Swiss railway news – Page 5
-
NewsSwiss railway collaboration to continue
SWITZERLAND: Collaboration between Swiss Federal Railways and the independent BLS is set to continue with the introduction of an additional longer distance service in December 2025. Taking advantage of the doubling of the 4 km Grellingen – Duggingen section in late 2025, BLS will introduce service ...
-
NewsSBB orders more Giruno trains to boost Italian services
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has ordered five more Stadler Giruno 250 km/h inter-city trainsets to support a planned expansion of cross-border services to Italy. The SFr170m firm order announced on February 14 has been placed as an option on a SFr970m order for an initial 29 ...
-
Metro Report InternationalOrbital tunnels in Zürich’s tram network expansion strategy
SWITZERLAND: ‘We have to invest today in the mobility of tomorrow’, Zürich councillor Michael Baumer said when city transport operator VBZ presented a network expansion strategy which includes plans to increase the number of passengers by 40% by 2040. Baumer said major investments in the tram ...
-
Metro Report InternationalBern trams donated to Lviv
UKRAINE: Agreement has been reached for the Swiss city of Bern to donate 11 trams to the city of Lviv, where Switzerland will also support the construction of a 1 km tram route along Mykolaichuka and Shevchenko streets to the emergency hospital.
-
Metro Report InternationalBLT begins testing Tina trams
SWITZERLAND: Baselland tram operator BLT has begun testing the first of 25 Tina trams being supplied by Stadler. BLT was the first Swiss customer for the Tina (Total Integrierter Niederflur-Antrieb or total integrated low-floor drive) design, placing a SFr125m order in November 2021. The first of ...
-
NewsRail-replacement helicopter service takes off
SWITZERLAND: A rail-replacement helicopter service is being offered while a funicular serving a mountain village is closed for maintenance.
-
NewsMatterhorn Gotthard Bahn orders more Orion EMUs
SWITZERLAND: Metre-gauge operator Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn has awarded Stadler a firm contract to supply a further 25 ABeh 8/12 Orion rack electric multiple-units. ‘This order represents a milestone in Stadler’s history and is the largest single order for rack trains that we have ever received’, said ...
-
NewsGotthard Base Tunnel repairs could take until September 2024
Photo: SBB SWITZERLAND: The 57 km Gotthard Base Tunnel may not fully reopen until September 2024, 13 months after a derailed freight train badly damaged the track in the western bore. In an update on November 2 Swiss Federal Railways said the damage to the world’s ...
-
Metro Report InternationalBern trams offered to Lviv as Stadler vehicles ready to enter service
SWITZERLAND: Bern operator Bernmobil has announced that the first of 27 Tramlink trams being supplied by Stadler is expected to enter regular service on November 1, with seven expected to be in use on Route 7 by the end of the year. The first public services ...
-
NewsPassenger service resumes through Gotthard Base Tunnel
SWITZERLAND: Swiss Federal Railways has reintroduced a limited passenger service through the 57 km trans-Alpine Gotthard Base Tunnel. The world’s longest railway tunnel was badly damaged when a freight train derailed on August 10, affecting 8 km of one of the two running bores, and one of ...
-
In depthTechnology: SBB extends automated passenger counting
Thanks to data available from automated passenger counting equipment, Swiss Federal Railways is improving occupancy and passenger distribution forecasts, writes Toma Bačić.
-
NewsBLS Cargo orders XLoad Vectron locomotives
SWITZERLAND: BLS Cargo has ordered 10 Siemens Mobility Vectron electric locomotives for use on north-south routes from Belgian and Dutch ports to Italy. The multi-system locos ordered on September 25 will be equipped for operation in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium. They will ...
-
NewsTrans-Alpine capacity crunch emerges amid Gotthard Base Tunnel repairs
SWITZERLAND: The Gotthard Base Tunnel and Brenner Pass trans-Alpine rail routes were closed for much of August. Although both have now at least partially reopened, operators are again being forced to assess how best to manage unexpected disruption. Toma Bačić reports.
-
NewsSwiss Federal Council approves revised 2050 expansion programme
SWITZERLAND: The Federal Council has approved the Perspektive Bahn 2050 long-term railway strategy, which involves changes to and expansion of projects which have previously been approved.
-
NewsGotthard Base Tunnel repairs could last until next year
SWITZERLAND: The infrastructure damage caused by a freight train derailment in the western bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel on August 10 is significantly greater than expected and repairs could take until early 2024, Swiss Federal Railways has reported.
-
NewsSwedish company buys SBB Cargo diesel locomotives
EUROPE: Nordic Re-Finance has bought 44 Am843 diesel locomotives from Switzerland’s SBB Cargo, saying this will enable it to offer ‘future-proof’ locomotives for lease in the Swedish market. The Am843 single-cab four-axle Vossloh G1700-2 diesel locos dating from 2003-09 are used for shunting and light freight ...
-
NewsSwiss MoU marks launch of Network Rail international research programme
EUROPE: UK infrastructure manager Network Rail has launched an International Research & Development partnership programme to strengthen ties with other railways by sharing knowledge and best practice. Projects would be jointly funded, with responsibility for resources, testing capabilities and best practices shared through both in-person and ...
-
NewsSBB unveils inter-regional double-deck trainsets
SWITZERLAND: The first of 60 Stadler RABe512 double deck electric multiple-units for use on Interregio services was unveiled by Swiss Federal Railways at Zürich’s main station on July 7. SBB awarded Stadler a SFr1·3bn contract to supply the EMUs in 2021, having ordered similar units from ...
-
In depthTrain Control: Say goodbye to lineside hardware with satellites and digital comms
A marriage of satellite communications with fully digital train control could eliminate lineside signals and related equipment, achieving huge savings and making the rail mode more affordable. Preliminary trials are already in progress.
-
NewsSBB buys back stake in Cargo business from Swiss Combi
SWITZERLAND: Just over three years after selling a 35% stake in its freight business to logistics operator Swiss Combi, SBB has bought it back again for an undisclosed sum. SBB Cargo AG is now a 100% subsidiary of the national state-owned operator. Swiss Combi will continue ...