EU rail expansion bypassing Switzerland

Switzerland and the EU are developing separate rail plans Keystone / Michael Buholzer

The European Union is planning a vast expansion of its high-speed rail network, which would not pass through Switzerland. At the same time, Swiss Federal Railways is developing direct connections to Europe.

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This weekend, the timetable change takes effect. For international services, Swiss Federal Railways now aims to serve more destinations without requiring passengers to change trains.

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In the future, the Federal Office of Transport also aims for more direct connections. The future goal is to enable travel from Switzerland to London in under six hours, without changing trains. “We are developing good connections to all countries and in all directions,” the ministry states.

Last month, the European Commission presented its action plan for high-speed rail transport. The objective of this ambitious project is to build new high-speed lines and significantly reduce travel times between European cities.

Better European connections

Despite Switzerland’s central position in Europe, the EC intends to expand connections by bypassing the Alpine state.

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The EU aims to establish two new rail lines by 2040: one from Warsaw to the Baltic Sea and the other from Paris to Lisbon via Madrid. On existing routes, travel times are expected to decrease significantly. For example, the journey from Berlin to Rome would be reduced from 14 hours 30 minutes to 10 hours 15 minutes, and the trip from Paris to the Italian capital would take 8 hours 45 minutes instead of 10 hours 50 minutes.

“We will do everything we can to avoid being left behind,” Véronique Stephan, head of the passenger market at Swiss federal Railways, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.

Switzerland is not directly involved in EU rail planning, but it still has an eye on developing links to other countries.

Switzerland invests CHF1bn

“Switzerland has done its work ahead of schedule,” says transport ministry spokesperson Michael Müller. This applies not only to the Gotthard, Ceneri, and Lötschberg tunnels, but also to the connecting lines. “We have invested over CHF1 billion in the last 30 years in the sections and connections to the European high-speed rail network.”

This concerns connections such as Biel-Belfort, or the extension of the line to Munich. On most of the lines co-financed by Switzerland, work still needs to be done.

Adapted from French by DeepL/mga

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