Now, dear railway enthusiast, let us show you around Travers station. And to begin with let us focus on its vintage mechanical safety system with its remote signal box.
It was built in 1930 and is one of the very few surviving examples in working order around Suisse Romande or French-speaking Switzerland.
Today this system is still monitoring the railway traffic at this station located on the international mainline connecting Paris to Bern via Pontarlier and Neuchâtel. Moreover the branch line to Fleurier, Buttes and St-Sulpice originates from Travers. The latter is electrified to CFF standards and operated by TRN - former RVT, Regional Val de Travers.
Paris - Bern / Zurich TGVs run through the station daily plus forty or so regional trains jointly operated by CFF and TRN and the odd freight train.
In the summer steam specials from St-Sulpice are frequent weekend visitors and may even ran as far as Noiraigue, the next station down the line to Neuchâtel.
The decline of traditional industry played havoc with the freight traffic. It used to be substantial with the local asphalt mines - now a major tourist attraction- the Dubied sewing machine works at Couvet, the cement works at St-Sulpice and the Schmutz iron wholesale business at Fleurier. All of them now belong to the past and the freight traffic is now too often reduced to the occasional timber wagon.
Most local trains to and from Pontarlier, across the border, have been cancelled too.

Nevertheless the wide range of traffic still running through Travers station is enough to turn it into the favourite spot of many railway enthusiasts. The station really caters for them with such treats as a regularly renewed choice of second hand model trains in the Märklin, Roco, Hag, Fleischmann, Lima, Bemo, Faller ranges plus some Jouef and Piko Swiss outline rarities. Railway postcards, pins, books and videos are also available.
The CFF staff will do their best to answer your queries and make your visit memorable.