Railways in

Switzerland

A train of the Glacier Express crossing the famous Landwasser Viaduct

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 speed 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 from 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
• Crossrail freight operator
• DB Cargo Schweiz freight operator
• Hupac freight operator
• RAlpin operator of rail shuttle service for heavy goods vehicles transiting Switzerland between Germany and Italy
• WRS freight operator (Site in French and German)

Standard Gauge Regional Railways

• Léman Express cross-border regional and commuter services in the Geneva area and neighbouring parts of France (Site in French)
• St Bernard Express Martigny to Le Châble and Orsières
• SZU suburban railway in the Zurich area (Site in German)
• Thurbo regional passenger operator in southern Germany and northern Switzerland (Site in German)
• TILO regional passenger operator in southern Switzerland and northern Italy (Site in Italian and 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
• Aare Seeland Mobil Langenthal to St Urban; Langenthal via Oensingen to Solothurn; Biel / Bienne to Ins (Site in French and German)
• Appenzeller Bahnen a network of metre gauge lines in the St Gallen area; also the standard gauge electrified rack railway from Rorschach to Heiden and the 1200mm gauge electrified rack railway from Rheineck to Walzenhausen (Site in German)
• Gornergrat Bahn Zermatt to Gornergrat, 9km. Metre gauge rack railway with spectacular views of the Matterhorn
• Grimselbahn proposed new narrow gauge line connecting the Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn at Uberwald with the Meiringen - Innertkirchen - Bahn at Innertkirchen (Site in 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
• 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
• Mont Blanc Express Martigny to St-Gervais-les-Bains (France)
• 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)
• Zentralbahn Luzern to Engelberg, Interlaken and Innertkirchen (Site in German)

Golden Pass

• Golden Pass Line marketing initiative for three railways together forming a route between Montreux and Luzern: narrow gauge MOB from Montreux to Zweisimmen; standard gauge BLS from Zweisimmen to Interlaken; and narrow gauge Zentralbahn from Interlaken to Luzern. MOB are introducing gauge changing carriages which will allow certain trains to continue from Zweisimmen to Interlaken over BLS tracks, eliminating the need of a change of trains for passengers from Montreux.

Minor Railways

• Aargau Verkehr two metre gauge local railways:
  • Aarau to Menziken and Schöftland, 32km
  • Wohlen to Dietikon, 19km
  (Site in German)
• Chablais Public Transport several metre gauge lines:
  • Aigle - Leysin, 6km
  • Aigle - Ollon - Monthey - Champéry, 23km
  • Aigle - Sépey - Diablerets, 22km
  • Bex - Villars - Bretaye, 17km
  (Site in French)
• CJ several local lines:
  • La Chaux-de-Fonds - Le Noirmont - Glovelier, 51km, metre gauge
  • Le Noirmont - Tavannes, 23km, metre gauge
  • Porrentruy - Bonfol, 11km, standard gauge
  (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.
• FLP metre gauge electric railway between Lugano and Ponte Tresa near the Italian border. Proposed street running extension to Lugano city centre, thus creating a tram-train route
• FW-Bahn metre gauge electric railway between Frauenfeld and Wil in the Western Thurgau (Site in German)
• Grimselwelt
  • 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)
• MBC Morges via Apples to Bière and L’Isle; about 30km, metre gauge (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
• TransN several local lines:
  • Travers to Buttes, with through services from Neuchâtel over SBB lines; 34km, standard gauge
  • La Chaux-de-Fonds to Les Ponts-de-Martel, 16km, metre gauge
  • Le Locle to Les Brenets, 4km, metre gauge
  (Site in French)
• Travys several local lines:
  • Vallorbe - Le Brassus, 25km, standard gauge
  • Chavornay - Orbe, 4km, standard gauge
  • Yverdon-les-Bains - Ste-Croix, 24km, metre gauge
  (Site in French)

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 rail network of some 6km for movement of raw materials in and finished product out. it formerly offered passenger train rides for visitors, but these ceased in 2008 (Site contains little information relating to railway)

Museum Railways

• Ballenberg Dampfbahn steam trains between Interlaken and Meiringen on the metre gauge Zentralbahn line. Occasional journeys continue to Innertkirchen over the Meiringen - Innertkirchen - Bahn. Operates typically one Sunday each month from April to October, and by private charter (Site in German)
• Blonay - Chamby Railway Museum with steam and electric traction on a line connecting the Train des Étoiles at Blonay with the MOB main line at Chamby. 3km, metre gauge. Operates most weekends from May to October, and by private charter (Site in French and German)
• Brienz - Rothorn steam operated rack railway with a rise of 1700m in 8km. 800m gauge. Operates most days from June to October, and by private charter
• DFB steam trains over a former section of the Furka Oberalp, now bypassed in tunnel by the Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn main line. Operates most days from late June to August, and Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and early October
• DVZO steam trains between Hinwil and Bauma in the Zürcher Oberland. The section between Hinwil and Bäretswil is part of the SBB network. Operates 2 Sundays each month from May to October (Site in German)
• Rheinbähnle based at the museum in Lustenau, Austria. operate steam and electric hauled trains over the 750mm gauge former Internationale Rheinregulierung works railway. Certain trains, mainly during the latter part of the year, enter Switzerland to reach Widnau or Kriessern (Site in German)
• Schinznacher Baumschulbahn narrow (600mm) gauge railway running for some 3km through the gardens and woodlands of the Baumschule Zulauf at Schinznach. Steam hauled services operate weekends from late April to mid October, diesel hauled on Wednesdays during the same period (Sites in German)
• Stiftung Museumsbahn occasional excursions, usually steam hauled, between Stein am Rhein and Rielasingen, Germany. 12km, of which 3km is in Germany. Standard gauge. On Sundays, and by prior arrangement on other days, pedal driven trolleys may be hired on the 3.5km section between Ramsen and Hemishofen or Rheinbrücke (Site in German)
• Sursee-Triengen-Bahn standard gauge, steam hauled. Operates typically one Sunday each month from May to October, and by private charter (Site in German)
• VerticAlp Emosson two funiculars and a 600mm gauge railway, originally used for the construction of the Emosson dam
• VVT tourist trains from Neuchâtel to St Sulpice and Les Verrières, partly on the SBB Neuchâtel to Portarlier route and partly on the TransN Val de Travers line. Standard gauge, steam hauled or historic electric locomotive. Dining facility available on some trains. Operates typically 4 days each year (Site in French)

Miniature Railways

• MiNi-Train de Pully Pully. 184mm (7¼ inch) gauge railway 420m in length. Steam and diesel hauled. Operates weekends and public holidays, April to October (Site in French)
• Steiner Liliputbahn Stein-am-Rhein. 184 / 368mm (7¼ / 14½ inch) gauge railway around 900m in length. Usually steam hauled. Operates Sundays and public holidays, April to October, and Sundays in early December (Site in German)
• Swiss Vapeur Parc park in Le Bouveret with extensive miniature railways, including a 184mm (7¼ inch) gauge passenger carrying line over 1.5 km in length. Steam, diesel and battery electric hauled. Operates daily, mid March to late October.
• Verkehrshaus der Schweiz museum in Luzern has a 241mm (9½ inch) gauge miniature railway. Battery electric hauled. Operates daily throughout the year.

Metro, trams and urban funiculars

• Basel
  • BVB city trams. Includes cross-border services to Leymen and Saint-Louis, France, and Weil am Rhein, Germany.
  • 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. Includes a cross-border service to Annemasse, France.
• Glattal (northern Zürich) trams (Site in German)
• Interlaken Heimwehfluhbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Lausanne Metro and trams
• Locarno Madonna del Sasso funicular (Site in German and Italian)
• Lugano
  • Monte Brè Funicular in two sections
  • Monte San Salvatore Funicular
  • Station Funicular connecting the railway station with the city centre (Site in Italian)
• Luzern
  • Hotel Château Gütsch funicular serving the hotel. The historic Gütschbahn was replaced by a modern equivalent in 2015
  • Hotel Montana a private funicular gives direct access from the lakeside to the hotel lobby
  • Sonnenbergbahn funicular (Site in German)
• Montreux Territet - Glion funicular
• Neuchâtel Trams and funiculars (Site in French)
• Riffelalp (Zermatt) battery trams within the Riffelalp mountain resort (Unsolicited audio on website)
• 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)
  • Limmattalbahn tram route under construction which will serve Killwangen-Spreitenbach. An initial section between Farbhof and Geissweid opened in 2019 (Site mainly in German with some information in English)
  • Dolderbahn rack railway (Site in German)
  • UBS Polybahn funicular (Site in German)

Mountain funiculars

• 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
• Flims Waldhaus - Caumasee (Site in German)
• Funiculaire St Imier - Mont Soleil (Site in French and German)
• Funiculaire St Luc Chandolin St Luc to Tignousa
• 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)
• 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
• 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 in German and Italian, contains few 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 (Site in French)
• 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 funicular linking the village of Mürren with the Panorama Restaurant and recreation areas at Allmendhubel
• Stanserhornbahn a historic funicular links the town of Stans with Kälti, where it connects with a cablecar to the Stanserhorn
• Stoosbahnen Schwyz to the car-free mountain village of Stoos. A new funicular, the steepest in the world with a rise of 740m in a little over 1.5km and a maximum gradient of 111%, opened in 2017 replacing an older funicular which had been in operation since 1933
• 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 from the pier at Treib on Lake Luzern (with ferry connections from Luzern and Flüelen) to the village of Seelisburg (Site in German)
• Trümmelbach Falls the attraction in the valley above Lauterbrunnen has an underground funicular (“Tunnel-Lift”) giving access to the falls (Site in German)
• Vinifuni Ligerz / Gléresse to Prêles (Site in French and German)
• Zermatt Bergbahnen funicular from Zermatt to Sunnegga, where it connects with a cabin lift to Blauherd and a cablecar from there to Rothorn, as well as another short funicular (the Leisee Shuttle) from Sunnegga to the shore of the Leisee
• Zugerberg Bahn from Schönegg, near Zug, to the Zugerberg (Site in German)

Schienenvelos (Vélorails / Draisinen)

• Schienenvelo pedal powered or motor hauled trolleys between Laupen and the Wittenberg Leisure Centre at Gümmenen. 4.5km, standard gauge (Site in German and French)
• Sensetalbahn pedal driven trolleys for hire on a closed section of line from Laupen to Gümmenen (Site in German)