FOT wants night trains to Sweden from April 2026
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss Federal Office of Transport (FOT) has announced its intention to introduce a Basel-Copenhagen-Malmö night train service from April 2026. Operating three times a week, this route would be spared from government budget cuts.
The FOT has announced that this line will be given priority and that CHF1.2 million (about $1.5 million) will be spent on preparatory work in 2025. Between now and 2030, the Swiss government plans to subsidise the line to the tune of CHF47 million. This money is intended to cover the uncovered costs associated with its operation (train tracks, energy, personnel and rolling stock).
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The subsidies do not include the purchase of new rolling stock, as “the link could be operated with the rolling stock currently in use from Zurich to Amsterdam”, said Sabrina Schellenberg, spokeswoman for the Swiss Federal Railways.
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The CHF47 million will come from the CO2 law, which initially provided for CHF30 million per year before Parliament reduced this sum to CHF10 million. This reduction is already a compromise in itself, the FOT points out, because the governing Federal Council wanted to end this contribution as part of its 2027-2029 financial plan.
Final decision in Parliament
The subsidy is intended to promote means of transport that emit less greenhouse gas. “Long-distance passenger services, particularly night trains, are being encouraged,” FOT spokesman Michael Müller told news agency Keystone-SDA.
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However, the final decision will be taken by Parliament as part of the debate on the 2026 budget. Swiss Federal Railways has submitted only one application for a night train line: Basel-Copenhagen-Malmö. Only Switzerland is supporting this line through its railways operator. No other country is providing any subsidy for its construction, the spokesman added. The train would run three times a week.
At the same time, the FOT has spent CHF5 million in 2025 to approve the “Giruno” train model so that it can run at 250 km/h, compared with 200 km/h at present. The aim is to offer direct trains to Venice, Genoa and Bologna. Ultimately, time savings on the various routes are envisaged. Finally, CHF1.9 million has been spent this year on replacing the dining cars on the Zurich-Innsbruck-Graz line.
Adapted from French by DeepL/ac
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