Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) is considering reducing the number of services to smaller train stations in a bid to speed up the network, the president of the company’s board of directors has suggested. Monika Ribar argued that the public transport network is at its limits and must change tack to satisfy rising demand.

SBB executive takes aim at Switzerland's slow trains

In an interview with RTS, Ribar announced that SBB was looking into redesigning the rail network in Switzerland. This long-term strategy is aimed at making the system faster and more sustainable amid rising demand - in 2024, SBB catered to 1,4 million passengers every day.

Much of Ribar’s ire is focused on the speed of trains in Switzerland. In recent decades, the government has forgone building high-speed trains in favour of making a dense network stretching across the cantons - in short, while trains run slower, there are a lot more of them. In fact, the only places where high-speed trains can go near their top speed are the Gotthard Base Tunnel, the Lötschberg Base Tunnel and the Rail 2000 line between Olten and Bern.

Smaller stations would be sacrificed in favour of speed

As part of the proposed long-term strategy, SBB would reduce the number of trains which stop at smaller stations, which will in turn allow the services that remain to run faster. "The slowest train determines the speed of the system...The ideal would be for every user to be able to reach a station in less than fifteen minutes," Ribar continued, implying that the stopping services would be replaced by buses and self-driving taxis.

With the rail network at capacity, Ribar argued the plan is the only way to make the network sustainable in the long term. "It's about prioritising our investments and ensuring efficient service. We need to think about what we are willing to pay to maintain this system," she concluded.

Long-term plan exposes rift in vision at SBB

Ribar’s interview exposes a rift within both SBB and the government. In the past, the Federal Office of Transport has cautioned against sacrificing services in favour of speed, with then-director Peter Füglistaler telling Watson in 2022 that “capacity now takes precedence over speed when it comes to improving the Swiss rail network. We want public transport for everyone, not just fast trains for a few.”

The long-term strategy also goes against plans by current SBB CEO Vincent Ducrot. Though he has also admitted that austerity measures could force the company to shut down smaller stations, his long-term plan would lead to train services running at 15-minute intervals across the country, regardless of their speed. Who’s vision will win out, remains to be seen.

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