From December 2024, the partygoers and night owls of Canton Solothurn will be able to benefit from a new night train between Zurich and Olten, the Zurich Transport Association (ZVV) has confirmed. In addition, the night connections from Olten will be extended to Lucerne, and officials hope to open a new night rail link to Basel in the near future.

ZVV night train network to expand in 2024

In a statement, ZVV announced that the nighttime S-Bahn service in Canton Zurich will be extended deeper into the cantons of Aargau and Solothurn. From the next timetable change in December 2024, a new ZVV night train to Olten will run in the early hours on Saturdays and Sundays.

According to the Solothurner Zeitung, the night train will leave Zurich HB at 1.30 and 2.30am, travelling along the existing N1 night train route via Baden and Aarau. After leaving the existing route, the new connection will serve Schönenwerd, Däniken and Dulliken, before arriving in Olten at 2.27 and 3.27am respectively.

New night trains planned from Olten to Zurich, Lucerne and Basel

In the opposite direction, the new night train will leave the city for Zurich HB at 2.35am and 3.35am, before arriving in Zurich at half three and 4.29am. ZVV noted that the new connections are ideal for travellers from Solothurn, as it would allow them to catch the first flights out of Zurich Airport without having to stay in the city overnight.

Speaking to 20 Minuten, project manager Daniel Schwarz said the plan is only going to cost Solothurn 18.000 francs a year to run thanks to contributions from Zurich and the federal government. He also confirmed that a new night train will run from Lucerne to Olten via Sursee from December. Officials are also planning a new night route between Olten and Basel, to launch once the tunnel on the Hauenstein Railway is fully renovated - expected to be complete in 2028.

The rest of Switzerland's new timetable will be revealed in May 2024.

Olten: Switzerland's up-and-coming city

While often the butt of many Swiss in-jokes, Olten has grown significantly as a town over the past few decades. The rail centre of the Zurich-Bern-Basel triangle, the city has become a new top destination for expats wanting a cheap place to live when working in Zurich.

This idea was put into sharp relief in March 2023, when Green Liberal Party cantonal councillor Christian Ginsig suggested that those who don’t want to pay above and beyond for a house or apartment to rent in Zurich should ditch the Swiss metropolis and move to Olten. “Olten is often massively underestimated as a place to live,” he noted.

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