Railways in

Switzerland

The state owned Federal Railways (SBB) is responsible for the greater part of the main line network. Switzerland is not subect to EU regulation and there is therefore no pressure to segregate train operation from infrastructure ownership, nor to open the network up to competition. That said, Switzerland has had a large and healthy privately owned sector from the eariest days of the railways. Most regional and minor railways, and a few main lines, are in the hands of independent companies.

The regional railways fall broadly into two categories: the standard gauge lines, mainly of a suburban nature and complementing the main line network; and the more extensive but sparser narrow gauge lines serving the mountainous areas. Some regional lines are owned by local authorities.

The minor railways are nearly all narrow gauge. Almost all have considerable tourist potential. For that reason, tourist operations are not listed separately on this page, except for a couple of museum lines. Many minor railways, which in other countries may not have survived, continue operation to the present day because of the difficulty of providing a reliable road alternative in the mountainous regions.

Because of a plentiful supply of hydroelectric power, almost all railways in Switzerland are electrified. There diesel trains are rare, and there are just a handful of preserved steam train operations.

The tram services of the various cities are generally run by the municipal authorities.

General

• Timetable Information for most of the railways listed below can be obtained from the SBB site.
• VöV/UTP - Public Tranport Union including several of the railways listed below (Site in French and German)

Standard Gauge Main Line Railways

• SBB the national operator
• BLS Lötschbergbahn major private operator
• Südostbahn (Site in German)
• The Voralpen Express operates over the tracks of SBB and Südostbahn (Site in German)
• SBB Cargo the freight arm of SBB. SBB Cargo are also the majority shareholder in Swiss Rail Cargo Köln, a joint venture with the German HGK
• Hupac intermodal freight operator
• AlpTransit construction company for the Gotthard Base Tunnel between Schwyz and Bellinzona

Standard Gauge Regional Railways

• BDWM two short lines, one standard gauge and one narrow, to the west of Zurich (Site in German)
• CEVA proposed new railway connecting the SBB network north of Geneva with Annemasse in France. The scheme would use existing lines between Cornavin and La Praille, from where a new line of nearly 5km, mostly in tunnel, would take the route to Eaux Vives, where it would join the existing line to Annemasse, which would be upgraded. The latter line at present has no direct connection to the rest of the Swiss network, and is operated by SNCF (CEVA site in French)
• Regionalverkehr Mittelland regional operator in the area beteen Bern and Luzern. Operates occasional nostalgic steam services (Site in German)
• SZU suburban railway in the Zurich area (Site in German)
• Thurbo regional passenger operator in southern Germany and northern Switzerland (Site in German)

Narrow Gauge Regional Railways

• The Route of the Glacier Express:
  • Rhätische Bahn largest of the narrow gauge regional operators
  • Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn
    • Furka Oberalp
    • Brig - Visp - Zermatt
    • Gornergrat Bahn mountain railway with spectacular views of the Matterhorn
• The Route of the Golden Pass Panoramic:
  • Zentralbahn Luzern to Engelberg and Interlaken (Site in German)
  • MOB Group
    • Montreux - Oberland bernois
    • Montreux - Glion - Naye (MGN) from the summit station walk through a tunnel to a restaurant built into the side of a mountain, with breathtaking views over Lake Geneva
    • CEV Vevey to Les Pléiades
• AAR suburban and regional operator in Aargau (Site in German)
• Aare Seeland Mobil regional operator in the upper Aargau (Site in German)
• Appenzeller Bahnen narrow gauge regional operator. Steam trains operate on the rack railway between Rohrschach and Heiden on certain days (Site in German)
• Fribourg Public Transport includes a standard gauge local line to Ins and a network of standard and narrow gauge lines around Bulle, to the southwest of the city, one of which operates occasional steam services (Site in French and German)
• Jungfraubahnen a group of narrow gauge railways between Interlaken and the Jungfrau
  • Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) Interlaken to Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen
  • Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen Mürren includes a funicular section
  • Jungfraubahn 9km of rack railway from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch, 7.5 km of which are in tunnel with "panoramic windows" opening onto spectacular views
  • Schynige Platte Bahn rack railway connecting with the BOB at Wlderswil
  • Wengernalpbahn at 19km the longest continuous rack railway in Switzerland
• Travys regional operator in northern Switzerland (Site in French)

Minor Railways

• Bière - Apples - Morges (BAM) Jura to Lake Geneva (Site in French)
• Chablais Public Transport (Site in French)
  • Aigle - Leysin with the proposed extension to La Berneuse
  • Aigle - Ollon - Monthey - Champéry
  • Aigle - Sépey - Diablerets
  • Bex - Villars - Bretaye
• Centovalli Line metre gauge electric railway between Locarno and Domodossola (Italy)
• Chemins de Fer de Jura two railways in north western Switzerland (Site in French and German)
• Ferrovia Monte Generoso narrow gauge rack railway between Capolago, on an arm of Lake Lugano, and Monte Generoso the Italian border. A steam train is available for private hire.
• Ferrovie Luganesi metre gauge electric railway between Lugano and Ponte Tresa near the Italian border
• FW-Bahn metre gauge electric railway between Frauenfeld and Wil in the Western Thurgau (Site in German)
• Lausanne - Echallens - Bercher (LEB) commuter and tourist line. Steam trains operate on summer Sundays (Site in French)
• Martigny Public Transport includes two rail lines, one of which is the cross-border Mont Blanc Express
• Maschinenfabrik Rüti once had an interesting private rail siding at its factory, which incorporated a steep rack section
• Meiringen - Innertkirchen - Bahn (MIB) commuter and tourist line (Site in German)
• Neuchâtel Public Transport includes several local rail lines (Site in French)
• NStCM Nyon to St Cergue and La Cure on the French border (Site in French)
• RBS predominantly suburban operation in the area between Bern and Solothurn (Site mainly in German with some information in English)
• Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn short standard gauge line, a branch off the SBB main line between Solothurn and Olten. In addition to a regular electric service, a steam train is available for private hire (Site in German)
• Pilatusbahn mountain rack railway, claimed to be the steepest in the world
• Rigi Railways two spectacular mountain railways
• Waldenburgerbahn narrow gauge electric railway between Liestal (to the south east of Basel) and Waldenburg. Occasional steam trains operate during the summer months (Site in German)

Museum Railways

• Blonay - Chamby Railway Museum with steam and electric traction on a line connecting the CEV (MOB Group) at Blonay with the MOB main line at Chamby (Site mainly in French, with a few pages available in English)
• Brienz - Rothorn steam operated rack railway
• Dampfbahn über den Brünig steam trains between Interlaken and Giswil on the metre gauge, partly rack operated Zentralbahn line (Site in German)
• DFB steam trains over a former section of the Furka Oberalp, now bypassed in tunnel by the FO main line
• DVZO steam trains between Hinwil and Bauma in the Zürcher Oberland. The section between Hinwil and Bäretswil is still part of the SBB network (Site in German)
• Ferrovia Mesolcinese historic electric trains on the metre gauge line between Castione (near Bellinzona) and Cama
• Parc d'Attractions du Châtelard two funiculars and a 600mm gauge railway, originally used for the construction of the Emmosson dam
• Sursee-Triengen-Bahn a steam-hauled passenger train is available for hire on this standard gauge private railway. Very occasional open days are held when public services operate (Site in German)
• Schinznacher Baumschulbahn narrow gauge (600mm) steam railway running for some 3km through the gardens and woodlands of the Baumschule Zulauf at Schinznach
• VVT steam trains on a branch of the TRN Val de Travers line from Fleurier to St Sulpice

Miniature Railway

• Swiss Vapeur Parc park in Le Bouveret with extensive miniature railways, including a 184mm gauge passenger carrying line over 1.5 km in length. Steam, diesel and electric hauled.

Metro, trams and urban funiculars

• Basel
  • BVB city trams (Site in German)
  • BLT suburban and interurban trams (Site in German)
• Bern
  • Bernmobil trams (Site in German)
  • Drahtseilbahn Marzili funicular (Site in German)
  • Gurtenbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Biel / Bienne funiculars (Site in French and German)
• Cossonay funicular connecting the station with the town (Site in French)
• Engelberg funicular linking the town to the Hotel Terrace (No website located at present)
• Fribourg funicular (Site in French and German)
• Geneva trams
• Glattal (northern Zürich) proposed tram system (Site in German)
• Interlaken
  • Heimwehfluhbahn funicular
  • Harderbahn funicular, operated by Jungfraubahnen
• Lausanne Metro (Site in French)
• Locarno funicular (No website located at present)
• Lugano funiculars
• Luzern
  • Güstchbahn funicular (No website located at present)
  • Hotel Montana a private funicular gives direct access from the lakeside to the hotel lobby
  • Sonnenbergbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Montreux
  • Territet - Glion funicular, operated by MOB Group
  • Territet - Mont Fleuri closed funicular, proposed for reopening with possible extensions (Document in French, PDF format, requires Adobe Reader)
• Neuchâtel Trams and funiculars (Site in French)
• Riffelalp (Zermatt) battery trams (Riffelalp site in various languages, tram page in German only)
• St Gallen Mühleggbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Zurich the ZVV transport union including:
  • VBZ most tram services, and the Rigiblick funicular
  • Forchbahn tram route serving Esslingen (Site in German)
  • Dolderbahn rack railway (No separate website located at present)
  • UBS Polybahn funicular (No separate website located at present)

Mountain funiculars

• AlpTransit the construction site for the Gotthard Base Tunnel at Sedrun has a funicular for the use of workers on the site. The site is not normally accessible to the public but may be visited on the annual open days and at certain other times by prior arrangement
• Bergbahnen Engadin
  • St Moritz - Corviglia in two sections, from St Moritz Dorf to Chantarella and Chantarella to Corviglia, where the funicular connects with a cablecar to Piz Nair
  • Punt Muragl - Muottas Muragl
• Bergbahnen Titlis from Engelberg to Gerschnialp, where the funicular connects with a series of cablecars to Titlis (Site in German)
• Braunwald Standseilbahn Linthal to Braunwald, in the Glarnerland
• Chäserrugg Bergbahnen from Unterwasser in the upper valley of the Thur to Iltios, where the funicular connects with a cablecar to Chäserrugg in the Churfirsten mountains (Site in German)
• Flims Waldhaus - Caumasee (No website located at present)
• Funiculaire St Imier - Mont Soleil (Site in French and German)
• Funiculaire St Luc Chandolin St Luc to Tignousa
• Fürigenbahn from Stansstad-Harissen to the hotel and conference complex at Fürigen
• Gelmerbahn from Handegg in the Hasli valley above Innertkirchen to the Gelmersee (Site in German)
• Giessbachbahn from the pier on Lake Brienz to the Grandhotel Giessbach. Claimed to be the oldest operating funicular in Europe
• Ligerz-Tessenberg-Bahn (Site in German)
• Moléson Village to Plan Francey connecting at Plan Francey with a cablecar to Le Moléson (Observatoire) (Site in French)
• MOB Group
  • Les Avants (MOB station) - Sonloup
  • Vevey - Mont Pèlerin
• Niesenbahn in two sections, from Mülenen to Schwandegg and Schwandegg to Niesen Kulm (Site in German)
• Parsennbahn in two sections, from Davos Dorf to Höhenweg and Höhenweg to Weissfluhjoch (Site in German)
• Puschlaver Geisterbahn underground funicular linking the hydroelectric power stations of Palü und Cavaglia in the Val Poschiavo. The line forms part of a public tour of the power stations (Site in German)
• Reichenbachfallbahn serving the falls near Meiringen made famous by the Sherlock Holmes stories (Site in German)
• Ritombahn Piotta in the Ticino valley to Piora near Lake Ritom. The steepest funicular in Switzerland (Site in German and Italian)
• Saas Fee Bergbahnen a cabin lift from Saas Fee connects at Felskinn with the funicular to Allalin
• Schatzalp-Bahn private funicular serving a hotel above Davos (Site in German)
• SFMC privately owned funicular connecting the power station of Chätelot deep in the upper valley of the Doubs with Les Planchettes. By prior arrangement, members of the public may use it for access to the valley (No website located at present)
• SMC Sierre to Montana Vermala, at over 4km the longest funicular in the world (Site mainly in French, with some information in English)
• Standseilbahn Mürren - Allmendhubel (Site in German)
• Standseilbahn Schlattli Schlattli (near Schwyz) to Stoos
• Stanserhornbahn a historic funicular links the town of Stans with Kälti, where it connects with a cablecar to the Stanserhorn
• Thunersee-Beatenbergbahn from Beatenbucht on the shores of Lake Thun to Beatenberg, where the funicular connects with a cablecar to Niederhorn. The funicular is out of service for reconstruction until mid-2005 (Site in German)
• Treib-Seelisberg-Bahn (Site in German)
• Trümmelbach Falls the attraction in the valley above Lauterbrunnen has an underground funicular ("Tunnel-Lift") giving access to the falls
• Zermatt Bergbahnen from Zermatt to Sunnegga, where the funicular connects with a cabin lift to Blauherd and a cablecar from there to Rothorn
• Zugerberg Bahn from Schönegg, near Zug, to the Zugerberg (Site in German)

Schienenvelos (Vélorails)

• Sensetalbahn pedal driven works cars for hire on a closed section of line from Laupen to Gümmenen (Site in German)

© 2000-2009 Glyn Williams