No, sorry it is not in Vancouver or British Columbia or anywhere else in Canada for that matter. I think it is possibly in Switzerland. They have built an efficient multi-modal transport system centred around the train, but integrated perfectly with buses and lake ferries. The system runs as they say “Like a Swiss watch” and they aren’t exaggerating. The trains arrive on schedule almost all of the time and a delay of more than 2 minutes will be announced. It is truly a pleasure to travel in Switzerland so easily with no hassles. Travel between any two cities in Switzerland is possible every hour or half hour with easy connections between platforms at main hub stations like Geneva, Bern, Zurich and even smaller stations such as Speiz (near Interlaken).
A good way to visit Switzerland is with an 8 day (or less) Swiss Pass which allows unlimited travel with inter-city railways, buses, ferries, and urban transport systems of even smaller cities.
Comparing a country with a first-world transport system in a country like Switzerland or Germany, with the under-developed transport system of Canada is unfair. It is order of magnitudes better in Europe; however it is good to know what is out there, so we can aspire to improve things at home.
For more information about Switzerland:
- Swiss Railways SBB/CFF/FFS
- Swiss Pass: Switzerland by train, bus and boat
- Rail Transport System of Switzerland (Wikipedia)
