AI translation
SBB stays on track with customised AI translation from Supertext on board
KEY FIGURES
Tailored AI translation solution developed for DE, FR, IT and EN
Focus on specialist railway terminology and other company-specific characteristics
Successfully implemented in the core processes of the SBB language services department – directly in the CAT tool and in various third-party systems via API
Seamless replacement of the existing self-service AI translation solution by providing all SBB employees with a trained translation engine
SITUATION
Translation technology put to the test – rigorously and systematically
With 35,000 employees and 1.39 million travellers per day, SBB has a lot of content to communicate. Every day, it translates a wide range of webpages back and forth between German, French, Italian and English. Modern translation technology plays an essential part in handling this constantly growing volume efficiently while ensuring high quality. However, many common online tools reach their limits when they face Swiss language variants and complex railway vocabulary.
That’s why SBB required a customised AI solution – with the overarching aim of optimising translation efficiency in the language services department while at the same time providing employees with a tool capable of generating high-quality AI translations that incorporate SBB’s corporate language.
AIM
Top language quality for everyone – thanks to historical data and state-of-the-art technology
Introducing new software isn’t a simple matter – especially if you already have a high baseline. In order to convince everyone of the facts, a blind comparison was carried out between Supertext’s customised AI translation models and the existing, untrained model. SBB language professionals worked on translations from both models (untrained vs. trained) without knowing which translation came from which tool.
SOLUTION
Trained with specialist translations – rolled out for in-house language professionals and staff
Around 600,000 segments per language combination were available for the initial training of the AI solution. By drawing on these existing professional translations, the AI translation solution is able to accurately and consistently reproduce specialist knowledge, regional language idiosyncrasies and company-specific conventions.
This was also reflected in the evaluation, as the amount of effort required for post-editing was measurably lower. This is why SBB has been relying fully on Supertext’s customised AI translation solution since spring 2025.
“Supertext’s customised AI translation solution allows us to make even better use of our high-quality, verified translation data, enabling shorter delivery times for professional translations and better self-service quality.”
Claudia Neuhaus
Head of SBB Language Services Department
