At Geneva’s Cornavin Train Station, Business is the Point

The expansion of the Geneva train station is finished (for now). Besides all the shiny new retail temptations, there is a cool tool for you business people who need a slick, convenient, high-tech, place to meet and make your next million: Businesspoint.

SBB/CFF/FFS Businesspoint Geneva offers a reception and open working area, as well as private meeting rooms. Here, reporter Bill Harby is tapping out these very lines inside a "thinkpod":

All areas offer bottled water, coffee and fruit amid sleek furnishings to nurture your Next Big Idea.

Video conferencing, copying and catering are also available. Of course, high-speed WLAN is included throughout.

And of course, these services are not free. If you can make your pitch in an hour, you can talk to clients in the reception area for 20 francs per person. If you need more privacy to seal the deal, meeting rooms range from 78 francs for an hour (up to four people) to 1200 francs for a full day (up to 40 people).

The Businesspoint floorspace also has a quiet, comfortable lounge with refreshments. It is open at no cost to any First Class SBB/CFF/FFS passengers.

German judge Dr. Matthias Doms, who was in Geneva for his studies in art history, said he was impressed with the modern but comfortable décor of the First Class lounge, which is lit with subtle but stunning 360-degree panoramic lamps:

Businesspoint is in Geneva and Bern - for now

The only other SBB/CFF/FFS Businesspoint is at the Bern station, but plans are on the drawing board for Basel and, later, perhaps Lausanne. Why not Zürich?

"To make a Businesspoint, we need two things," says Olivier Fargeon, who oversees the commercial real estate in Geneva. "We need a strong market of potential clients, and we need available space in the train station. We believe we have a market in Basel, Lausanne and Zürich, but it is not easy to find the space to build."

In one of the smaller meeting rooms available, Olivier Fargeon explains the Businesspoint concept to our reporter, Marie-France Robert:

The next time you find yourself in Geneva's bright and shiny renovated station, why not visit Businesspoint (on the first floor) to make a reservation – and perhaps your next million!

More Information

- Businesspoint hours in Geneva are Mo - Fr: 8 AM - 7 PM, Sa: 8 AM - 12 PM
- To reserve a meeting room in Geneva or Bern, go to the Businesspoint Website or call 084 888 88 83.

(We were cordially invited by SBB/CFF/FFS for the purpose of this article.)