Switzerland's navy blue half-price and full-year rail passes are as much a part of Swiss wallets as the Cumulus Card for Migros supermarkets, or the yellow PostFinance bank card.
But after years of only cosmetic changes, the Swiss Railways Federation is to launch a new smart rail pass containing an electronic chip.
Dubbed the SwissPass, the red card to be launched on August 1st will replace both the current Half-Fare railcard and the GA (AG) railcard.
Critically, the arrival of the SwissPass will mean pass holders no longer have to obtain a new card every year.