Swiss railways celebrate anniversary with historic trains
Celebrations have been launched to commemorate the 175th anniversary of the first time-tabled railway route in Switzerland.
Transport Minister Simonetta Sommaruga and a delegation of dignitaries travelled the 23km stretch of railway line from the town of Baden to Zurich on board a historic train.
In a speech during Tuesday’s festivities Sommaruga praised the public transport system as a tenet of the country.
“Our population both in cities and in rural areas can rely on trains, buses, and trams,” she said.
Sommaruga also praised the railways as a pioneer of environmentally-friendly means of transport in the early 20th century.
The CEO of the Swiss Federal RailwaysExternal link, Vincent Ducrot, said more chapters of the success story of the Swiss train network were still waiting to be written.
Further festivities are planned in other parts of the country over the next few weeks.
The current Swiss railway system consists of a network of 5,300km of lines across the country, including major north-south tunnels through the Alps.
The national railway company was founded in 1902, nearly 50 years after the foundation of modern-day Switzerland and following a nationwide vote.
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