Swiss politicians concerned by cut to Lausanne-Paris TGV services

The number of direct daily TGV services between Lausanne and Paris is due to be reduced from six to three from next year. The cause: train works between Geneva and La Plaine. Keystone-SDA

The Vaud cantonal parliament wants to maintain six direct daily TGV high-speed train services between Lausanne and Paris. On Tuesday it unanimously supported a resolution urging the Vaud government to take the necessary steps to oppose or compensate for the decision to stop three TGV services.

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According to the Swiss Federal Railways 2026 timetable, the current Paris-Geneva-Lausanne service will no longer terminate in Vaud capital but will have Geneva as its terminus. While Paris can now be reached six times a day from Lausanne without a change, next year there will be just three direct connections via Vallorbe.

“Such a reduction in service for our cantonal capital is problematic. There is a risk that this will lead to a modal shift from rail to other modes of transport such as the car or the plane,” Radical-Liberal parliamentarian Alexandre Berthoud, who filed the resolution, said on Tuesday.

Meeting scheduled

Various speakers in Vaud parliament supported the text, whether to preserve the canton’s climate objectives or to prevent the economy and tourism from suffering as a result of the reduction in high-speed rail services.

The introduction of new connections via Vallorbe was proposed to compensate for the services that end in Geneva from next year.

Vaud Transport Minister Nuria Gorrite called the resolution “a strong and welcome signal” at a time when trains to other countries are “the poor relation” of the Swiss rail system. She also pointed out that these international connections depended on the Geneva-Lausanne axis, which is already saturated.

The minister said a meeting was planned shortly with representatives of Lyria, which runs the TGV service, and the Federal Railways. She also invited the members of the Vaud parliament to take action in Bern to obtain more resources for international rail traffic.

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Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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