Weekend rail passengers have been told to prepare for disruption, thanks to crucial construction and maintenance work in Aargau. Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) has announced that on six weekends starting from September 28, public transport services will be heavily restricted on the line, which serves as the main rail artery between eastern and western Switzerland.

Swiss rail services disrupted on weekends from September to November

Between September 28 and November 11, major construction work will be carried out in and around Lenzburg, Canton Aargau, including expanding the station and renewing sections of track. However, as this route serves as the main line for services between eastern and western Switzerland (from Zurich to Basel and Bern, for example), the work will lead to significant restrictions on long-distance rail services.

In a statement, SBB announced that restrictions will occur on six weekends, during which “trains will be cancelled and diverted, resulting in longer travel times and changed departure and arrival times.” Here’s what travellers should expect:

Swiss InterCity (IC) and InterRegional (IR) services cancelled and slowed

On the weekend of September 28 to 30, October 5 to 7 and October 19 to 21, the entire rail route between Rupperswil and Lenzburg will be closed from 2am each Saturday to 4am each Monday. During this period, non-stop services between Basel and Zurich will only run every hour as part of InterRegional (IR) 35 and 37, while a number of fast services between Olten and Zurich will be cancelled.

InterCity and InterRegional services that use the route - InterCity 5 (IC5) between St. Gallen and Geneva, IC1 to Lausanne and IC81 from Zurich to Interlaken via Bern for example - will still run, but up to 20 minutes will be added to journey times. Certain regional trains on the Aarau-Lenzburg, Brugg-Wettingen and Olten-Turgi lines will be cancelled, and replacement buses will run between Lenzburg and Rupperswil.

Bern-Olten-Zurich rail axis heavily restricted from October 26 to 28

From 2am on Saturday, October 26 to 4am on Monday, October 28, only one track will be in operation between Lenzburg and Aarau. “Diversions, cancellations and changed travel times” should be expected on all IC, IR and regional services that travel on the Bern-Olten-Zurich line. S-Bahn trains in Canton Aargau and Solothurn will also be affected, and once again replacement buses will serve between Lenzburg and Rupperswil.

Trains slowed and cancelled between Zurich and Olten on November weekends

From November 2 to November 4, another track will be repaired, leading to the closure of the line between Olten and Dulliken. Diversions, cancellations, track changes and slower services should be expected on all trains that use the line between Zurich and Olten.

Finally, from 12.07pm on November 9 to 4.45am on November 11, the whole route between Lenzburg and Othmarsingen will close. Non-stop services from Basel to Zurich will only run every hour, and IR37 (Lenzburg-Zurich) and IR35(Olten-Zurich) will not run. “There will be interruptions on the regional trains on various sections of the route between Aarau and Wettingen. Replacement buses will run between Lenzburg and Othmarsingen,” the rail firm confirmed.

SBB passengers told to regularly check for travel updates

Those looking to travel during the six weekends have been told to prepare for longer travel times, which may in turn impact transfer connections to unaffected services. Passengers are advised to regularly check the SBB app or website during the disruption.

“SBB is doing everything it can to reduce the restrictions and noise to an absolute minimum. It asks for your understanding,” the company concluded.

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