how does Rick handle station names?

SBB sometimes puts it in caps to clarify the difference between Ost & West, but it really doesn't matter, Ost and OST are the same thing.

People who write it that way probably just don’t know what it means, thinking it stands for something.

Hi Nigel. The names in the 2023 guidebook are Ost and West, not all caps.

OST is Ost, and WEST is West, and never the twain shall meet, at least until Saturday when the rail line repairs are complete.

Its Ost, and it is West, and to pick a nit: Neither are SBB stations...

When the railway was build Interlaken didn't even exist yet. It was originally a portage railway running from Darligen to Bönigen, connecting the two lakes. The story goes that they build it so that it crossed the Aare twice to preempt the possibility that it would ever be possible for ships to go between the two lakes and steal their business. The railway actually still goes to Bönigen, but all that is there is the BLS workshops.

There was in the early 19th century a project to replace those two stations with a central station, that would have been build where the Casino is now. But that never materialised.

As to the name "Interlaken": That is actually a made up name, because British tourists couldn't pronounce Aarmühle...

Actually emphasis would be a good thing in this case because a lot of visitors coming in on the mainline will need connections at Ost but will see the other one first.

And Google Maps has DB logos on both, oh dear.......

Actually emphasis would be a good thing

True enough, although it only makes sense if someone is giving directions/advice. “Don’t get off at Interlaken West, but continue on to Interlaken OST”, although I would tend to just use Ost, not OST. No need to yell, as if you have already told them this information a hundred times and they are just not getting it.

SBB does not write it this way, neither does BLS, you can easily verify this by looking at their websites/apps. It’s just a tourist thing. I have also seen people write ‘InterlakenOST’, all one word and 'Interlaken Öst,’ with an umlaut. :-)

I love it - Mürren never gets an umlaut and Öst does!! wow

Probably thinking of Österreich.

In Switzerland you never put an Umlaut on a capital. Our neighbor to the East is called "Oesterreich".