The new SBB timetable, which comes into force on Sunday, December 15, 2024, represents the biggest change for French-speaking Switzerland since Bahn 2000. In particular, it brings new direct connections to Lausanne West, an improvement in regional transport and better connections to the Riviera and Lower Valais. In addition, it offers 15 percent more trains in French-speaking Switzerland.
The SBB timetable has been significantly revised to better meet customer needs and improve punctuality on a network with many construction sites. The timetable structure dating back to the 2000s has been adjusted so that the restrictions caused by the numerous modernization and development construction sites on the western Swiss rail network can be offset.
The new timetable comes into force on Sunday, December 15, 2024, and means a change for many travelers, whether due to departure time adjustments for almost all trains in western Switzerland, an extension of travel time by a few minutes on the main routes or new lines and connections. Customers in western Switzerland will benefit from around 15 percent more trains.
The most important changes to the new SBB timetable
The new timetable has been available in the SBB Mobile app and on SBB.ch since September 2024.
Renens is served by long-distance trains. The InterCity trains IC1 and IC5, the RegioExpress RE33 and the InterRegio IR90 now stop here. The service between the southern foot of the Jura via Biel/Bienne, Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains and the Lausanne/Renens junction is being increased: the IC5 trains now run every half hour on this axis.
The hourly direct connection between Geneva and the towns on the Jura foothills line will be cancelled during off-peak hours. It will be maintained during the week during peak hours in the morning and evening by six InterRegio direct trains IR57 between Neuchâtel, Yverdon-les-Bains, Morges, Gland, Nyon, Geneva and Geneva-Aéroport in both directions: four trains from Neuchâtel in the morning and two trains from Geneva-Aéroport; four trains from Geneva-Aéroport and two trains from Neuchâtel in the evening.
Between the Lake Geneva region and Valais, the RegioExpress trains RE33, which currently run once an hour from Annemasse to Vevey and from Annemasse to St-Maurice, will be extended to St-Maurice and Martigny once an hour. Martigny will thus benefit from three trains per hour from and to the Lake Geneva region instead of the current two. The Montreux, Villeneuve, Aigle, Bex and St-Maurice train stations will also be better served thanks to an additional RegioExpress train per hour.
The four instead of the current three long-distance connections per hour between Aigle and Geneva (InterRegio trains IR90 and IR95 and RegioExpress trains RE33) offer an almost perfect quarter-hourly service between Aigle and Morges and between Nyon and Geneva.
Numerous improvements are also being introduced in regional transport in the cantons of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Fribourg and Vaud: in order to increase capacity between Geneva and Annemasse (six trains per hour in each direction), the RegioExpress trains RE33 will now stop at all stations on the line. The night service in the cantons of Vaud and Geneva will be improved. A night service will be introduced in Geneva’s regional transport. These trains will run all night long on all weekdays.
On Lake Biel and Lake Neuchâtel, the Biel/Bienne‒Neuchâtel regional train will be extended to the new R13 Biel/Bienne–Neuchâtel–Yverdon-les-Bains line without changing trains. Ligerz station will no longer be served and can be reached by bus from Twann. Between Neuchâtel and Fribourg/Freiburg, trains S20 and S21 of the RER Fribourg I Freiburg (Freiburg S-Bahn) will run every half hour.
In the canton of Vaud, the new R7 line of the RER Vaud (Vaud S-Bahn) runs between Vevey and Palézieux. This connects the Chablais and the Riviera with Fribourg and Bern once an hour and without a detour via Lausanne. In order to guarantee connections in Vevey and Palézieux, the Vevey-Funi station will no longer be served and Corseaux-Cornalles will only be served late in the evening and in the direction of Vevey–Palézieux. A new bus line connects Vevey and Chexbres-Village with a stop in Corseaux. The new S40 and S41 lines of the RER Vaud connect Lausanne and Fribourg every half hour and will be extended to Yverdon-les-Bains from June 28, 2025.
New connections to long-distance traffic in the direction of Bern will be set up in Yverdon-les-Bains and Fribourg. In order to ensure a transfer hub between regional trains and long-distance trains on the Jura foothills line in Yverdon-les-Bains, the Champ Pittet stop will no longer be served. Instead, the area will be served by buses every ten minutes. In order to guarantee the travel times of regional services between Fribourg and Romont, the Matran station will be closed. It will be served by buses until the new Avry-Matran station is put into operation after work is completed in December 2025.
New SBB Timetable: Night services in long-distance traffic and leisure activities in winter
The early and late trains to and from Genève-Aéroport will be offered again at the start of the school holidays and on the Christmas and New Year holiday weekends.
The Verbier Express and VosAlpes Express trains, which are very popular with skiers, will be offered again. They will run on weekends from 15 December 2024 to 27 April 2025 and on the public holidays of 25 and 26 December 2024 and 1 and 2 April 2025 and from 18 to 21 April 2025. Information on Verbier Express and VosAlpes Express | SBB .
International traffic
The daily direct connection between Lausanne and Marseille in both directions with stops in Genève, Avignon TGV and Aix-en-Provence TGV will be offered again from Saturday 28 June to Sunday 24 August 2025.
To inform customers about the changes to the new timetable, a marketing campaign was launched on November 11, 2024 across the entire western Swiss network. Two personalities from western Switzerland have agreed to lend their faces to this campaign: Blaise Bersinger, comedian, and Fanny Smith, two-time Olympic medalist in ski cross. Both travel regularly by public transport and already share their rail experiences on social media. This is how the idea came about to include them in the marketing campaign for the timetable change on December 15, 2024.
A page with information for customers has been set up on the SBB website “A new timetable for French-speaking Switzerland” .
In addition, customer service managers will be available to passengers at the region’s larger stations. As is usual with timetable changes, the number of customers on the trains will be closely monitored so that adjustments can be made if necessary (customer information on alternative connections, changes to rolling stock, etc.). Around 60 SBB employees have been working intensively on preparing this timetable change over the past few months. SBB would also like to thank the other transport companies and the cantons for their support in developing this new timetable.
Work on the SBB network in 2025
In western Switzerland, a lot of work will be carried out on the railway facilities in 2025 to maintain their reliability. Around 6 billion Swiss francs will be invested in this area by 2030. The new timetable offers customers the best possible service in terms of punctuality and connection reliability, despite particularly intensive construction work.
However, three major construction sites will require total closures:
- Traffic between Fribourg and Bern will be completely interrupted from June 28 to August 24, 2025. Replacement buses will be used. More information on timetable changes on the Freiburg–Bern line | SBB .
- Traffic between Palézieux and Payerne will be completely interrupted from February 15 to June 8, 2025. Rail replacement buses will be used between Palézieux and Payerne. In addition, PostBus line 361 will ensure a fast connection to the Lausanne metro M2, which will be extended from Lucens to Payerne.
- Between Le Day and Le Brassus, traffic will be completely suspended and replaced by buses from April 12 to November 2, 2025. More information on Renovation of the Epoisats tunnel | SBB (in French only).
On November 27, 2024, a press release will be sent out regarding the timetable changes in German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino.
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