fröhlich also mentions another approach: "With the tougher measures taken by the federal government, the number of commuters will continue to decrease and thereby also the frequencies on the lines of the ZVB."

The upcoming sports holidays could also reduce the crowds over a certain period of time.