Switzerland's Red Trains Are a Copyrighted Color
A Shade That Belongs to a Nation Reading Time: 4 Min. Publication: May 26, 2026, Jonathan Schönholzer Switzerland’s trains are impossible to mistake. That specific red, warm and confident, flashes past meadows, tunnels, and stations from Geneva to St. Gallen . It appears on locomotives, passenger cars, and even the smallest service trolleys. But this is not just any red. It is a protected color, officially registered as SBB Red, with the code RAL 3020 or the HEX-Code #C1121C . The SBB protects this shade as part of its visual identity and trademark strategy. The Swiss Federal Railways, known as SBB CFF FFS , owns this shade like a company owns a logo or a bank owns a building. The color is strongly associated with the Swiss Federal Railways and protected in specific commercial contexts connected to branding and transportation services. The color itself has become a trademark, as legally protected as the famous Swiss ...