The Swiss Federal Railways has massively increased video surveillance in trains and at stations in recent years with around 25,000 cameras in operation nationwide.
Since 2015 alone, the state-run company has installed 10,000 additional surveillance cameras, according to a report in the German-language paper SonntagsBlick, which was confirmed by a railway spokesperson to Keystone-SDA on Sunday. In total, the Federal Railways trains are currently equipped with 22,300 cameras and another 2,400 cameras are in operation at train stations and other infrastructure.
The Federal Railways have had to fend off criticism in the last few weeks after reports that the railway group was planning to install cameras with facial recognition to analyse commuter behaviour. The company defended the cameras saying that the new “customer frequency measurement system” wouldn’t record personal data and that no facial recognition was planned.
Video surveillance has increased in the federal public transport system, following a trend at other transport companies including in German and in select Swiss cities, writes SonntagsBlick. The railway company says that part of the reason for the increase is the expansion of rail service and that video cameras are a requirement for new trains.
“Video surveillance is part of our security concept. This is an important element for us in order to be able to further increase the safety standards on trains for our employees and customers,” a company spokesperson told SonntagsBlick.
Video images help in the case of an attack on train controllers and can speed up the response to emergencies. Last year, public prosecutors requested video images from the Federal Railways on average 200 times per month, writes SonntagsBlick.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
Magnitsky case: How Switzerland failed to investigate Russian millions
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Swiss police identify storm victim found in canton Ticino
This content was published on
The latest casualty is a 67-year-old Swiss citizen, bringing the confirmed death toll from last weekend's severe storms in Switzerland to six.
Europe’s Ariane-6 rocket set to launch into space with Swiss collaboration
This content was published on
Switzerland is one of the 13 countries participating in the Ariane-6 programme, contributing 2.4% of the total project cost.
Severe storms: over 140 unable to go home in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
In southern Switzerland some buildings have become uninhabitable following the storms. A total of 141 residents are unable to return to their homes.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
How to behave on a Swiss train
This content was published on
Jump on, ride to your stop, hop off — without offending anybody. Sounds easy, but it’s not, warns a guru of Swiss transport etiquette.
Digitalisation and surveillance at work: is your boss spying on you?
This content was published on
The increasing use of employee surveillance technology is causing concern in Switzerland, where the legal system is not set up to deal with it.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.