Here's how the Swiss train timetable changes in 2020
Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) plans to launch more direct services to Paris from cities including Geneva, Lausanne, Basel and Zurich.
That is one of the key features of the draft SBB timetable for 2020 which has just been published online. The timetable is set to come into effect on December 15th.
The losers will be passengers hoping to travel from Bern to Paris. They will now have to change trains in Basel, meaning travel times to the French capital will be half an hour longer, according to the draft timetable.
Connections to Germany
Meanwhile, the SBB will work with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn train operator to replace the ICE 1 trains with newer ICE 4 trains on the lines that run via Basel to Zurich and Chur, and via Basel to Bern and Interlaken.
Services from Zurich to Stuttgart will remain unchanged for now.
Geneva to get new commuter network
In other big news, December 15th will also see the launch of the fully operational Léman Express network. This has been designed to provide local train links between the greater Geneva area and locations in France.
Read also: SBB makes it easier to buy cheap international train tickets
As of mid-December, there will be direct connections between Coppet/Geneva and French destinations including Annemasse, Evian-les-Bains, Annecy and St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet.
The Léman Express network will become fully operational on December 15th.
Local authorities hope the new network will help ease traffic on the regions' congested roads.
Planned track works
The SBB has also announced a number of building works for 2020 that will limit travel options.
The line from Zug Oberwil to Arth-Goldau will be closed from June 9th to December 12th 2020.
From October 2019 to April 2020, there will be fewer connections to Zurich Airport as some long-distance services will not stop there during improvement works to platforms at the airport station.
In addition, services between Bern and Olten are set to be limited from December during works designed to boost capacity on the line.
The draft timetable can be found online here (in French).
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That is one of the key features of the draft SBB timetable for 2020 which has just been published online. The timetable is set to come into effect on December 15th.
The losers will be passengers hoping to travel from Bern to Paris. They will now have to change trains in Basel, meaning travel times to the French capital will be half an hour longer, according to the draft timetable.
Connections to Germany
Meanwhile, the SBB will work with Germany’s Deutsche Bahn train operator to replace the ICE 1 trains with newer ICE 4 trains on the lines that run via Basel to Zurich and Chur, and via Basel to Bern and Interlaken.
Services from Zurich to Stuttgart will remain unchanged for now.
Geneva to get new commuter network
In other big news, December 15th will also see the launch of the fully operational Léman Express network. This has been designed to provide local train links between the greater Geneva area and locations in France.
Read also: SBB makes it easier to buy cheap international train tickets
As of mid-December, there will be direct connections between Coppet/Geneva and French destinations including Annemasse, Evian-les-Bains, Annecy and St-Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet.
The Léman Express network will become fully operational on December 15th.
Local authorities hope the new network will help ease traffic on the regions' congested roads.
Planned track works
The SBB has also announced a number of building works for 2020 that will limit travel options.
The line from Zug Oberwil to Arth-Goldau will be closed from June 9th to December 12th 2020.
From October 2019 to April 2020, there will be fewer connections to Zurich Airport as some long-distance services will not stop there during improvement works to platforms at the airport station.
In addition, services between Bern and Olten are set to be limited from December during works designed to boost capacity on the line.
The draft timetable can be found online here (in French).
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