Swiss Senate votes against Swedish night train subsidy

Council of States cancels subsidy for night train to Sweden Keystone-SDA

The Swiss Senate wants to cancel a federal contribution of CHF10 million to run night trains to Malmö, Sweden.

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The Senate made the decision by a clear majority on Tuesday when discussing the budget for 2026. The subsidy is planned for an overnight connection from Basel via Hamburg and Copenhagen to Malmö from April 2026.

According to Swiss Federal Railways, the funding is a prerequisite for the trains to run three times a week from the spring. Although night trains are popular, they are not profitable due to high costs.

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According to the responsible federal office, the night train could not be operated on a self-supporting basis, even if the trains were fully utilised, said Senator Jakob Stark. “Expenditure and income are not in proportion.”

Baptiste Hurni recalled in vain the CO2 Act, in which support for night trains is anchored with up to CHF30 million annually until 2030. It was a matter of respecting this law, and this was already possible with CHF6.5 million. Night trains are a means of reducing CO2 emissions.

In the House of Representatives, which will discuss the budget from Thursday, the finance committee is requesting that the CHF10 million for night trains be retained in the budget. Two petitions from several environmental organisations and the Association of Public Transport, the Social Democrats and the Greens are calling for funding for night trains to the north.

A total of 50,000 people signed the petitions. The organisations wrote that Swiss Federal Railways had already invested in the night train service to Copenhagen and Malmö. And overnight train connections are an alternative to flights. Sufficient funds are needed for the mobility turnaround.

Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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