Financing public transport

The FOT awards federal funding of more than CHF 5 million a year for railway infrastructure, passenger transport and rail freight transport.
© SBB

Excellent transport infrastructure and well-functioning public transport services make a place attractive to live and work in. The public sector thus contributes to the funding of public transport and rail freight transport: the Confederation, cantons and communes pay about half of these transport costs.

The Confederation spends over CHF 5 billion a year on public transport and rail freight transport. It is the FOT’s task to manage this spending efficiently. The main spending areas are:

• maintenance and extension of rail infrastructure (about CHF 4.5 billion p.a.),
• operating subsidies for regional passenger transport (about CHF 1 billion p.a.),
• promoting the transport of freight by rail (about CHF 200 million p.a.).

General topics: Financing

Legal basis

Eisenbahngesetz (EBG)

only available in German, French or Italian

Bundesgesetz vom 20. März 2009 über die Personenbeförderung (Personenbeförderungsgesetz, PBG)

only available in German, French or Italian