Public transport in Switzerland has never been as punctual as it was in 2024, according to new data from Swiss Federal Railways (SBB). The national provider reported its best-ever punctuality figures, with western Switzerland and Ticino seeing particularly significant improvements.

93,2 percent of SBB trains were on time in 2024

In a statement, SBB confirmed that 2024 was a great year for rail punctuality in Switzerland. During the year, 93,2 percent of its services ran on time, the highest ever reported and far ahead of punctuality rates in 2023 (92,54 percent), 2022 (92,53 percent) and 2021 (91,91 percent).

The feat is all the more impressive considering what being “on time” means in Switzerland. For SBB a train is only on time if it arrives at a stop less than three minutes late, far stricter than in Germany (six minutes), the Netherlands, France and Italy (five minutes).

As a result of the higher punctuality rates, 98,7 percent of passengers were able to make their connections to other trains. Customer satisfaction has also increased nationwide, especially on long-distance services between Swiss cities.

Romandie and Ticino see biggest boost in train punctuality

The biggest punctuality improvements were felt in French-speaking Switzerland; trains were on time 91,9 percent of the time, a 2,7 percentage point improvement on last year. However, rates are still below the 92 percent target. “For this reason, the 2025 timetable will help to increase the robustness of the system and ensure this in view of numerous construction sites,” SBB wrote.

At the same time, SBB trains in Ticino reached an all-time high punctuality rate of 92,6 percent, 2,1 percentage points higher than last year. Finally, despite construction work and the “poor quality of incoming international passenger traffic” - a veiled reference to the continued calamity at Deutsche Bahn - trains were most punctual in German-speaking Switzerland, with rates between 93,65 and 93,71 percent.

In explaining its good scores for 2024, SBB noted that the “high reliability” of trains and the Swiss rail network more generally led to a drop in delays. The weather in Switzerland was also generally favourable to train providers.

SBB still faces challenges, company admits

However, SBB conceded that the sudden heavy snowfall in November and ensuing chaos on the public transport network showed “how vulnerable the rail system is to extreme weather conditions.” At the same time, “old locomotives”, IT issues and shortages of workers meant that the punctuality of freight trains declined to 88 percent in 2024.

Looking ahead, with Switzerland set to host a litany of major events in the next 12 months, SBB said that “the year 2025 will be challenging”. “Various measures are being implemented to maintain and further increase punctuality. These include the implementation of the 2025 timetable…the replacement of the old fleet and measures to reduce the impact of the weather on punctuality, for example, the optimisation of winter services,” they concluded.

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