You know the scenario.

You get on the train, take off your jacket and make yourself comfortable for a 3-hour journey. When you're about to sit down you realize somebody apparently crushed their biscuit on the seat.

You reach out to open the foldable table and get something sticky all over your fingers.

Just before the train leaves, somebody come along with their chinese takeaway, gets down at the next stop, quickly stuffs the remains into the small pull-out rubbish box, and walks off leaving the strong smell hanging in the stuffy train compartment.

Next stop: A group of pimply teenagers decide to have their McDonalds takeaway on the train, and perhaps play some poorly selected music out loud on their mobile phone (perhaps to help them digest their food). They don't even bother putting the rubbish into the bin and get down at the next stop.

By the time you reach your destination you're gagging for fresh air and despite not having eaten for hours, you've lost your appetite.

The question is:

Should food be banned from trains?

No, messy and inconsiderate people should be banned from trains.

No.

iiiiiiiiii

No .

The banning of food ( and beverages ) would be too harsh. Many commute over great distances and simply do not have the luxury of time to eat-in at the shop or home, rather are forced to consume enroute.

There is a lot of room for improvement where RailClean ( the company contracted to clean and maintain the wagons ) is concerned. SBB being richer and richer, ought to pay more and/or exert better supervisory checks and control to ensure more resources are there to efficiently clean up the wagons, as well as do a much better job - some cleaners were observed to be way too lazy.

Write a complaint to SBB perhaps ? It is already mentioned many times by GA holders in the private forum on SBB.CH

Imagine the stakeholders being affected:

The sick who need their food and drinks
The workers having lesser work to do, perhaps even jobless
SBB Catering might have to shutdown if the ban applies across the board to all food and beverages
Lesser passengers likely to use the railway owing to restrictions or inflexible application of policies and rules
End of the RailBar ( there is one African guy who has never failed to brighten up my day, who pauses to engage in a brief conversation even though I'm not keen in paying higher prices than my packed Coop Aktion items )
Imagine the Bernina Express and Glacier Express without F & B
and so on.

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404 – punoɟ ʇou ɹoʇɐɹǝpoɯ

They should ban smelly food like kebabs and McDonalds.

But not KFC or Burger King!

All highly pungent stuff. This guy on the tram regularly eats tuna and onion sandwiches for breakfast, makes me feel like throwing up...

Only if they eat meals with high concentration of garlic and onions or those producing unbelievable amount of flactuance (beans)

Should they also ban cans of Red Bull and Feldschlössen regularly consumed in the 2nd class?

But I do you control that?

I guess as long as people use common sense (and not onions) when getting their food it is OK... I do hate it when I get my fingers sticky though or when I have to clean up after someone inconsiderate in the train...

Yeah ! Ban it...nobody needs to eat on a 3 hour train ride.. and Ban Drinking on a Train as well.. cos that's gross.. and.. er.. and Ban those fat blokes who huff and puff..and have red faces... they're the ones doing all the scoffing....and ban little kids cos they're always running up and down and giggling as well as wolfing down crisps and biscuits and leaving a mess.. and.. oh yes.. Ban Short People getting on trains cos they're always struggling to put their stuff on the racks and you feel obliged to help..well I don't, but some people might.. ban 'em all !!!

Try out a few English trains and you will soon realise how clean the Swiss ones are in comparison.

Blimey, what a rant. Feel better now? Must say I don't like all this 'ban this, ban that' but ... last time we travelled by train, a couple sat next to us and started eating a chinese take-away. I love chinese food - and we were starving- but it was just unpleasant. They left all the mess when they left the train, and yes, we were furious. Common sense and a bit of respect - and perhaps we would be less inclined to ask for bans.

OMG!

The idea of eating tuna and onion sandwiches for breakfast is nauseating enough...

As stated, it isn't practical to ban eating on the train. They *should* take away the rubbish bins and impart a "pack-in, pack-out" mentality.

Ban this, ban that, ban der/die/das .. hmm ..perhaps some have been here in CH too long

Heck even the national airline serves sauerkraut soup on long-haul flights!

That's why they should be renamed to Luft-flatulenca and Swiss-fartair !

Is this forum Englishban.ch? Everyone is obsessed with bans.