Healthy demand pushes railways profits higher
The Swiss Federal Railways have announced net profits of nearly SFr81 million ($46 million) for the first six months of the year, with much higher revenues from both passenger and goods traffic.
Turnover increased by 3.1 per cent over the comparable period last year to SFr2.905 billion.
A statement on Monday from the Federal Railways headquarters in Berne said operating profit was SFr205.7 million.
It added that the number of passengers had increased by 2.1 per cent to reach 126.7 million, while the number of staff had fallen by 4.2 per cent to 28,336.
The Federal Railways say they expect profit for the year as a whole to be slightly higher than last year’s SFr120 million.
On Friday, a partnership was announced between the Federal Railways and John Laing Investments of Britain.
The two want to make a bid for two British franchises to operate passenger trains in the Thames Valley, the Cotswolds, the West of England and the South Coast. Total Swiss investment is put at up to SFr150 million.
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