Rail transport in Switzerland is noteworthy for the density of its network, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans- Alp freight system. It is made necessary by strong regulations on

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics. With network length,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

has a dense railway network, and is the clear European leader in kilometres traveled: per inhabitant and year (2019). Worldwide, only the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

travel more by train. Virtually 100% of its network is electrified, except for the few tracks on which steam locomotives operate for tourism purposes only. There are 74 railway companies in Switzerland. The share of commuters who travel to work using public transport (as the primary mode of transport) is 30%. The share of rail in goods transport performance by road and rail (modal split) is 39%. Switzerland was ranked first among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index for its intensity of use, quality of service and strong safety rating. Switzerland had excellent intensity of use, notably driven by passenger traffic, a good rating for quality of service, and an excellent rating for safety. Switzerland captured high value in return for public investment with cost to performance ratios that outperform the average ratio for all European countries. Passenger trains have two

travel class A travel class is a quality of accommodation on public transport. The accommodation could be a seat or a cabin for example. Higher travel classes are designed to be more comfortable and are typically more expensive. Airlines Traditionally ...

es: 1st class, sometimes with larger windows (e.g. in the

Gotthard Panorama Express The Gotthard Panorama Express is a tourist-oriented boat and panoramic train line which connects Lucerne to Lugano, crossing the Swiss Alps from North to South through the Gotthard crest tunnel. Until 2017, the train was known as the William Te ...

), and 2nd class. Long-distance trains feature an on-board restaurant (or at least a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

) in the middle of the train and sometimes a "kids area" at one end of the train. Rail and most other modes of public transport operate under

clock-face scheduling A clock-face schedule, also cyclic schedule, is a timetable system under which public transport services run at consistent intervals, as opposed to a timetable that is purely driven by demand and has irregular headways. The name derives from the ...

. There is a national

integrated ticketing Integrated ticketing enables a journey involving transfers within or between different modes of transportation using a single ticket that is valid for the entire journey. These modes include buses, trains, subways, and ferries, among others. The ...

system for rail, bus and other modes of transport, grouped in tariff networks. The ''Swiss Travel Pass'' facilitates travel by train, bus and boat for tourists. Switzerland is a member of the

International Union of Railways The International Union of Railways (, UIC) is an international rail transport industry body based in Paris. History The railways of Europe had originated during the nineteenth century as many separate concerns across numerous nations; this le ...

(UIC). The

UIC Country Code The UIC Country Code is a two digit-number identifying countries in which members of the International Union of Railways (UIC) are active. The UIC has issued numbering systems for rolling stock ( UIC wagon numbers) and stations that include the co ...

for Switzerland is 85.

Standard-gauge railways

Three quarters of the Swiss rail network is at

standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

, comprising , administered mostly by three companies. Important railway stations are the Zürich HB (398,300 passengers per day in 2023),

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

(175,400 ppd),

Lucerne Lucerne ( ) or Luzern ()Other languages: ; ; ; . is a city in central Switzerland, in the Languages of Switzerland, German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital of the canton of Lucerne and part of the Lucerne (district), di ...

(99,400 ppd),

Winterthur Winterthur (; ) is a city in the canton of Zurich in northern Switzerland. With over 120,000 residents, it is the country's List of cities in Switzerland, sixth-largest city by population, as well as its ninth-largest agglomeration with about 14 ...

(99,100 ppd),

Basel SBB Basel SBB railway station (, or in earlier times ''Centralbahnhof'' or ''Schweizer Bahnhof'') is the central railway station in the city of Basel, Switzerland. Opened in 1854, and completely rebuilt in 1900–1907, it is Europe's busiest intern ...

(98,600 ppd),

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

(96,700 ppd), Zürich Oerlikon (82,200 ppd), and

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

(79,500 ppd). The main operators of the standard gauge railway lines are Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS), BLS, and Südostbahn (SOB). Other standard gauge operators are CJ, SZU, TPF and TransN.

Swiss Federal Railways

Swiss Federal Railways (, , ) is the largest railway company in Switzerland and handles most of national and international traffic. It operates the central east–west track in the Swiss Plateau area serving all larger Swiss cities and many smaller ones, and the north–south routes through the

Alps The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. ...

via the Gotthard Line through the

Gotthard Base Tunnel The Gotthard Base Tunnel (GBT; , , ) is a railway tunnel through the Alps in Switzerland. It opened in June 2016 and full service began the following December. With a route length of , it is the world's longest railway and deepest traffic tunn ...

(Milano-Chiasso-Lugano-Luzern/Zurich-Basel line) and the

Simplon Tunnel The Simplon Tunnel (''Simplontunnel'', ''Traforo del Sempione'' or ''Galleria del Sempione'') is a railway tunnel on the Simplon railway that connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig, Switzerland and Domodossola, Italy, through the Alps, providing a shor ...

(Domodossola to Brig-Lausanne-Geneva line). It operates most long-distance services, including

EuroCity EuroCity (EC) is an international Train categories in Europe, train category and brand for European inter-city rail, inter-city trains that cross international borders and meet criteria covering comfort, speed, food service, and cleanliness. E ...

(EC),

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the train categories in Europe, classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to InterRegio, regional train, r ...

(IC, domestic only),

InterRegio The InterRegio, often shortened to IR, is a train categories in Europe, train category for mainly domestic train services in use in some European countries, with Swiss Federal Railways operating the most dense network. InterRegio trains are semi ...

(IR) and

RegioExpress RegioExpress, commonly abbreviated to RE, is a Train categories in Europe, category of fast regional train service in Switzerland, run by Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) or other railway companies (such as Treni Regionali Ticino Lombardia, ...

(RE) services. SBB and its subsidiaries (e.g. Thurbo, RegionAlps) also runs many Regio (R) and

S-Bahn The S-Bahn ( , ), , is a hybrid urban rail, urban–suburban rail system serving a metropolitan region predominantly in German language, German-speaking countries. Some of the larger S-Bahn systems provide service similar to rapid transit syst ...

(S) lines. Its subsidiary

SBB GmbH SBB GmbH, also known as SBB Deutschland, is a railway company that operates services in Germany and the Swiss cantons, cantons of Canton of Basel-City, Basel-City and Canton of Schaffhausen, Schaffhausen in Switzerland. It is a subsidiary of Swis ...

operates regional trains serving stations in Germany, including two lines located entirely in Germany, near the border with Switzerland. SBB Cargo handles freight operations. *''Total route length:'' .

BLS

The BLS AG (short for

- Lötschberg- Simplon) operates 10% of the Swiss standard-gauge network. It manages the second major Alpine route (Bern-

Brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the l ...

), via both Lötschberg tunnels ( base and

summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

) and connection at with SBB's

to Italy. BLS operates

(IR),

(RE, one service extends to Italy) and Regio (R) services. It also operates

(S) trains for

Bern S-Bahn The Bern S-Bahn (; ) is an S-Bahn commuter rail network focused on Bern, the capital city of Switzerland. The network is roughly coterminous with Bern's urban agglomeration. Its services connect with those of Lucerne S-Bahn, RER Fribourg, RER ...

and

Lucerne S-Bahn The Lucerne S-Bahn () is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail network focusing on Lucerne in Central Switzerland. Opened on 12 December 2004, the network forms part of the Central Switzerland S-Bahn project (), which also includes the Zug Stadtbahn (). ...

Freight train A freight train, also called a goods train or cargo train, is a railway train that is used to carry cargo, as opposed to passengers. Freight trains are made up of one or more locomotives which provide propulsion, along with one or more railroad ...

s are operated by its subsidiary BLS Cargo. *''Total route length:'' .

SOB

The ''Schweizerische Südostbahn AG'' (SOB) owns railway lines in Central and

Eastern Switzerland Eastern Switzerland (, , , ) is the common name of the region situated to the east of Glarus Alps, with the cantons of Schaffhausen, Thurgau, St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, Appenzell Innerrhoden, and Glarus. The north of canton of Graubün ...

. It operates services over its own network and lines owned by SBB, partly as joint-ventures. Since the early 1990s, it operates a long-distance service between ( until 2013) and under the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

'' Voralpen Express''. This

(IR) service runs hourly via

Herisau Herisau is a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality and the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. It is the seat of the canton's government and parliament; the judicial authorities are situated ...

, the main town of the canton of

Appenzell Ausserrhoden Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden ( ; ; ; ), in English sometimes Appenzell Outer Rhodes, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of twenty municipalities. The seat of the gove ...

, the

Toggenburg Toggenburg is a region of Switzerland. It corresponds to the upper valley of the River Thur (Switzerland), Thur and that of the Necker (river), Necker, one of its afluents. Since 1 January 2003, Toggenburg has been a constituency (''Wahlkreis ...

valley, the lakeside dam on

Lake Zurich Lake Zurich (, ; ) is a lake in Switzerland, extending southeast of the city of Zurich. Depending on the context, Lake Zurich or can be used to describe the lake as a whole, or just that part of the lake downstream of the Hurden peninsula and ...

, the high moorland of Rothenthurm,

Lake Zug __NOTOC__ Lake Zug () is a lake in Central Switzerland, situated between Lake Lucerne and Lake Zurich. It stretches for between Arth and the Cham- Zug bay. The Lorze as the main feeder river empties its waters into the lake at its northern ex ...

and

Lake Lucerne Lake Lucerne (, literally 'Lake of the four Waldstätte, forested settlements' (in English usually translated as ''forest cantons''), , ) is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country. Geography The lake has a compli ...

. Since 2020, the SOB also operates the '' Treno Gottardo'' over the old Gotthard railway between / and , and since 2021 the ''

Aare Linth The Aare () or Aar () is the main tributary of the High Rhine (its discharge even exceeds that of the latter at their confluence) and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland. Its total length from its source to i ...

'' between and (both are IR services). SOB also runs some

(S) services of

, St. Gallen S-Bahn and

Zurich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...

. *''Total route length:'' , of which are their own.

Rail links to other countries

*Standard gauge **

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

– same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC **

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

– voltage change 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC / 25 kV, 50 Hz AC or 1,500 V DC **

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

– same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC **

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

– voltage change 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC / 3 kV DC **

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

– same voltage 15 kV, 16.7 Hz AC Although Austria, Germany and Liechtenstein all use the same voltage as Switzerland, dedicated types of locomotives are necessary due to Switzerland using narrower pantographs. ;Germany Several railway lines cross the

Germany–Switzerland border The border between the modern states of Germany and Switzerland extends to , mostly following Lake Constance and the High Rhine ('), with territories to the north mostly belonging to Germany and territories to the south mainly to Switzerland. E ...

. The most important one is the Mannheim–Basel line, which links stations in Germany with

Basel Badischer Bahnhof Basel Badischer Bahnhof (Basel Baden Railway station; abbreviated ''Basel Bad'') is a railway station in the Swiss city of Basel 2 km south of the Germany–Switzerland border. Despite its location, its land is an enclave of the EU Customs Unio ...

in the Swiss city of

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

. This station is also the western terminus of the High Rhine Railway, which runs east–west along the

High Rhine High Rhine (, ; kilometres 0 to 167 of the Rhine) is the section of the Rhine between Lake Constance () and the city of Basel, flowing in a general east-to-west direction and forming mostly the Germany–Switzerland border. It is the first of fo ...

and across the

Swiss canton The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the Federated state, member states of the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. The nucleus of the Swiss Confederacy in the form of the first three confederate allies used to be referred to as the . Two important ...

Schaffhausen Schaffhausen (; ; ; ; ), historically known in English as Shaffhouse, is a list of towns in Switzerland, town with historic roots, a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in northern Switzerland, and the capital of the canton of Schaffh ...

, and of the

Wiese Valley Railway The Wiese Valley Railway () is a 27.2 km long, electrified main line in German Baden-Württemberg in the tri-national area of Germany, Switzerland and France near the Swiss city of Basel. It is part of the Basel trinational S-Bahn and refer ...

to . Stations along these lines, including those in Switzerland, are owned by the German BEV, except

Schaffhausen railway station Schaffhausen railway station () is a railway station in Schaffhausen, the capital of the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The station is jointly owned by the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) and Deutsche Bahn (DB), and is served by t ...

, which is jointly owned with

Swiss Federal Railways Swiss Federal Railways (, SBB; , CFF; , FFS) is the national railway company of Switzerland. The company was founded in 1902 and is headquartered in Bern. It used to be a State-owned enterprise, government institution, but since 1999 it has be ...

(SBB). Other cross-border lines include the Eglisau–Neuhausen railway, corresponding to the shortest route between and Schaffhausen, which passes over German territory with two active railway stations (, ), both owned and operated by SBB (and its subsidiary Thurbo). Another

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

connects the border stations of (Switzerland) and (Germany) via a

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

over the High Rhine. A loop of the Lake Line links Switzerland with the German border city of

Konstanz Konstanz ( , , , ), traditionally known as Constance in English, is a college town, university city with approximately 83,000 inhabitants located at the western end of Lake Constance in the Baden-Württemberg state of south Germany. The city ho ...

Lake Constance Lake Constance (, ) refers to three bodies of water on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps: Upper Lake Constance (''Obersee''), Lower Lake Constance (''Untersee''), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein (). These ...

. Another railway line, the Etzwilen–Singen railway, is only used by heritage trains.

Deutsche Bahn (, ; abbreviated as DB or DB AG ) is the national railway company of Germany, and a state-owned enterprise under the control of the German government. Headquartered in the Bahntower in Berlin, it is a joint-stock company ( AG). DB was fou ...

(DB) operates long-distance trains from Germany to Swiss cities, including

Intercity-Express Intercity Express (commonly known as ICE () and running under this Train categories in Europe, category) is a high-speed rail in Germany, high-speed rail system in Germany. It also serves destinations in Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland an ...

(ICE) services to , Zürich HB, , and . DB also operates an

(IC) service between Zürich HB and , and an Interregio-Express (IRE) over the High Rhine line between Basel Badischer Bahnhof and . On the other hand, SBB runs

(EC) services between Zurich HB and , via in Austria. There is also one

(IR) line and one

(RE) line with as their terminus.

, SBB's German subsidiary, also operates a regional line, named the ''

Seehas ''Seehas'' is a regional rail service that operates as S6 service between Engen and Konstanz in the district of Konstanz, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is managed and operated by SBB GmbH, the German subsidiary of Swiss Federal Railways. I ...

'', and one line of

Basel S-Bahn The Basel S-Bahn (, ) has provided an S-Bahn-style rail service connecting the Basel metropolitan area since 1997 in Switzerland, Germany and France. It consists of eight suburban train lines, including four that operate across borders. The S-Ba ...

entirely on German territory close to the Swiss border. ;France There are a few railway lines crossing the

France–Switzerland border The France–Switzerland border is long. Its current path is mostly the product of the Congress of Vienna of 1815, with the accession of Geneva, Neuchâtel and Valais to the Swiss Confederation, but it has since been modified in detail, the la ...

, the most-frequented ones being the

Lyon–Geneva railway The Lyon–Geneva railway is an important route in the national rail network. It connects not only Geneva but also feeds the Maurienne railway and the Geneva to Valence via Grenoble line. It carries a variety of traffic: TGV Paris-Geneva, Genev ...

and the Strasbourg–Basel railway lines.

TGV Lyria TGV Lyria, owned by SNCF, yet jointly-operated by SNCF and SBB CFF FFS, is the brand name used for TGV railway lines connecting France and Switzerland. TGV Lyria is also a corporation that runs the service operated by SNCF in France and Swiss Fed ...

, a joint-venture between SBB and the French

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (, , SNCF ) is France's national State-owned enterprise, state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the Rail transport in France, country's national rail traffic along with th ...

, operates high-speed trains from

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

or southern France to and or Basel SBB and Zurich HB. Some

(RE) trains of SBB also connect with stations in France. The

Léman Express The Léman Express is a commuter rail network for the transborder agglomeration of Grand Genève (''Greater Geneva'') in west Switzerland and the French Alps (Haute-Savoie and Ain). Six lines serve Swiss and French towns along 230 km of ra ...

is a commuter rail system linking

with stations in Switzerland and France. Some cross-border regional trains services are provided by TER. ;Austria and Liechtenstein Only one standard gauge railway line crosses the Austria–Switzerland border, the St. Margrethen–Lauterach line, while another one, the Feldkirch–Buchs railway line, connects the two countries via the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Austrian Federal Railways The Austrian Federal Railways ( , formally or () and formerly the or ''BBÖ'' ), now commonly known as ÖBB (), is the national railway company of Austria, and the administrator of Liechtenstein's railways. The ÖBB group i ...

(ÖBB) operates the

Railjet Railjet is a high-speed rail service in Europe operated by Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and Czech Railways (ČD). Branded as ''Railjet Express'' (RJX category) for the fastest services and as ''Railjet'' (RJ) for services with additional s ...

and the ''

Transalpin The ''Transalpin'' is a EuroCity express train linking Zürich Hauptbahnhof, Zürich (Switzerland) with Graz Hauptbahnhof, Graz (Austria) via Liechtenstein. Introduced in 2013, it is operated by the Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) and the Swiss ...

'' (an EC service) between Zurich HB and several destinations in Austria. The services run via and through Liechtenstein (without stopping) to either Wien Hbf or

Graz Hbf Graz Hauptbahnhof, abbreviated Graz Hbf (German language, German for Graz Main Station; sometimes translated as Graz Central Station.), is the main railway station in Graz, the capital of the Austrian federal state Styria. The station is located ...

and call, among others, at

Innsbruck Hbf Innsbruck Hauptbahnhof (German language, German, 'Innsbruck Main Station' or 'Innsbruck Central Station') is the main railway station in Innsbruck, the capital city of the Austrian States of Austria, federal state of State of Tyrol, Tyrol. Open ...

and Salzburg Hbf. The other line is used by EC trains (Zürich–Munich) and regional trains of

Bodensee S-Bahn Bodensee S-Bahn is an international marketing effort grouping various regional rail services (S-Bahn, R/RB, RE, RE/REX) around Lake Constance () in Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Cross-border rail and bus services along with Lake Constance ...

. Rail transport to Liechtenstein is provided by

Vorarlberg S-Bahn Vorarlberg S-Bahn () is a label for regional rail services in the westernmost Austrian States of Austria, state of Vorarlberg. The S-Bahn services also connect to stations in the Germany, German town of Lindau, the Switzerland, Swiss towns of S ...

, operated by ÖBB. There are also bus links between Swiss railway stations and Liechtenstein. ;Italy The main railway lines linking Switzerland with Italy are the Gotthard railway and the

Simplon railway The Simplon Railway is a line that links Lausanne railway station, Lausanne in Switzerland and Domodossola railway station, Domodossola in Italy, via Brig railway station, Brig. The -long Simplon Tunnel (opened in 1906) is a major part of it. The ...

. SBB and the Italian

Trenitalia Trenitalia Società per azioni, SpA is the primary train operator of Italy. A subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane, itself owned by the Italian government. It was established in 2000 following a European Union directive on the deregulati ...

jointly operate EC services across the

Italy–Switzerland border The border between the modern states of Switzerland and Italy extends for , from the French-Swiss-Italian tripoint at Mont Dolent in the west to the Austrian-Swiss-Italian tripoint near Piz Lad in the east. Much of the border runs across the ...

. These services run between and or even via the

. Between Basel and Milan via Bern and the Lötschberg Base and Simplon Tunnels, and between Zurich HB and Milan via the Gotthard route. These routes were previously operated by ''

Cisalpino Cisalpino AG () was a railway company, referred to as CIS in timetables, operating international trains between Switzerland and Italy connecting Basel, Schaffhausen, Zurich, Geneva, Milan, Venice, Trieste, Livorno, and Florence. The company ha ...

''. Other standard-gauge lines crossing the border are operated by regional trains of TILO. ;Night trains There are also

EuroNight EuroNight, abbreviated EN, is a European train category that denotes many mainline national and international night train services within the Western and Central European inter-city rail network. Overview The classification and name were brough ...

(EN) services between Switzerland and other European countries. The Austrian ÖBB operates

Nightjet Nightjet (stylised as nightjet) is a brand name given by the ÖBB, Austrian Federal Railways (ÖBB) to its overnight passenger train services. ''Nightjet'' operates in Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Switze ...

(NJ) trains between Swiss, Austrian, Dutch and German destinations.

Narrow-gauge railways

Due to lack of space, the trains partly run on the street or right next to it.

RhB and MGB

The

Rhätische Bahn The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Swiss canton of Griso ...

(RhB), , is the longest

metre-gauge railway Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

network in Switzerland. Located in the eastern

Swiss Alps The Alps, Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main Physica ...

, it links

Arosa Arosa is a List of towns in Switzerland, town and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Plessur Region in the canton of Graubünden in Switzerland. It is both a summer and a winter tourist resort. On 1 January 2013, the former mu ...

Disentis Mustér (, Romansh) or Disentis (German), with its official name Disentis/Mustér is a village and a municipality in the Surselva Region in the Swiss canton of Grisons. The skiing and summer tourism resort high up in the Rhine valley is the si ...

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

and

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

with

Chur '' Chur (locally) or ; ; ; ; ; ; or ; , and . is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, town of the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons and lies in the Alpine Rhine, Grisonian Rhine Valley, where ...

in the canton of

Grisons The Grisons (; ) or Graubünden (),Names include: * ; *Romansh language, Romansh: ** ** ** ** ** **; * ; * ; * . See also list of European regions with alternative names#G, other names. more formally the Canton of the Grisons or the Canton ...

(). One line, operated by the

Bernina Express The Bernina Express is a Panorama Express (PE) train connecting Chur to Tirano in Italy by crossing the Swiss Engadin Alps. For most of its journey, the train also runs along the World Heritage Site known as the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula ...

(a Panorama Express, PE), crosses the

Tirano Tirano (; ) is a town and (municipality) in Valtellina, located in the province of Sondrio, Lombardy (northern Italy). It has 9,053 inhabitants (2016) and is adjacent to the Italy–Switzerland border. The river Adda (river), Adda flows through ...

in the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; (); or ; ; ) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Today it is known for its ski centre, hot spring spas, bresa ...

valley. The

Bernina Pass The Bernina Pass (el. .) () is a high mountain pass in the Bernina Range of the Alps, in the canton of Graubünden (Grisons) in eastern Switzerland. It connects the famous resort town of St. Moritz in the Engadin valley with the Italian-spea ...

is the highest point on this line, at an

altitude Altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum (geodesy), datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context (e.g., aviation, geometr ...

of . It is also the highest rail crossing in Europe. and are RhB's rail junctions with the

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

network. RhB's lines pass through the Landquart,

Vorderrhein The Vorderrhein (; ; ; ; ), or Anterior Rhine, is the left of the two initial tributaries of the Rhine (the other being the '' Hinterrhein''). It is longer than the ''Hinterrhein'', but has a lower discharge than the latter at their confluence, w ...

and upper

Alpine Rhine The Alpine Rhine Valley () is a glacial alpine valley, formed by the Alpine Rhine ( ), the part of the Rhine between the confluence of the Anterior Rhine and Posterior Rhine at Reichenau and Lake Constance. It covers three countries, with se ...

valleys and several side valleys, as well as the

Engadin The Engadin or Engadine (;This is the name in the two Romansh idioms that are spoken in the Engadin, Vallader and Puter, as well as in Sursilvan and Rumantsch Grischun. In Surmiran, the name is ''Nagiadegna'', and in Sutsilvan, it is ''Gidegna'' ...

e, the upper valley of the river

Inn Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway. Before the advent of motorized transportation, they also provided accomm ...

. The network has a total length of . The

Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn The Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn is a narrow gauge railway line and a railway company (Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn AG, MGB) in Switzerland. The track width is . It was created in 2003 through an amalgamation of Furka Oberalp Bahn (FO) and BVZ Zermatt ...

(MGB), , was founded in 2003 through the merger of the '' Furka Oberalp Bahn'' (FO) with the '' Brig–Zermatt Bahn'' (BVZ; BVZ means

–

Visp Visp (; ; ) is the capital of the district of Visp in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. Geography Visp lies in the Rhône valley, at the confluence of the Vispa and the Rhône, west of Brig-Glis. Visp has an area, , of . Of this a ...

–

Zermatt Zermatt (, ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Visp (district), Visp in the German language, German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is cl ...

). The former ''Furka Oberalp Bahn'' was a

metre-gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

railway in the high southern

. Its name refers to two passes, the

Furka Pass Furka Pass (; ) is a high mountain pass in the southern Swiss Alps connecting Gletsch, Valais with Realp, Uri via the seasonal Furkapassroute. The Furka Oberalp Bahn bypasses the pass through the high Furka Base Tunnel, which opened in 19 ...

and the

Oberalp Pass Oberalp Pass ( or ''Cuolm d'Ursera''; ) (2044 meters above sea level) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps connecting the cantons of Graubünden and Uri between Disentis/Mustér and Andermatt. Winter closure The public road that crosses t ...

. The Furka Pass lies at the upper end of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

valley. The Oberalp Pass is the highest point on this line at above sea level, and lies at the upper end of the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

valley. The line runs from to . At , the line connects with the former '' Schöllenenbahn'' to on the standard gauge Gotthard Railway of Swiss Federal Railways. Brig in the canton of

Valais Valais ( , ; ), more formally, the Canton of Valais or Wallis, is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of thirteen districts and its capital and largest city is Sion, Switzer ...

is a rail junction with standard gauge lines of Swiss Federal Railways and BLS. It sits at the north end of the

on the Milan–Lausanne line and Milan–Bern line. The total length of the FO railway was . The former ''Brig–Zermatt Bahn'' was a short line between Brig and . It passes through the valleys of the Vispa and

Matter Vispa The Vispa is a river in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, located in the Visp area. It is essentially composed of two large branches: the Matter Vispa and the Saaser Vispa, converging at Stalden, then forming the Vispa proper, flowing for less ...

, tributaries of the

. The total length of the BVZ line was . The ''

Glacier Express The Glacier Express is a direct Panorama Express (PE) train connecting railway stations of the two major mountain resorts of Zermatt and St. Moritz via Andermatt in the central Swiss Alps. The train provides a one-seat ride for an 8-hour end-to-e ...

'' (GEX), a Panorama Express (PE), runs on the combined route, using lines of RhB and MGB ( - - - - - - - ). A one-day trip in panoramic-view cars takes tourists from St. Moritz to Zermatt, or vice versa, through some of the most spectacular scenery of the Alps. It is the longest long-distance train service in Switzerland. The journey from Zermatt to St. Moritz takes about 8 hours.

Further narrow-gauge railways

;

The '' Appenzeller Bahnen'' (AB), , with its total of of mainly metre-gauge tracks just recently combined (2006) the earlier separate Trogenerbahn from to , the

standard-gauge railway A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

(partial

rack railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with ...

) from Rorschach to Heiden, the

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

from Rheineck to

Walzenhausen Walzenhausen is a municipality in the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden in Switzerland. History The farm ''Walzenhausen'' was mentioned first in 1320. The church was built in 1638 in as little as nine months. This was the establishment of Walzenha ...

, as well as the previous ''Appenzeller Bahnen'' (including another rack railway). The AB connects towns within the

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, th ...

Appenzell Innerrhoden Canton of Appenzell Innerrhoden ( ; ; ; ), in English sometimes Appenzell Inner-Rhodes, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. The seat of the government and parliament is Appenzell. It is ...

and

with the city of St. Gallen and other towns in the canton of St. Gallen. Since 2021, the narrow-gauge Frauenfeld–Wil railway (FWB), linking

Frauenfeld Frauenfeld (Alemannic German, Alemannic: ''Frauefäld'') is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Thurgau, Thurgau in Switzerland. The official language of Frauenfeld is (the Swiss variety of Standard) Swiss Standard Ge ...

in the canton of

Thurgau Thurgau (; ; ; ), anglicized as Thurgovia, and formally as the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts. Its capital is Frauenfeld. Thurgau is part of Eastern Switzerland. I ...

with Wil in the canton of St. Gallen, also belongs to Appenzell Railways. All AB lines are used by services of St. Gallen S-Bahn. ;

Bernese Oberland The Bernese Oberland (; ; ), sometimes also known as the Bernese Highlands, is the highest and southernmost part of the canton of Bern. It is one of the canton's five administrative regions (in which context it is referred to as ''Oberland'' witho ...

and adjacent areas 20040529K243-27

The

Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway The Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (, , abbreviated MOB) is a company that operates an electrified railway line, the Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line, in southwest Switzerland, one of the oldest electric railways in the country. Its main lin ...

(MOB) runs long

Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line The Montreux–Lenk im Simmental line is a metre-gauge electric railway line in Switzerland run by the Montreux Oberland Bernois Railway (MOB) and links Montreux on Lake Geneva by way of Les Avants, Montbovon, Rossinière, Château-d'Œx, Rou ...

from

Montreux Montreux (, ; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, Swiss municipality and List of towns in Switzerland, town on the shoreline of Lake Geneva at the foot of the Swiss Alps, Alps. It belongs to the Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut (district), Riviera-Pays ...

Lake Geneva Lake Geneva is a deep lake on the north side of the Alps, shared between Switzerland and France. It is one of the List of largest lakes of Europe, largest lakes in Western Europe and the largest on the course of the Rhône. Sixty percent () ...

Zweisimmen Zweisimmen is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen (administrative district), Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Zweisimmen is first mentioned in 1228 ...

, with a connecting line to

Lenk Lenk im Simmental (or simply Lenk) is a municipality in the Obersimmental-Saanen administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. History Lenk is first mentioned in 1370 as ''An der Leng''. The oldest traces of a settlement in t ...

in the

Simmental The Simmental (; ) is an alpine valley in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland. It expands from Lenk to Boltigen, in a more or less south-north direction ( Obersimmental), and from there to the valley exit at Wimmis near Spiez it takes a west-e ...

. The section from Montreux to Zweisimmen, approximately long, is part of the "Golden Pass Panorama" trip from Montreux to

Interlaken Interlaken (; lit.: ''between lakes'') is a Swiss town and municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the canton of Bern. It is an important and well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss ...

(and further to Lucerne), a trip which combines rides on the MOB, for some connections the BLS, and from Interlaken onwards the Zentralbahn (zb). From

, the narrow-gauge Brünigbahn section of the Zentralbahn (zb) runs further to

. It skirts

Lake Brienz Lake Brienz () is a lake just north of the Alps, in the canton of Bern in Switzerland. It has a length of about , a width of and a maximum depth of . Its area is ; the surface is above the sea-level. It is fed, among others, by the upper reaches ...

and passes through the range of mountains to the north of the lake via

Brünig Pass The Brünig Pass, at an altitude of , connects the Bernese Oberland and central Switzerland, linking Meiringen in the canton of Bern and Lungern in the canton of Obwalden. It is on the watershed between the upper reaches of the Aare, which flow ...

, and then drops into

Obwalden Canton of Obwalden or Obwald ( ; ; ; ) is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of seven municipalities and the seat of the government and parliament is in Sarnen. It is traditio ...

(the

Sarner Aa The Sarner Aa is a long river in the Swiss canton of Obwalden. It drains the area to the eastern side of the Brünig Pass, flowing through the Lake Lungern, Lake Sarnen and the Wichelsee, before entering Lake Lucerne near Alpnach. It goes by s ...

valley) to Lucerne. The zb also runs the line between Lucerne and

Engelberg Engelberg (lit.: ''mountain of angel(s)'') is a village resort and a municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Obwalden in Switzerland. Alongside the central village of Engelberg, the municipality enc ...

The Berner Oberland Bahn (BOB) is a long line from

to and . It begins at and divides at , about south of Interlaken. The western branch leads to Lauterbrunnen, while the eastern branch leads to Grindelwald. It is possible to make a loop by taking the Lauterbrunnen branch and returning via the Grindelwald branch. The two branches are connected by the Wengernalp Bahn. The Wengernalpbahn (WAB) is a long line between the villages of

Lauterbrunnen Lauterbrunnen () is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Canton of Bern, Bern in Swi ...

and

Grindelwald Grindelwald is a village and Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli (administrative district), Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Berne. In additio ...

, leading over the Eiger ridge at the junction station at

Kleine Scheidegg The Kleine Scheidegg () is a mountain pass at an elevation of , situated below and between the Eiger and Lauberhorn peaks in the Bernese Oberland region of Switzerland. The name means "minor watershed", as it only divides the two arms of the L ...

. In the winter, this junction is a ski resort served by many lifts and trails, as well as the rail line. Skiers can ride the train from the valleys below to return to the top of the runs. The

Jungfraubahn The Jungfrau Railway (, , JB) is a mountain rack railway in the Bernese Alps, Switzerland, connecting Kleine Scheidegg in the Bernese Oberland to the Jungfraujoch, across the Valais border. It is the highest railway in Switzerland and Europe, run ...

(JB), which is also rack-and-pinion throughout, starts at Kleine Scheidegg and runs through tunnels in the

Eiger The Eiger () is a mountain of the Bernese Alps, overlooking Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen in the Bernese Oberland of Switzerland, just north of the main watershed and border with Valais. It is the easternmost peak of a ridge crest that extends ...

and

Mönch The Mönch (, German: "monk") at is a mountain in the Bernese Alps, in Switzerland. Together with the Eiger and the Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognisable group of mountains, visible from far away. The Mönch lies on the border between the ...

, leading to the "Jungfraujoch", a saddle between the Mönch and the

Jungfrau The Jungfrau (, , , "maiden, virgin"), at is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps, located between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais, halfway between Interlaken and Fiesch. Together with the Eiger and Mönc ...

summits. At the saddle are a visitor centre and an observatory. The

Aletsch Glacier The Aletsch Glacier (, ) or Great Aletsch Glacier () is the largest glacier in the Alps. It has a length of about (2014), a volume of (2011), and covers about (2011) in the eastern Bernese Alps in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Valais. The A ...

, largest in Europe, runs to the south toward the

valley. The Bergbahn Lauterbrunnen-Mürren (BLM) is long, divided into two independent parts, the first part being a cable car (which runs above the old

railway, which was replaced in 2006), the second an

adhesion Adhesion is the tendency of dissimilar particles or interface (matter), surfaces to cling to one another. (Cohesion (chemistry), Cohesion refers to the tendency of similar or identical particles and surfaces to cling to one another.) The ...

railway. At the Brienz Rothorn Bahn (BRB), a steam-hauled

, ascends to near the summit of the

Brienzer Rothorn The Brienzer Rothorn is a mountain of the Emmental Alps, in Switzerland. With an elevation of above sea level, the Brienzer Rothorn is the highest summit of the range. To its west lies the Tannhorn, whilst to its east are Arnihaaggen, Höch G ...

. ; Western Switzerland and

The

Chemins de fer du Jura The Chemins de fer du Jura, abbreviated to CJ, is a railway company in the canton of Jura in northwestern Switzerland. It was formed in 1944 from the merger of four independent companies connecting Porrentruy to Bonfol, Saignelégier to La Chaux ...

(CJ), the railways of the

canton of Jura The Republic and Canton of Jura (officially in ), less formally the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura ( ; ), is the newest (founded in 1979) of the 26 Swiss cantons, located in the northwestern part of Switzerland. The capital is Delémont. It shar ...

in northern Switzerland, is an long rail network of which is metre gauge, the remaining being standard gauge. It connects to and , both via . Other narrow-gauge railway lines in the

Swiss Jura Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

include the

La Chaux-de-Fonds–Les Ponts-de-Martel railway LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

and Le Locle–Les Brenets line, both operated by TransN. In the

canton of Vaud Vaud ( ; , ), more formally Canton of Vaud, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of ten districts; its capital city is Lausanne. Its coat of arms bears the motto "Liberté et patrie" on a white-green bicolou ...

, metre-gauge railways include the Chemin de fer Nyon-St-Cergue-Morez, the

Chemin de fer Bière-Apples-Morges Chemin or Le Chemin may refer to: Arts and media * ''Le Chemin'' (Emmanuel Moire album), 2013 album by French singer Emmanuel Moire * ''Le Chemin'' (Kyo album), 2003 album by French band Kyo ** "Le Chemin" (song), title song from same-titled Kyo a ...

, the Chemin de fer Yverdon–Ste-Croix, the Chemin de fer Bex–Villars–Bretaye and the Chemin de fer Lausanne–Echallens–Bercher, as well as part of the longer

. Another

links with

Champéry Champéry (; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Monthey (district), Monthey in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Valais in Switzerland. History Champéry is first mentioned in 1286 as ''Champery''. The Ho ...

in the canton of Valais. The Chemin de fer Martigny–Châtelard (MC) is long, with one rack railway section, in the canton of Valais. It runs from to and connects with the

Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway The Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine railway (), also known as the Saint-Gervais–Vallorcine Line, is a single-track long metre gauge railway in France connecting the SNCF's Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le Fayet station with Vallorcine station and the ...

in France, the joint services being marketed as ''Mont-Blanc Express''. The Gornergrat Bahn climbs for from an elevation of near station of the Zermatt RR to a high top station on the shoulder of the

Monte Rosa Monte Rosa (; ; ; or ; ) is a mountain massif in the eastern part of the Pennine Alps, on the border between Italy (Piedmont and Aosta Valley) and Switzerland (Valais). The highest peak of the massif, amongst several peaks of over , is the D ...

Mountain. The entire route is a

rack-and-pinion railway A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack rail, usually between the running rails. The trains are fitted with one or more cog wheels or pinions that mesh with t ...

. ;

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

The Ferrovia Lugano–Ponte Tresa (FLP), in canton Ticino, runs from

Lugano Lugano ( , , ; ) is a city and municipality within the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino, Switzerland. It is the largest city in both Ticino and the Italian-speaking region of southern Switzerland. Lugano has a population () of , and an u ...

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa () is a former Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Lugano (district), Lugano in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte T ...

. The

Monte Generoso railway The Monte Generoso Railway or Ferrovia Monte Generoso (MG) is a mountain railway line in the Italian language, Italian speaking cantons of Switzerland, canton of Ticino, in south-east Switzerland. The line runs from Capolago, on Lake Luga ...

(MG) operates between (or ) and Monte Generoso. ;Other The

Aargau Verkehr Aargau Verkehr AG (AVA) is a Swiss transport company. It was formed on 19 June 2018 from the merger of BDWM Transport and the Wynental and Suhrental Railway. The new company operates both rail and bus services, with most of the latter being prov ...

company operates two unconnected narrow gauge lines. The Menziken–Aarau–Schöftland line operates in the centre of the

canton of Aargau Aargau ( ; ), more formally the Canton of Aargau (; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eleven districts and its capital is Aarau. Aargau is one of the most northerly cantons of Switzerland, by th ...

as S14 service of the

Aargau S-Bahn The Aargau S-Bahn ( or ) is an S-Bahn-style regional rail network serving the canton of Aargau, Switzerland, with some services extending into the cantons of Bern, Lucerne, Solothurn and Zug and one service to the German city of Waldshut-Tiengen ...

. The Bremgarten–Dietikon line operates across the border between the

canton of Zurich The canton of Zurich is an administrative unit (Swiss canton, canton) of Switzerland, situated in the northeastern part of the country. With a population of (as of ), it is the most populous canton of Switzerland. Zurich is the ''de facto'' Capi ...

and eastern Aargau as S17 service of the

. The two lines have a total length of . The Forch railway (, FB) is a

meter gauge Metre-gauge railways ( US: meter-gauge railways) are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. Metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by several European colonial powers including France, Britain and ...

railway in the canton of Zurich that operates from to as S18 service of the

. It uses the Zurich tram tracks between Stadelhofen and , while operating on its own tracks outside of the city of

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG.

Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn Regionalverkehr Bern-Solothurn RBS () is a Switzerland, Swiss public transport company. It operates train, tram, and bus lines between Bern, Solothurn and Worb. History There had been a desire for a direct connection between Solothurn and Bern ...

(RBS) operates three services for

on meter gauge lines: the S7 on the Worb Dorf–Worblaufen line, the S8 on the Solothurn–Worblaufen line and the S9 on the Zollikofen–Bern line. Aare Seeland mobil (ASM) operates two

services (S11, S12) on three meter gauge railway lines in the cantons of

and

Solothurn Solothurn ( ; ; ; ; ) is a town, a municipality, and the capital of the canton of Solothurn in Switzerland. It is located in the north-west of Switzerland on the banks of the Aare and on the foot of the Weissenstein Jura mountains. The town is ...

: the Langenthal–Oensingen, the Langenthal–Melchnau and the Solothurn–Niederbipp lines. The Waldenburg railway links with Waldenburg in the canton of

Basel-Landschaft Canton of Basel-Landschaft or Basel-Country, informally known as Baselland or Baselbiet (; ; ; ; ), is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital city is Liestal. It is traditional ...

. Since 2016, it is operated by line 19 of

Baselland Transport Baselland Transport AG (BLT) is a Swiss public transport operator in the cantons of Basel-Land, Basel-Stadt, Solothurn and in France. The BLT was founded in 1974, and is owned by the Canton of Basel-Land, located to the south of the city. It tra ...

(BLT).

Narrow-gauge links to adjacent countries

– : ** Martigny–Châtelard Railway /

(), partially a

– : **

Bernina Railway The Bernina railway line (; ; ) is a Single track (rail), single-track railway line forming part of the Rhaetian Railway (RhB). It links the spa resort of St. Moritz, in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Graubünden, Switzerland, with the tow ...

(

Rhaetian Railway The Rhaetian Railway (; ; ), abbreviated RhB, is a Swiss transport company that owns the largest network of all private railway operators in Switzerland. Headquartered in Chur, the RhB operates all the railway lines of the Cantons of Switzerland, ...

break-of-gauge With railways, a break of gauge occurs where a line of one track gauge (the distance between the rails, or between the wheels of trains designed to run on those rails) meets a line of a different gauge. Trains and rolling stock generally canno ...

and voltage change at

** Domodossola–Locarno railway line ( FART (ferrovie autolinee regionali ticinesi)) through the Swiss Centovalli and Italian

Valle Vigezzo Valle Vigezzo (Vigezzo Valley) is a valley in the Lepontine Alps in northwestern Italy on the border with Ticino, Canton Ticino of Switzerland. It forms the eastern branch of the Ossola valley. It is also called the Valle dei Pittori (Valley of ...

– gauge: ** The International Rhine Regulation Railway, a former industrial railway (now a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

) along and across the

Urban rail

Urban rail transit Urban rail transit is a wide term for various types of local rail systems providing passenger service within and around urban or suburban areas. The set of urban rail systems can be roughly subdivided into the following categories, which som ...

in Switzerland includes

trams A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...

and

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

in several cities,

commuter rail Commuter rail or suburban rail is a Passenger train, passenger rail service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Central business district, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter town ...

systems centered around cities (known as

), a single, small

metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

system and

s. Plans for a rapid transit in Zurich, Switzerland's largest city, were discontinued after a referendum.

Trams

There are trams operating on nine systems in seven Swiss cities. Street-running tramways are nearly all . The Chemin de fer Bex–Villars–Bretaye (BVB) in

Bex Bex (; ; ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the canton of Vaud, Switzerland, located in the Aigle (district), district of Aigle. It is a few kilometers south of its sister town municipality of Aigle. History Bex is first ment ...

is more of a mixed interuban light rail line connected to a

but it does have some street running portions, particularly in Bex where the BVB operates along the right of way of a tramway system originally built in the 1890s. Also the '' Trogenerbahn'' operated by

Appenzell Railways Appenzell Railways (, AB) is a Swiss railway company with headquarters in Herisau. It operates a network of railways and a bus line in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, St. Gallen and Thurgau. It was founded in 2006 ...

(AB) operates on streets in the city of St. Gallen as well as the '' Frauenfeld–Wil-Bahn'' (FWB) in the city of

the ''

Forchbahn The Forch railway (, ''FB'', nicknamed ''Förchler'', ''Frieda'', ''Frieda Bünzli'' by locals) is a local mixed tramway / railway line in the Switzerland, Swiss canton of Zürich. It is owned and operated by the Forchbahn AG, and is branded as ...

'' in the city of

and the '' Chur–Arosa-Bahn'' in the city of

S-Bahn

In many parts of Switzerland suburban commuter rail service is today known as

Clock-face scheduling A clock-face schedule, also cyclic schedule, is a timetable system under which public transport services run at consistent intervals, as opposed to a timetable that is purely driven by demand and has irregular headways. The name derives from the ...

in commuter rail has been first put in place on the line – near

in 1964. In 1968, the '' Goldcoast Express'' on the right side of

followed. In 1982, clock-face scheduling was introduced all over Switzerland. The term ''S-Bahn'' has been used since 1990 for the

Zürich S-Bahn The Zurich S-Bahn () system is a network of rail lines that has been incrementally expanded to cover the ZVV area, which comprises the entire canton of Zurich and portions of neighbouring cantons (Aargau, Glarus, Schaffhausen, Schwyz, ...

, since 1995 for

and since 1997 for the

. Other S-Bahn services include

, St. Gallen S-Bahn,

Chur S-Bahn The expression Chur S-Bahn () is used to describe two S-Bahn-style regional rail services focused upon Chur, the capital of the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. Both of these S-Bahn services run on metre gauge lines, and are operated by th ...

and

Schaffhausen S-Bahn The Schaffhausen S-Bahn is an S-Bahn network in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen and the German state of Baden-Württemberg (Konstanz and Waldshut districts). It comprises three services and began operation in 2015. Services are operated by SBB ...

. Additionally, other terms for commuter rail are in use, like ''

Stadtbahn Zug The Zug Stadtbahn () is an S-Bahn-style commuter rail network centred on Zug, Switzerland. Opened on 12 December 2004, the network forms part of the Central Switzerland S-Bahn project (), which also includes the Lucerne S-Bahn (). Lines , the n ...

''. Around

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

(

RER Fribourg RER Fribourg or RER Fribourg , Freiburg (, ) is an S-Bahn network in the canton of Fribourg in Switzerland. The network has two hubs, Bulle and Fribourg, and began operating in . History The RER Fribourg network began operation with the 11 D ...

) and

(

RER Vaud RER Vaud () is an S-Bahn network in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is centered on Lausanne and began operating in December 2004. Lines the network consists of the following lines: * : – (– ) * : Grandson – Lausanne (– Cully) ...

), it is known as (RER), whereas in the region of

the term is

. In the canton of

, RegionAlps offers S-Bahn services, while in the

canton of Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts and its capital city is Bellinzo ...

such services are provided by TILO. The commuter rail networks of Zurich, Basel, St. Gallen, Geneva, Schaffhausen and Ticino provide also cross-border transportation services into Austria, Germany, France and Italy, respectively. The Austrian

operates services with Swiss border stations as their terminus, with one service operating through

. The Italian

Milan S Lines The Milan S Lines constitute the commuter rail system serving the metropolitan area of Milan, Italy. The system comprises 12 lines serving 124 stations, for a total length of 403 km. There are 415 trains per day with a daily ridership of a ...

includes a service operating until the Swiss border station of .

groups several S-Bahn services around

() in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.

Funiculars

Tourist railways

List of heritage railways and funiculars in Switzerland This is a list of heritage railways in Switzerland. For convenience, the list includes any pre-World War II railway in the large sense of the term (either adhesion railway, rack railway or funicular) currently operated with at least several origi ...

List of mountain railways in Switzerland This is a list of mountain railways in operation in Switzerland. It includes railways that overcome steep gradients (over 5%) or whose culminating point is over above sea level. Most of them are located in the Alps, which include the highest Eur ...

* Panorama Express

High-speed railways

Train categories

Rolling stock

Naming

Since the naming of the Class Ae 6/6 locomotives (

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

d , ), it has become common customs for Swiss railway companies to name their locomotives and

multiple unit A multiple-unit train (or multiple unit (MU)) is a self-propelled train composed of one or more Coach (rail), carriages joined, and where one or more of the carriages have the means of propulsion built in. By contrast, a locomotive-hauled ...

s (MU).

Rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

named after cantons or

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

often also bear the respective

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. The following is a list of locomotives and MUs of the three main operators that are named.

Integration of services

Between rail services

Services on the Swiss railway network are integrated with each other and with other

modes Mode ( meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * MO''D''E (magazine), a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is the setting fo ...

public transport Public transport (also known as public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) are forms of transport available to the general public. It typically uses a fixed schedule, route and charges a fixed fare. There is no rigid definition of whic ...

, such as local railways, buses, boats/ferries and cable transports, often either in direct proximity or short walking distance, to minimise transfer times. Unlike its European neighbours, Switzerland has not developed a comprehensive high-speed rail network, with the running speed on high-speed lines, the Rothrist–Mattstetten line and

, being and , respectively. Instead the priority is not so much the speeding up of trains between cities, but the reduction of connection times through the nodal system. Journey times on main lines between hubs are multiples of 15 minutes so that on the hour or half-hour all trains stand in the nodal stations at the same time, thus minimising connection times. Indeed, the above-mentioned Rothrist–Mattstetten line reduces journey times from to from 72 minutes to 57 minutes, in keeping with the

Between modes of public transport

* Rail timetables are integrated with the extensive network of postal buses (branded as ''PostBus'', , , ), which serve both plain and high mountain villages, as well as with many other Swiss bus companies. For example, on postal bus line 12.381 the 10:35 from the mountain village of Les Haudères is planned to arrive in the regional city of Sion at 11:20 where a train departs the station (located next to the bus station) at 11:24 for Visp. Indeed, it is a familiar sight to for the postal cars to be already lined up outside the station for the arriving train. From this perspective, the Swiss rail network functions as the core of a wider public transport network. Other modes of transport concerned by the integrated timetable are: * Boats/ferries: for example at ( SNL), ( SGV), ( URh), (SGV), ( CGN), (

ZSG The Lake Zurich Navigation Company (, ZSG) is a public Switzerland, Swiss company operating passenger ships and boats on Lake Zurich () and the river Limmat in Zurich.The company's services connect lake-side towns between Zurich and Rapperswil/S ...

), , *

Cable cars: for instance at , , , , * BSicon_FUNI2

Funiculars (for example at , , , , ) and other

mountain railway A mountain railway is a railway that operates in a mountainous region. It may operate through the mountains by following mountain valleys and tunneling beneath mountain passes, or it may climb a mountain to provide transport to and from the su ...

s (for instance at , , ) * Metro: at , , * Heritage railways: at , ,

Links to airports

* The two main airports,

Zurich Airport Zurich Airport is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zurich, the largest city in Switzerland, and, with its surface transport links, much of the rest o ...

and

Geneva Airport Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...

, both have their own subterranean railway stations, () and (). Zurich Airport also has tram links to the city. Other airports have bus links to/from nearby railway stations:

EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area is an international airport in the administrative commune of Saint-Louis, in the French Alsace part of the Trination ...

with ,

Bern Airport Bern- Belp Regional Aerodrome , marketed as ''Bern Airport'', officially referred to as in German, is a regional aerodrome serving Bern, the capital of Switzerland. The aerodrome is located within the town limits of Belp, and used to feature sc ...

with , St. Gallen–Altenrhein Airport with and Sion Airport with . Lugano Airport is close to .

Integration with private transport

* About 600 railway stations feature

park and ride A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail transport, r ...

, known as P+Rail in Switzerland, which allows commuting partly by

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

and partly by

Mobility Mobility may refer to: Social sciences and humanities * Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status * Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time * Mobilities, a conte ...

is a cooperative for

car sharing Carsharing or car sharing (AU, NZ, CA, TH, & US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour. It differs from traditional car rental in that the owners of the cars are often pr ...

. Mobility cars are available at many railway stations. * BSicon SHUTTLE

There are also car and truck transportation services () on some lines, mainly in mountainous areas. * Some trains feature an area (indicated either near or on the doors), or even an entire railroad car (e.g. trains on the Altstätten–Gais railway line), for transportation of bicycles. Most railway stations have a bicycle parking and/or

bicycle parking station A bicycle parking station, or bicycle garage, is a building or structure designed for use as a bicycle parking facility. Such a facility can be as simple as a lockable bike cage or shed or as complex as a purpose-built multi-level building: th ...

. Some railway stations also offer bicycle washing and repair services.

Costs and subsidies

Although public investment is positively correlated with a given railway system's performance, the European Railway Performance Index finds differences in the value that countries receive in return for their public cost. The 2017 Index found Switzerland captures high value for money relative to the average ratio of performance to cost among European countries.

Passenger transport

In 2012, the total costs for passenger transport on Swiss railway network was CHF 8.88 billion, of which CHF 4.46 billion (50%) were due to infrastructure costs, CHF 3.98 billion (45%) were costs of transportation means, CHF 427 million due to environmental and health costs, and CHF 25 million due to accidents. CHF 4.28 billion, or 48.2%, were paid by passengers, and CHF 4.15 billion (or 47%) came from

rail subsidies Many countries offer subsidies to their railways because of the social and economic benefits that it brings. The economic benefits can greatly assist in funding the rail network. Those countries usually also fund or subsidize road construction, and ...

provided by federal, cantonal, and municipal contributions. CHF 426 million (or 4.8%) were contributed by the common weal (accident and health insurances, environmental funds etc.).

Freight transport

In 2012, the total costs for freight transport on Swiss railway network was CHF 2.063 billion, of which CHF 779 million (37.8%) were due to infrastructure costs, CHF 900 million (43.6%) were costs of transportation means, CHF 59 million due to environmental and health costs, and CHF 325 million (15.8%) due to accidents. CHF 1.058 billion, or 51.3%, were paid by customers, and CHF 122 million (5.9%) by transporting companies, while CHF 555 million (26.9%) were subsidised by federal, cantonal, and municipal contributions. CHF 328 millions (15.9%) were contributed by the common weal (accident and health insurances, environmental funds etc.).

Signaling

History

The construction and operation of Swiss railways during the 19th century was carried out by private railways. The first internal line (known as the ) was a line opened from

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

in 1847, operated by the

Swiss Northern Railway The Swiss Northern Railway ( German: ''Schweizerische Nordbahn'', SNB), informally known as the ''Spanisch-Brötli-Bahn'', opened the first railway line within Switzerland in 1847, the Zürich–Baden line. This followed the extension of a Fre ...

. By 1860 railways connected western and northeastern Switzerland but the Alps remained an insurmountable barrier for railways, which need low gradients. The first trans-alpine railway and north–south axis in Switzerland finally opened in 1882. It was the Gotthard Railway, with at its heart the

Gotthard Tunnel The Gotthard Tunnel (, ) is a railway tunnel that forms the summit of the Gotthard Railway in Switzerland. It connects Göschenen with Airolo and was the first tunnel through the Saint-Gotthard Massif in order to bypass the St Gotthard Pa ...

, passing well below the

Gotthard Pass The Gotthard Pass or St. Gotthard Pass (; ) at is a mountain pass in the Alps traversing the Saint-Gotthard Massif and connecting northern Switzerland with southern Switzerland. The pass lies between Airolo in the Italian-speaking canton of Ti ...

. A second line was opened even lower under the

Simplon Pass The Simplon Pass (; ; ; ; ; ) is a high mountain pass between the Pennine Alps and the Lepontine Alps in Switzerland. It connects Brig, Switzerland, Brig in the canton of Valais with Domodossola in Piedmont (Italy). The pass itself and the villag ...

in 1906 (the

Simplon Railway The Simplon Railway is a line that links Lausanne railway station, Lausanne in Switzerland and Domodossola railway station, Domodossola in Italy, via Brig railway station, Brig. The -long Simplon Tunnel (opened in 1906) is a major part of it. The ...

), and a third under the Lötschberg in 1913 (the Lötschberg Railway). In 1901 the major railways were nationalised to form

. During the first half of the 20th century they were electrified and slowly upgraded. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

rail rapidly lost its share of the rail market to road transport as car ownership rose and more roads were built. From 1970 the Federal Government has become more involved in upgrading the railways, especially in urban areas and on trunk routes under the Rail 2000 project. In addition, two major trans-alpine routes—the Gotthard Railway and the Lötschberg approach to the Simplon—were rebuilt under the

NRLA The New Railway Link through the Alps (NRLA; , , ), is a Swiss construction project for faster north–south rail links across the Swiss Alps. It consists of two axes with several improvements along these rails including three new base tunnels s ...

project. As a consequence, two new flat routes through the Alps opened in the early 21st century: The

Lötschberg Base Tunnel The Lötschberg Base Tunnel (LBT) is a railway base tunnel on the BLS AG's Lötschberg line cutting through the Bernese Alps of Switzerland some below the older Lötschberg Tunnel. It runs between Frutigen, Bern, and Raron, Valais. T ...

in 2007 and the

in 2016. Between 1869 and 1976,

goods wagon Goods wagons or freight wagons (North America: freight cars), also known as goods carriages, goods trucks, freight carriages or freight trucks, are unpowered railway vehicles that are used for the transportation of cargo. A variety of wagon types ...

s were carried from station across

using

train ferries A train ferry is a ship (ferry) designed to carry railway vehicles, as well as their cargoes and passengers. Typically, one level of the ship is fitted with railway tracks, and the vessel has a door at the front and/or rear to give access to t ...