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At the Tracks: Photographer documents life on public transport in Switzerland

When we think of Switzerland, what immediately springs to mind are beautiful green mountains and snow-capped peaks, Swiss chocolate, CERN and world-class watches.

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All images by and courtesy of Markus Fischer

All images by and courtesy of Markus Fischer

But one thing you might not consider is its dense network of public transport, totalling 24,500 kilometres and comprising of more than 26,000 stations and stops.

In his series At the Tracks, Swiss photographer and designer Markus Fischer wanted to highlight this little-known fact by photographing people using trains, buses and trams as part of their everyday lives.

Raw and monochrome, his images show a part of his home country that we don't normally imagine: far away from the ideal picture-postcard scenery that we've come to expect – instead, highlighting Switzerland's huge reliance on public transport.

Through this insightful series, we can enjoy a different perspective of the Swiss, who are up there with the Japanese when it comes to how much they use public transport to get around. He explained: "I wanted to show this side to my home country and offer a glimpse into what life is like here."

Make sure you visit Fischer's Flickr Page to enjoy more of At the Tracks. Or follow him on Instagram.

Overhead view of several people walking across a tram or train platform marked with a bicycle symbol, cast in shadow in monochrome
Crowded interior of a Swiss train with passengers of varying ages standing and sitting, captured in black and white
Monochrome street scene at night showing pedestrians on a pavement beside a tram, with illuminated buildings and shop windows in the background
Silhouetted figure holding an umbrella walking across wet tram tracks in the rain on a Swiss street
Silhouetted figure descending concrete steps beneath an underpass, with a modernist building facade visible in bright sunlight beyond
Black and white photograph of a train station platform with several passengers waiting, some standing and others seated on a bench along the wall
Silhouetted commuters wait at an illuminated shop front on a dimly lit street at night, with a cyclist passing by in the foreground
Black and white photograph of commuters on a modern train platform, with passengers waiting and walking beneath distinctive curved architectural elements
Silhouetted figure in dark clothing walking through a concrete underground station corridor with stairs and directional signage visible
Figure in dark coat descending a metal escalator against a striped wall in black and white
Black and white photograph taken from a subway platform looking down at multiple railway tracks and platforms stretching into the distance under artificial lighting
A blurred train pulls into an illuminated railway platform at night, with overhead cables and station infrastructure visible in the monochrome scene
Three passengers sitting on a train viewed through the window in black and white, from photographer Markus Fischer's series documenting Swiss public transport
A woman in a dark coat and scarf stands in a modern train station, looking down at something in her hands, with other passengers visible in the background
A lone figure stands on an empty railway platform beneath a covered structure, with metal railings and industrial architecture visible in the monochrome composition
Two men in winter coats move through a modern train station corridor, one carrying a bicycle, in a black and white photograph from Markus Fischer's At the Tracks series
A man in a dark puffer jacket and cap stands among other passengers on a busy train platform, captured in black and white
Two people sit at opposite ends of a bench in a minimalist station interior with white panelled walls and dark flooring
A woman and child sit together on a bus window seat in this black and white photograph from Markus Fischer's At the Tracks series
Young boy gazing out of a train window at the passing Swiss landscape in black and white
Three people walking through a brick-lined underground tunnel with arched ceiling, captured in black and white
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