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The railway infrastructure will be expanded in the coming years by almost CHF 13 billion. A new document shows how trains will drive in the future, and that not all commuters win. The new calendar has bad news for Basel.
With the Step 2035 program, the federal government is investing CHF 13 billion in the expansion of the railway.
How trains will travel in 2035 is already being planned to the minute. Until then, the federal government will spend CHF 12.89 billion on the “2035 Strategic Development Program”. Money flows to new tunnels, tracks and platforms. The Federal Office of Transport (BAV) has released an updated network graph showing the supply on public transport after the expansions. It should not be understood as a calendar, but allows you to see the future offer.
For most travelers, expansion means more trains are traveling faster (see chart).
In addition, quarter-hour long-distance transport is now being introduced on many routes, for example between Zurich and Bern, Bern and Freiburg or Winterthur and Frauenfeld. On other routes, trains run every 30 minutes, where the hourly rate used to be. This applies, for example, to the Bern – Brig, Basel – Biel or Weinfelden – Konstanz routes.
But the new concept also results in losers. Conflicts arise at certain places on the railway network, for example when trains can no longer cross a track field because this would hamper other trains for too long.
No connection from Basel to Lausanne
There are two direct connections in long-distance transport: the one from Freiburg to St. Gallen and the one from Basel to Lausanne. The latter existed until 2015 and is expected to return in 2025 after the cantons in question have worked for it for years. However, it is no longer planned for expansion step 2035. Instead, a direct train from Basel to Geneva is planned.
This is bitter for those affected, because many more travelers from northwest Switzerland travel to Lausanne than to Geneva. The ratio is approximately two to one. The connection to Lausanne was interrupted due to construction work at the Lausanne train station and bottlenecks at the Basel SBB station. The cantons of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft and Jura rose to the barricades, but to no avail. However, the railroad indicated that the connection could return in 2025.
Thousands miss the airport train
But why is it no longer planned in step 2035? When asked about this decision, the BAV said it had been taken “after consultation and at the request of the cantons of western Switzerland.” It was agreed to introduce a half-hour service between Basel and Biel, on the one hand, and to continue one of these two trains per hour directly to Geneva via Neuenburg and Yverdon.
With Step 2035, travel times are also minimally extended on individual routes. The fastest direct train from Zurich to Schaffhausen, for example, will take two more minutes in the future because it also stops at Zurich-Oerlikon and Bülach. However, the most serious thing is that thousands of people will lose their direct connection to the Zurich airport in the future.
Only in the ZVV, 300,000 people affected
Long-distance transport affects all passengers that board Neuenburg, Yverdon, Biel and Grenchen Süd. Anyone traveling to the airport from there will have to change at Zurich main station. After all, that should be possible perron level. There is no need to drag suitcases onto the escalator or other platform.
The situation is different for those affected in the canton of Zurich. Stadtbrücke stations in Hardbrücke, Stadelhofen and Tiefenbrunnen lose their direct connection to the airport, as do the municipalities of Zollikon, Küsnacht and Herrliberg. According to the Zürcher Verkehrsverbund (ZVV), at least 300,000 people travel from the affected train stations to the airport each year by direct train.
“Unfortunately there are no direct connections”
In the future, you will have to change at the main train station or at Zurich-Oerlikon and change the section of the station. It is not possible to change trains on the same platform. The reason given by the ZVV is that the previous direct trains on the route between Zurich-Oerlikon and the Zurich airport would have to change sides and hinder at least one oncoming train, which would limit capacity “enormously”.
Zurich airport knows the plans. “We have to assume that certain direct connections will unfortunately be cut off,” spokeswoman Raffaela Stelzer said. In return, the airport benefits from a wider range of connections, especially to the Zurich main station. In the future, there will be an average of one train per direction on this route every five minutes. Stelzer says: “Our focus is to expand to avoid capacity bottlenecks and improve supply during off-peak hours and for regions that are not yet well developed.” And that makes the new offer possible.
