Swiss Railways' biggest train FAILURE! Is the Twindexx Express really so bad? 

The interior actually looks really spacious compared to what I've seen on other double-deck units!

i rode this train twice, and the first time, I had a 30 minute delay while the train restarted multiple times. the ride was decent, though I would prefer the IC2000 / IC2020 which are very similar

The best to do in these Twindexx ist to go to the onboard Restaurant. It's actually one of the nicer ones on Swiss IC trains. The train ride is still not quite as smooth as on other Swiss IR / IC trains, but SBB stresses the point that by now they are actually more reliable than most other models. So yes, they are a bit of a mixed blessing: Their advantages are level boarding, easy access via wide doors, high capacity, the good restaurant. Their disadvantages: more shaky, relatively small windows and average seating quality. They are definitely not the new flagship. There's no real flagship train with SBB, which in a way makes it rather typically Swiss, as nothing is really permitted to stand out...

I took this train last year & I find quite comfortable for it does. definitely not as bad as what others think

Active tilt on a bilevel seems like a challenge, so I'm not entirely surprised that it proved problematic. Without the active tilt, it seems to have no benefit over, say, a Stadler KISS trainset.

Did someone say "railway geek"? OK then. 8.09 - that's a Merseyrail Class 777, destined for Liverpool's DC network.

Sorry to the naj-sayers, but this Twindexx Express is a fantastic train design. It is the only double decker with an all walk-through upper deck providing a much better space utilization than other train sets of its kind with their annoying middle-decks at car ends. The space is cleverly used for children playgrounds, flex zones and restaurants (in plural!) - apart from the seats, which could be more comfy - I agree. Due to the superior staircase design and the full-car-length upper floor this train also is much brighter - it has more windows than, say, the KISS. It's a pity that the WAKO-system didn't work as it should, but the space this system occupies at the bottom of the train might be used for even better passenger comfort in a future version of this innovative design :) I finally got a chance to ride it this summer - around the date of the publication of the video - and it only amazed me even more. The children loved it too :)

Bombardier were one of the pioneers in tilting trains but did no-one there read any of the FIAT or JR Shikoku documentation about the importance of aligning the roll centre with the waistline of a standing passenger in order to minimise nausea?🙄

It's not Swiss railways' mistake, It's Bombardier's fault.

Swiss trains are good, but not perfect! In 2001 the train WC in Basel was a bit dirty!😢

Enjoy your videos. I rode the Twindess Express trains when I was in Switzerland back in April from Lausanne to Bern and from Bern to Zurich. Fortunately, I was riding in 1st class since 2nd class on the first train was almost standing room only. While they are not the most comfortable trains in the world, I did not have a problem with them on the trips I took, but then again, I was riding in 1st class. However, with their one benefit permanently disabled, they have no advantage over the Stadler KISS trains, which would have probably been the better option in the long run.

This train has virtually no space for luggages (in particular for the large bags that can't be stored between seats). The space for the bicycles is forbidden for bags and there are not really many other options (yes, I have considered the space on the 1st floor above the stairs, good luck bringing the bags upstairs). That's bad considering that this train runs on the IC1 line with stops at Geneva airport and Zurich airport.

I actually think these trains still recieve far to much stick. The seats are not the best, but these days I feel truly greate train seats are next to inexistent anyways. Otherwise the only thing I could criticise is maybe the a little rough ride when braking or on switches and the fact that the train lacks storagespace for luggage, but thats mainly an tradeof because of the two decks. The biggest problem in my oppinion is the passive tilting system that does not work but would have been extremely important for reaching the connection stations in time. That is really what ruins this train a little. Otherwise I think the critic these trains recieve is far to much. They are really not that bad. The ride quality with the tilting on was abysmal, but now its deactivated, its fine and the train is relatively descent. It just ruins the timetable concept and that is the main issue.

Inbetween SBB has decided to adapt the boogies and remove the "WAKO" in one unit as a test. If this test is succesfull, they will adapt the whole fleet. So there is hope, that this trains become as smooth as other EMU...

Since they disabled the tilting feature (or the puk-o-matic as I like to call it) we‘re left with a pretty mediocre and cramped train. It‘s alright and gets you where you need to go but it just feels like a downgrade compared to the older generations of trains here in Switzerland. What‘s especially poor is the play area for kids: On the old trains the play area in the family carriage was really nice and offered a spacious play area for the kids in the middle with seating for the adults/parents at the front and rear of the carriage. On the Twindexx the play area is much smaller and offers fewer attractions for the kids and the seats consist of a long bench on either side of the carriage without any proper tables. So the kids are running around right infront of your feet and stumbling onto people’s laps during play. When my two kids were younger they always started crying from disappointment as soon as they realised we were on a Twindexx with the shite playground. I guess that‘s what you get when trains are designed by people that have a nanny to take care of their kids and/or drive an expensive car instead of travelling with a family on their own trains… ;-)

The train seems to be rather quiet

I‘ve actually been wondering if you will ever do a Review on the new SBB Giruno Trains.

This train is much nicer than anything Amtrak is running in USA. Our Acela Express also had faulty problematic system that was disengaged soon after launch in 2000.

great video! btw will you have a video on the stadler smile

Great video, my friend. I enjoy following your trip on Google Maps, pausing the video to look up where you are on the map. Hello from Australia :)

Btw you can befined forboarding the train in first class with a second class ticket.

I rode this train Twice in March during my visit to Switzerland. Its a large train and impressive to look at, but indeed the interiors left alot to be desired. The seats have a cheap feel to them and were quite narrow along with the cabin being cramped in general(especially on the upper deck). The aesthetics of the seats and the plastic used did not really impress me. The lack of tilting ability definitely was something i was not aware of, would be interesting to know how much travel time could have been improved if the tilting technology was able to be used properly

i cant really give an decent opinion on the twindexx since when i used it it was after sleeping seated on a night train from vienna to bregenz, then took the EC from there to zürich, and finally the twindexx to Geneva. The problem was since i really didnt sleep well, i was exhausted by the time i got in the last train and for a while i couldnt find a seat. Also being an introvert myself i found it surprising that there were mostly only 4 seat bays facing eachother, which i respect in a regional train but raised my brows. Also a personal comment on the seats, i know that in switzerland people mostly do short trips on trains, for for those longer journeys i wouldve expected more comfortable seats, also when talking about the headrest and reclinability. In the end i wend up and down at least 6 times trying to find a seat in an overbooked train (i found in the upper deck) but it really felt like going throught a maze hahaha. About the experience in the upper deck, i dont experience any rattling out of the ordinary and would take it again. (maybe a flexible ticket so to avoid finding a seat haha)

I'm not surprised...

Nicely presented video.

Thank you. Good video but I wanted to see food service car.

De tog er en national skændsel. Stadler-fabrikken ligger praktisk talt i min baghave lige uden for St. Gallen. Med respekt for Bombardier for deres gode produkter, var det en alvorlig fejl ikke at købe lokalt.

Great video, Simon! I personally hate those trains. For the kind of prices to travel in Switzerland the seats and overall comfort of these trains is just not good enough, especially compared to more modern rolling stock like the Giruno or Traverso.

I think these trains aren’t the best in the fleet. The IC2000 are better but SBB has ruined the IC2000 with their upgrade it’s now almost worse than the Twindexx. The Twindexx is the best train that SBB received in the last decade it is unfair to say they are bad all 3 new Stadler trains are worse the 501 Giruno, 512 Dosto and the 523. I have absolutely no idea why the Giruno gets good reviews it is absolutely terrible way worse than the Twindexx.

It is actually written as Chur but pronounced as Koor

How do you fix your camera at the window?

Is this the same type of train they run as a fast non stopping service from Lausanne to Geneva?

Was the ride quality smooth and quiet?

We got trudeaud

You were told before: Bombardier has screwed up.

This is a major industrial accident. 30 years with this train, which has zero comfort, since it is not stable, especially at switches.