New Swiss train schedule boosts access to ski resorts
The Swiss Federal Railways timetable comes into force on Sunday. It provides for better connections to popular tourist destinations such as Valais and Graubünden.
According to the Federal Railways, the new timetable is intended to provide additional connections where demand is growing the most. From Sunday, there will be four new direct connections between Geneva and Chur throughout the day at weekends.
An earlier Regionalps connection will be introduced in Valais. Commuters will be able to travel earlier from Brig to Bern and Basel from Tuesday to Sunday. The first train will now depart from Upper Valais at 05.16. At the same time, the last train in the opposite direction in the evening will run one hour later than before. It will now arrive in Brig at 00.41.
From Christmas to Easter, on Ascension Day, Whitsun and from June to October, a direct train now connects Zurich with Brig on Saturday mornings. The train also stops in Frutigen in the Bernese Oberland. On Sunday afternoons, a direct train runs in the opposite direction on the same route.
There will also be two new direct connections from Zurich to Einsiedeln at weekends from mid-January to the beginning of March. The Intercity between Zurich and Chur now runs every half hour at weekends throughout the year. For night owls, there is also a new express connection between Olten and Biel on Friday and Saturday nights.
With the timetable change, 31 passenger trains will travel through the Gotthard Base Tunnel every weekend. From Monday to Thursday, however, all train paths in the Gotthard Base Tunnel will be available for freight traffic.
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