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Only in Switzerland: Cow taken on train ride

Cows are important to the Swiss. But rail passengers in St Gallen took the obsession a step further by taking a cow on a commuter train.

Published: 27 February 2023 16:39 CET
Cows in Switzerland.
Cows in Switzerland. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

The cow, whose name hasn’t been released yet, was taken on a Thurbo train in St Gallen on Sunday evening. 

Passengers watched in astonishment as a group of men took the animal on the train, bringing with them provisions including a bucket of straw. 

The cow was taken on at St. Fiden, and alighted at Muolen, reported FM1 Today. 

The clips below shows the cow riding the train. 

Thurbo media spokesman Christian Baumgartner said they were aware of the four-legged passenger when the group boarded the train. 

 
 
 
 
 
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Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Swiss police told FM1 that they were informed about the cow, but were advised not to intervene. 

Baumgartner praised the “optimally quipped” travel group, as the men also had brooms and buckets with them in case the animal turned out not to be house-trained.

“We hope at least that there was a valid ticket,” Baumgartner told FM1 Today.

The transport of animals of this size is not permitted on Swiss public transport, but Baumgartner said that “mercy will be shown”. He said he hoped the cow “was able to enjoy the ride on our train”.

READ ALSO: Why are cows so important in Switzerland?

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OFFBEAT

MP up in arms over Swiss military’s choice of wine

Switzerland’s military is facing financial woes— its coffers are short of 1 billion francs to fund new arms purchases. But according to one MP, the army has a more pressing problem right now.

Published: 17 April 2024 15:44 CEST
MP up in arms over Swiss military’s choice of wine

On March 30th, a disturbing scene happened at the military base in Thun, in canton Bern.

At a ceremony to which soldiers’ families were invited, Italian wine was served to the guests.

This faux-pas may have remained under wraps and kept as a military secret if it weren’t for the vigilance of one member of the parliament.

But this incident was not lost on MP Yvan Pahud, who, as a member of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, is principally highly critical of any kind of international influence in Switzerland’s internal affairs — be it the country’s ties with the European Union or, in this particular case, foreign wine.

Therefore, as the National Council’s deputies debated various matters of national importance during a special session on April 15th, Pahud brought up the issue of foreign alcoholic beverages served by the army.

He argued that parents and guests who attended the event “were outraged that our Swiss army was promoting foreign wine, when  our country has its own winegrowers.”

The MPs remained neutral on this issue, and the Defence Department has yet to address this hot-button topic.

It is not known if at least some concessions to ‘Swissness’ were made at the event — that is, whether the bottles of Italian wine were uncorked with Swiss army knives.

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