Railways in

Switzerland

The first railway in Switzerland opened in 1847 between Zurich and Baden, a distance of 16km. It was built to standard (1435mm) gauge. This gauge was used for much of the subsequent main line development in the country and for international links with neighbouring countries, although narrow (predominantly metre) gauge was used extensively in the mountainous areas and several important and lengthy cross country links are metre gauge.

Given its mountainous nature, Switzerland was also a pioneer of rack railways, long sub-alpine tunnels and, given the ready availability of hydroelectric power, railway electrification. Almost all of the country’s railways are electrified.

In addition to the main line and regional railways, there are many minor railways. These are almost all narrow gauge, and 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. Some of the lines may incorporate on-street or roadside running, blurring the distinction between minor railways and trams. Similar minor railways in other countries may have long disappeared, but they survive in Switzerland because of the difficulty of providing a reliable road alternative in the mountainous regions.

A number of new railways are being constructed, many involving extensive tunnelling, partly for spped improvements but also to reduce vulnerability to winter weather conditions. Shuttle trains carry road vehicles under several mountain passes, and also carry heavy goods vehicles transiting Switzerland which are discouraged ffom using the country’s roads.

Standard Gauge Main Line Railways

• SBB the national operator, also timetabling and ticketing for all operators
• BLS major independent operator
• Südostbahn independant operator, despite its name in the northeast of the country (Site in German)
• Voralpen Express operates over the tracks of SBB and Südostbahn (Site in German)
• SBB Cargo freight operating arm of SBB (Site in German, French and Italian)
• BLS Cargo freight operating arm of BLS
• DB Schenker freight operator
• Hupac 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 mainly in German; when last checked link for English version had minimal content)
• 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 presently operated by SNCF (Sites in French)
• 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
    • Zermatt to Disentis with a branch from Andermatt to Göschenen
    • Gornergrat Bahn Zermatt to Gornergrat, mountain railway with spectacular views of the Matterhorn
• The Route of the Golden Pass Panoramic:
  • Zentralbahn Luzern to Engelberg and Interlaken (Site in German)
  • Interlaken to Zweisimmen is operated by BLS
  • MOB Group
    • Montreux Oberland Bernois Zweisimmen to Montreux and Lenk
    • Montreux - Glion - Naye from the front of a hotel adjacent to Montreux SBB station to the underground summit station at Rochers de Naye, from which it is possible to walk through a tunnel to a restaurant built into the side of the mountain, with breathtaking views over Lake Geneva
    • Train des Étoiles Vevey to Les Pléiades
    • Funiculars
      • Les Avants - Sonloup
      • Territet (Montreux) – Glion
      • Vevey - Mt Pèlerin
• 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. Excursion trains with steam or hitoric electric traction operate on the rack railway between Rohrschach and Heiden on certain days, and are also available for private charter (Site in German)
• TPF includes a standard gauge local line from Fribourg to Ins and a network of standard and narrow gauge lines around Bulle, to the southwest of Fribourg. Occasional special excursions are offered, with steam or historic electric traction (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 4km of narrow gauge railway from Grütschalp to Mürren, reached by a suspended cablecar from Lauterbrunnen (BOB)
  • Jungfraubahn 9km of rack railway from Kleine Scheidegg to Jungfraujoch, 7.5km of which are in tunnel with “panoramic windows” opening onto spectacular views
  • Schynige Platte Bahn rack railway from Wilderswil (BOB) to Schynige Platte, over 7km
  • Wengernalpbahn Grindelwald (BOB) to Lauterbrunnen (BOB) via Kleine Scheidegg (JB), 19km; the longest continuous rack railway in Switzerland
  • Harderbahnbahn funicular from Interlaken Ost to Harder Kulm
• Travys regional operator in northern Switzerland (Site in French)

Minor Railways

• BAM Morges via Apples to Bière and L’Isle; about 30km, metre gauge (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
• Chemins de Fer de Jura two railways in north western Switzerland. Occasional steam hauled excursions are offered (Site in French and German)
• FART metre gauge electric railway between Locarno and Domodossola (Italy)
• Ferrovia Monte Generoso narrow gauge rack railway between Capolago, on an arm of Lake Lugano, and Monte Generoso the Italian border. Occasional steam hauled excursions are offered, or may be privately chartered.
• 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)
• Grimselwelt
  • Meiringen - Innertkirchen - Bahn (MIB) commuter and tourist line
  • Gelmerbahn funicular from Handeck to Gelmersee, with a gradient of 106% the steepest in Europe
  • Reichenbachfallbahn funicular at the Reichenbach Falls
• 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
• 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 in German)
• Oensingen-Balsthal-Bahn short standard gauge passenger and freight line, a branch off the SBB main line between Solothurn and Olten. There is a regular electric passenger service, and steam and historic electric trains are available for private charter (Site in German)
• Pilatusbahn mountain rack railway, claimed to be the steepest in the world
• Rigi Railways two spectacular mountain railways. Some trains are steam hauled
• 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)

Industrial Railways

• EWZ Railway underground narrow gauge railway servicing the tunnels of the Zurich District Heating System operated by EWZ. The tunnels carry steam pipes from the incinerator / power plant at Hagenholz to two university campuses and a hospital site (EWZ site in German, contains no details of railway; main article is an unofficial website with good pictures and a map)
• Feldschlösschen Brewery at Rheinfelden has a standard gauge internal network of some 6km for movement of raw materials and finished product out. Until 2008 it had two operational steam locomotives and ran passenger trains for visitors (Site in French, German and Italian, contains very little information relating to railway)
• Maschinenfabrik Rüti formerly had an interesting private rail siding at its factory, which incorporated a steep rack section

Museum Railways

• Bahnlinie Etzwilen - Singen steam hauled passenger trains operating a few days each year on the standard gauge line between Stein an Rhein and Rielasingen. When steam trains are not operating, pedal driven trolleys (Vélorails / Draisinen) may be hired from Ramsen station (Site in German)
• Blonay - Chamby Railway Museum with steam and electric traction on a line connecting the Train des Étoiles (MOB Group) at Blonay with the MOB main line at Chamby (Site in French and German)
• 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 Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn main line
• DVZO steam trains between Hinwil and Bauma in the Zürcher Oberland. The section between Hinwil and Bäretswil is part of the SBB network (Site in German)
• Ferrovia Mesolcinese historic electric trains on the metre gauge line between Castione (near Bellinzona) and Cama (Site in Italian and German)
• 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 private charter 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 (Sites in German)
• VVT steam trains on a branch of the Neuchâtel Public Transport Val de Travers line from Fleurier to St Sulpice. Was not operating during 2011 owing to ongoing repairs to the locomotive

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
  • BLT suburban and interurban trams
• Bern
  • Bernmobil trams (Site in German)
  • Drahtseilbahn Marzili funicular (Site in German)
  • Gurtenbahn funicular
• Biel / Bienne funiculars (Site in French and German)
• Cossonay funicular connecting the station with the town (Site in French)
• Fribourg funicular (Site in French and German)
• Geneva trams
• Glattal (northern Zürich) trams (Site in German)
• Interlaken Heimwehfluhbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Lausanne Metro (Site in French)
• Locarno funicular (No website located at present)
• Lugano funiculars
• Luzern
  • Gütschbahn 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 - 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 within the Riffelalp mountain resort
• 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
• 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
• Giessbachbahn from the pier on Lake Brienz to the Grandhotel Giessbach. Claimed to be the oldest operating funicular in Europe
• Moléson Village to Plan Francey connecting at Plan Francey with a cablecar to Le Moléson (Observatoire) (Site in French)
• 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 private underground funicular linking the hydroelectric power stations of Palü und Cavaglia in the Val Poschiavo. Not normally open to the public, except during pre-arranged power station visits. Owned by Repower (Site contains no details relating to funicular)
• Ritombahn Piotta in the Ticino valley to Piora near Lake Ritom (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 Engelberg - Gerschnialp funicular linking the town of Engelberg with the Gasthaus Gerschnialp and mountain cablecars to Titlis
• 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 (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 (Site contains little information relating to funicular)
• Vinifuni Ligerz / Gléresse to Prêles (Site in French and German)
• 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 / Draisinen)

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

© 2000-2011 Glyn Williams
Flag image from CIA World Factbook