Expansion
The federal government is continually developing the railway network. The next stage of this is the Transport ’45 proposal.
The Federal Council is planning to develop railway services in stages. The Transport ’45 proposal outlines several investments to further improve services as soon as 2030/2035. With a view to the 2045 service concept, the Federal Council intends to deliver a range of strategic network elements.
The federal government is basing the long-term development of Switzerland’s railway infrastructure on the vision set out in RAIL 2050.
Status of expansion programmes
Further Information
Expansion step 2035
The 2035 Rail Expansion Step (ES 35) aims to resolve foreseeable congestion on the rail network. Parliament approved an overall package of CHF 16 billion.
Expansion step 2025
The rail expansion step 2025 was approved by Parliament as part of the project to fund and expand rail infrastructure. The aim is to increase capacity in the major rail hubs such as Geneva, Basel and Bern.
The ZEB programme – Future development of rail infrastructure
The ZEB programme was approved by Parliament in 2009. It is the follow-up to the ‘Rail 2000’ programme and includes a range of infrastructure measures across Switzerland at a cost of CHF 5.4 billion.
4-metre corridor
In addition to the new base tunnels, 4-metre corridors are also required in order to successfully shift freight traffic from road to rail. This will allow four-metre-high semi-trailers to be transported on rail wagons.
Noise abatement
People who live near railway lines are protected from excessive noise by a range of measures.
Completed expansion programmes
Switzerland has already expanded its railway infrastructure significantly through the Rail 2000 and NRLA projects and the connection to high-speed networks abroad.
Federal Office of Transport FOT
3063 Ittigen