Whether to work, on holiday, or just for a day out, more and more people in Switzerland are choosing to travel by train, according to new figures from the Association of Public Transport (VöV). A new record was set in the second quarter of 2024 for the number of passenger kilometres travelled. 

Bumper number of passenger kilometres travelled in Switzerland in 2024

2024 is shaping up to be a bumper year for rail travel in Switzerland: after a strong, record-breaking start to the year, the second quarter of 2024 also set its own record, seeing 5,78 billion passenger kilometres travelled on Swiss railways between April and June. 

According to a VöV press release, that figure is 2,5 percent higher compared to the same quarter of the previous year, and the highest second-quarter figure ever recorded. It’s also the second-highest passenger kilometre figure ever recorded in Switzerland. The record is held by the third quarter of 2023, which saw 5,79 billion passenger kilometres travelled.

That means that passenger rail transport in Switzerland has now recovered to the point that numbers are exceeding pre-pandemic figures. In the first quarter of 2019, 5,1 billion passenger kilometres were recorded, a figure far exceeded by the 5,2 billion and 5,4 billion reached in the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, respectively. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, in the second quarter of 2020, the number of passenger kilometres fell markedly to just 1,9 billion. 

Freight transport figures weakening in Switzerland

While the figures for passenger transport are positive, the VöV did record some declines in rail freight transport, with the overall performance indicator for this type of transport falling by 1 percent in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year. 

Performance in freight transport has been falling for the last four quarters in a row, but the VöV did note that the 2024 Q2 figure was lower than the falls of up to 4 percent seen in previous quarters, suggesting that the decline is easing off. 

According to the VöV, the main reasons for the decline in freight transport are the economic situation in Europe and the numerous construction sites along the north-south axis, which are both causing disruption. 

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