Swiss government plans CHF2.6 billion railway investment
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.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA/dos
Español
es
El Gobierno suizo planea una inversión ferroviaria de 2 600 millones de francos suizos
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.
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.
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.
This content was published on
A 36-year-old man from Ticino lost his life on Saturday in Val Malvaglia, in the north of canton Ticino, during a wingsuit jump from a plane.
Swiss Evangelical Reformed Church numbers dropping in French-speaking Switzerland
This content was published on
As in German-speaking Switzerland, the number of members of the Reformed Church in French-speaking Switzerland is also declining.
Gotthard traffic queue hits 20km during holiday weekend
This content was published on
The traffic jam at the Gotthard north portal reached a length of 20 kilometres on the motorway between canton Nidwalden and canton Uri.
Swiss Interior Minister visits Cannes Film Festival
This content was published on
Swiss Interior Minister left the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday after three days of intensive dialogue, meetings and film screenings.
Swiss theatre director breaks with tradition at Vienna’s Rathausplatz
This content was published on
With the proclamation of the "Free Republic of Vienna", the start of the festival on Friday evening was unusually political.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.