Some of the biggest names in Swiss rock are going on tour, giving free concerts in railway stations around the country. Stars such as Polo Hofer, Sina and Michael von der Heide are part of the Swiss All Stars Railroad Tour, which begins on Wednesday.

The musicians will be touring in a special 242 metre-long train, and will be performing almost every day until Sunday, September 3. The Railroad Tour is being organised for the second year and is funded by the telecommunications company, Diax.

The first concert will be held at the goods station in the bilingual town of Biel (Bienne in French), on Wednesday. The other events are all in the German-speaking part of the country at stations in Schaffhausen, Thun, Frick, Zug, St Gallen, Altstätten, Chur and Zurich.

Twelve musicians will perform at the concerts, including Polo Hofer and Sina, who sing in the Bernese and Valais dialects respectively. Sina's attempt to conquer the German market with an album of high-German versions of her songs flopped in 1997, but she remains very popular in Switzerland.

Hofer and his Schmetterband are veterans of the Swiss music scene with 10 albums to their credit, nine of which have achieved gold status. Other artists on the Railroad Tour include Michael von der Heide, Kuno Lauener, Hanery Amman, Betty Legler and Sonia from the group Core.

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