Swiss government plans CHF2.6 billion railway investment

Construction work near Basel. Keystone/gaetan Bally

The government wants to boost the country’s network with more connections in suburban areas and a new nine-kilometre tunnel on the busy Lausanne-Geneva route.

The tunnel on the Lausanne-Geneva stretch is planned between Morges and Perroy, Transport Minister Albert Rösti said on Wednesday.

Such a tunnel should be easier to build than a previously planned third track, which would have meant difficult construction in a densely populated area.

The government also said the expansion of the Lötschberg base tunnel to two tracks should be done for the whole tunnel rather than only partially, as is currently planned.

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More funding for the Brüttener tunnel and the expansion of the Stadelhofen station in Zurich is also mooted, as are expansions to Geneva and Olten stations.

The CHF2.6 billion ($2.96 billion) will also however be used to cover additional costs to projects ongoing for some time, but which have been delayed – for example, due to objections to the works and restricted timeframes for carrying out construction.

Meanwhile, in addition to requesting the money from parliament, the government has also approved a new long-term rail strategy to focus primarily on connections between urban agglomerations.

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Rail services such as regional S-Bahn lines will be prioritised by the strategy, as well as an upgrade of suburban train stations, the government said.