I suppose everyone except me already knew this, but just in case...
The change of the SBB Train Timetables in December which altered all our local connections completely threw me.
I told Mr Longbyt my tale of woe and he pointed out that I could download the timetables I need from www.sbb.ch .
Timetable > 'from' and 'to' > 'search connection'. Just above the 'Details Connection 1' there is a link to a 'Timetable Booklet'. Via this link, the required information can be requested and then downloaded onto a PDA.
With a bit of luck, Palm in hand, I shall be able to catch the train to the Cheese Shop again soon...
You can also buy a CD from most train stations for 16 CHF which has a program with all of the timetable info on for the SBB and most of Europe! Install this on your laptop, and you can check the train times anywhere without needing an internet connection. It is also possible to download onto some smart-phones, but I don't know about Palm. Here's a link to more info, they say it runs on Windows, Windows mobile, and Symbian OS.
The CD on the laptop sounds a great idea for businessmen and women. But for trailing spouses?
that is, as long as you own a laptop and have it with you.
I don't, so I haven't.
And when this little old lady goes to visit her even older mother-in-law in Allschwil she wants to get from Allschwil to Basel SBB to catch a fast train home. Three possible routes to the station, each with one change and it isn't always the same route which is fastest. Although one of these three may enable me to get there in time, the other two probably won't. Even standing in an overcrowded tram I can open the Palm and check where I should get out and in which direction I should run when I do so...
Anyway, I presume you don't take your laptop on your bike whereas I can take the Palm and find a convenient train to bring me home if I get tired.
For those who use Yahoo! Widgets (originally known as Konfabulator) there is a desktop widget that gives train timetable information for any given station. It is intended for German and Austrian stations, for which it will mention any delays, but it can show static information for SBB stations, too.
The SBB stopped this service in 2010 but the main part of it (not trams in Zürich or our local bus service unfortunately, but our post-bus seems to be on it). The Info can be downloaded from the German Railway Site .