Popular TGV service to expand fleet
The high-speed TGV rail service between Switzerland and Paris is to be expanded due to growing demand on the Zurich-Basel-Paris line.
But services on the under-used Bern-Paris line will be halved from December, Swiss Railways and SNCF subsidiary TGV Lyria announced on Saturday.
TGV Lyria announced plans to buy 13 new TGV trains by 2013 at a total cost of SFr600 million ($583 million). An invitation to tender will be published in the coming weeks.
TGV Lyria head Christian Rossi said that while the Zurich-Paris line was very popular, there were problems with the Bern-Paris route and one of the two daily services would have to be cut. The route was set to remain for the next five years, he added.
In 2008, more than 440,000 passengers travelled on the Zurich-Paris line, with trains 75 per cent full. Overall travel on the operator grew by ten per cent to more than 3.8 million passengers in 2008.
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