Opinion / Ben Rylan
Rail against the machine
Attendees at the World Economic Forum certainly know how to make an entrance: nothing takes the chill off an icy alpine day like touching down on board a private helicopter before sneaking into a waiting black saloon with heated leather seats. But there’s an even better way of travelling to Davos that is (arguably) more comfortable and certainly more efficient: the humble Swiss train.
Switzerland is a global leader when it comes to rail travel. Zürich’s light-rail network is used by everyone from bakers to bankers (as well as this columnist) and, with climate change on the minds of everyone in Davos, its smaller carbon footprint makes it an easy choice. And while the world has been tying itself in knots over the rise of autonomous cars turning our highways into a scene from Blade Runner, the automation of rail has quietly become a reality. “For so long, artificial intelligence was grounded in the idea of things that were going to happen in the future,” says Rahaf Harfoush, a digital anthropologist and author. “People were just not open to how much of that technology was already embedded in the devices, as well as the companies and services, that we use today.”
There’s a good chance that you’ve already stepped on board an autonomous train when using Paris’s Ligne 1, London’s DLR or the monorail at Disneyland; Switzerland recently began testing driverless rail too. But while the benefits might be obvious, there are hidden costs. The popularity of trains isn’t just about ease and efficiency; it’s also a question of trust. Drivers, on-board crew and station staff take pride in their work, which encourages passengers to appreciate the system. Rail operators should always look for ways to improve their services but, as Switzerland’s trains remind us, the experience on board is just as important as the destination.