The demand for rail transport, in Switzerland, will increase sharply over the next few years and the railway network will have to be adjusted accordingly. The Swiss Federal Council decided to propose investments totaling CHF 11.5 billion (EUR 10 billion) to be achieved by 2035 as part of the next development phase (étape d’aménagement).
These new measures will be used to improve the supply on overloaded sections, to make improvements on private railways and to create express links for the transport of goods.
Projects in the 2035 development phase include the construction of the Brütten tunnel and the Zimmerberg II base tunnel, facilities between Yverdon, Lausanne and Geneva and work on the Zurich Stadelhofen railway station and on medium-sized stations. The project is currently being evaluated.
The 2035 planning stage will make it possible to intensify the offer on overloaded lines such as Zurich-Winterthur or Yverdon-Lausanne-Geneva, both for mainline traffic and for the regional express network. It will thus be possible to meet the growing demand for rail transport. The 15 minutes travel time between each train departure can be introduced between Bern and Zurich and the offer will be considerably expanded between Lausanne and Geneva. On other highly frequented sections, the planned investments in the 2035 planning stage will allow the introduction of each train departure at half an hour, for example between Basel and Biel, between Bern and Interlaken or between Lucerne and Engelberg. In addition, a larger number of seats will be available on longer and double-decker trains.
These improvements require approximately 200 interventions of varying size on the infrastructure, which will be carried out under the 2035 planning stage at a cost of CHF 11.5 billion (EUR 10 billion).
Brütten rail tunnel to receive more funds
The most important of these are the construction of the Brütten tunnel between Zurich and Winterthur, the construction of the Zurich-Stadelhofen railway station and the construction of the Zimmerberg II base tunnel. These three significant projects will be followed by the development of the stretch of the Jura loop between Yverdon, Lausanne and Geneva and the modernization of the current Neuchâtel-La Chaux-de-Fonds rail section. Numerous installations are also planned on private railways throughout Switzerland. Several stations, in particular medium-sized stations, will be adapted to the increasing number of passengers and brought into line with the equal treatment requirements of disabled people. Freight transport is also expected to be subject to a number of improvements through targeted developments, thus, freight express links will be established on the east-west axis. This will also benefit from the construction of additional rail tracks at critical locations and the construction of new terminals and yard facilities to remove bottlenecks and to increase productivity.
According to the Swiss Federal cantons, other developments of rail transport services are also urgent. Several of them were also deemed necessary by the Federal Council. In the absence of financial resources, these projects – including the development of the Lötschberg base tunnel – can not be carried out within the 2035 development stage, but are being retained in the next development phase, which should be presented in 2025. Moreover, thanks to a third party financing solution, the cantons of Basel and Lucerne now have the possibility to carry out two projects which they consider to be crucial in addition to the measures taken by the Confederation, without, however, guaranteeing a repayment by the latter. Basel can finance the planning of the central link (Herzstück) and the construction of a transit station in Lucerne. The Swiss Parliament may decide on the subsequent reimbursement of costs by the Confederation as part of a further development phase.
The programme will be financed through the Swiss Rail Infrastructure Fund (BIF). A variant of the development project, involving an investment of CHF 7 billion (EUR 6 billion), for a complete achievement by 2035 is also currently under consideration. However, the Federal Council has opposed this alternative. This would only eliminate some of the current bottlenecks and provide for them. It would also be of lesser economic interest since its positive effects on the network would be more limited than those of the EA development stage alternative, the adoption of which was recommended by the Federal Council.
The consultation ends on 15 January 2018 and the Federal Council should present to the Swiss Parliament, until the end of 2018, the message concerning the railway development stage 2030/2035. Decisions of the Parliament are subject to optional referendum.
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