Luggage Theft on Train (In Switzerland? Why I never!!))

Complaints Corner
1
Just wanted to give everyone a bit of a heads up given my nasty experience travelling the Lausanne - Zurich line with the SBB.

The missus and I had placed our luggage in the storage area of the train when making the trip from Lausanne to Zurich yesterday evening. We'd been sitting some distance from the bags, but we're keeping an eye on it occasionally.

At the Solothurn train station I happened to have caught sight of a lady casually picking my suitcase and getting off the train with it. I ran her down, and asked her what she was doing taking my bag (idiotically I asked in French having spent the last few days in Lausanne ), she responded by saying it was hers (in broken German). Not likely, given that my lock and name tag were hanging from the suitcase, and all the luggage in the storage area belonged to us.

I was unable to stick around and get the police involved, having left my laptop, wallet, cellphone, and most importantly, wife, on the train. I had to snatch my bag and hop back on the train, but did call the rail-police and left a description of the woman with them. I thought I'd do likewise here so people are wary. Here's a description of the thief:

Asian Woman (looked Thai, but I can't be sure)

Age (Late 20s early 30s)

Height around 5ft 10inches (178 cm)

Black Hair reaching down to her shoulder blades (in a Pony Tail)

Wide Eyed

Freckled Cheeks

Medium bust, slim waist, full bottomed

Was Dressed in skinny jeans, trainers, and shiny tight black jacket.

I'm not so sure how much this helps anyone, but we're really upset that she nearly got away with theft and got nothing but a slap on the wrist (probably could've handled that better). We're also quite disturbed that our illusions of a safe and tranquil Switzerland have been shattered.

2
Good on you!

Wow! Them Africans are now disguised as Thais.

3
That's a tragedy, but other's illusions have been shattered much more brutally.

So consider yourself lucky.

Petty-theft on trains and in train-stations has been increasing at an alarming rate - and SBB themselves admit (in 20min) that they can do nothing about it.

To me, that sounded like a "Be welcome" to even more thieves...

4
You should have brocken her nose and called the cop to pick her up in the local hospital The canadian in me

5
Thanks for the heads-up

Btw, don't be surprised if your thread gets attached to the other one on thefts in trains - I started one yesterday and it was also attached to the long other thread.

Sorry, I don't get it. Where is she talking about Africans?

6

7
Rhetorical question alert.

Really? Aren't African asylum seekers to blame for everything.

8
Ah. Thanks for the explanation.

9
what about those security guards I see in train stations?

10
No, too brutal. They should have Thai'd her up and waited for the Police.

When we've got a lot of luggage on the train (and I know I'm probably going to be distracted due to our children), I lock all the luggage together with a bike lock and loop it around the frame of the luggage area.

11
Well, they do catch a thieve then and now.

It happens so "often" that you can read in 20min about it.

Catching fare-dodgers is far more rewarding - and a much lower hanging fruit.

12
Oh dear god I'm still trying to forget my experience on the Indian railways...

It went something like this:

Second class (in a 3 class system, where 4th class is riding on top)

14 hour train ride + train is late

Reserved sleeper car seating -- which doesn't mean anything.

Take a nap, and wake up with a whole family of 12 in your 4 person cabin having dinner together. They offer some Daal. Yum.

Take another nap, only to wake up with 3 other people in your bed.

Check on the suitcase frequently

13
Yeah, everything happened in a period of a minute or two. I think back now at all the things I should've done and it still annoys me.

I think that, more than the idea of a safe Switzerland getting chucked out the window, I'm really annoyed that it was a 'non-local' who did it. I partly grew up in Africa and I'm happy to reside somewhere the state will support you if you're unable to do so yourself. I just can't wrap my head why someone would need to steal here, unless they're here illegally or are kleptomaniacs. I'm even more ticked off that it contributes to the stereotype of the 'untrustworthy foreigner', we get enough stick as it is.

14
comparing to other places , switzerland has a low risk line when it comes to stealing, but still you got some crazy incidents like that. im glad it didnot go worse than that.

15
Those "storage areas" are rubbish. I have it with the slogan of ZRH airport "Never leave your luggage unattended".

16
As I frequently fly in and out of Zurich, I have seen this happen more than once on the train from Zurich Flughafen to Bern.

During the stop in Zurich HB I watch my suitcase like a hawk, but I have seen the dismayed travellers after they find that their bags are gone.

17
Glad to hear that you got your bag back, with no big hassle - but it is a good alert to other people, to keep an eye on your gear! You can also slide most reasonably-sized suitcases and backpacks into the space on the floor between the backs of the seats as well, which I recommend - but in the space opposite you (so you can see it, rather than having it behind your back).

I quite enjoyed my trips on Indian railways ... even the 24-hour trip from Coimbatore up north. Of course, my backpack was both chained to the seat and used as a pillow, while all of my other stuff was in the bottom of my sleeping bag ... and I was in a group which took up a bit of space. Neighbouring group were on their way to a wedding, shared some lovely biryani (although they were careful to reserve the 20-litre jerry cans of "holy water" for the wedding itself, and not drink it on the way). I also liked the guys coming onto the trains with stainless-steel buckets full of fresh samosas, 6 for five rupee ... and even then I think they were ripping off the rich tourists ... but they tasted so good ...

18
Thanks for the heads up....I live in Solothurn, and often only travel with hand luggage when going to/from the airport, but sometimes if I have a big case, I have often put it in the luggage bit and forgotten about it until I get off the train so good to know. Thanks for letting us know. (saying that my suitcase is lime green, florescent lime green, so if anyone tried to make off with it, I'm quite sure I would see it a mile away, but still!)