Rail 2000

After years of heavy investment in roads in the postwar years, the share of rail in the total passenger market in Switzerland had been significantly reduced by the end of the 1960s. At this time SBB decided that changes were necessary to increase rail patronage. More trains were operated in order to increase frequencies; this led to a 75% increase in passengers between 1971 and 1983 on the Bern–Zürich route. In the 1970s the Swiss government and SBB decided to make further improvements in rail services. In 1972, the SBB introduced a regular interval timetable (German: Taktfahrplan). Under this timetable trains arrive and leave each station at the same minute past every hour. Services at Zürich HB were reorganised so that trains arrived on each line before the hour or half-hour and left after the hour or half-hour, making it easier to change to trains on other lines. This required the provision of additional platforms to allow every train to be in station simultaneously. The Rail 2000 project was intended to enhance the regular interval timetable.[1]

In the late 1960s the SBB developed a proposal for a new east-west trunkline (German: Haupttransversale, NHT). This was considered by the Swiss Transport Commission (German: Schweizerischen Gesamtverkehrskommission, GVK). In 1977 after almost six years work, the GVK submitted a 400-page report, which recommended the construction of a new railway between Geneva and Lake Constance and between Basel and Olten. On these routes, a total of 120 kilometres of new line would allow operation of trains at up to 200 kilometres per hour.[2][3]

A Federal Government committee supported SBB's proposal but considered that investment should be initially concentrated on the sections of route between Basel, Olten and Bern. To the contrary, the canton of Solothurn complained that the new line would benefit only the large centres and that rural areas would be disadvantaged. An action committee was established to oppose it at a referendum. This proved unnecessary, however, as the Federal Council took the view that the project was "too narrow" and too focussed on the East-West transverse line and its feeder lines with too little done to improve Swiss railway system as a whole. In mid 1984 the Directorate General of the SBB established an expert group under the name "Rail 2000" with a mission to develop a new concept that not only improved the main axes, but would develop the whole Swiss rail network in the medium to long-term.[2][3]

On 27 March 1985 SBB presented the Transport Department with a new project draft. This was met with a positive response from the political parties and associations; the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called the concept attractive, flexible and evolutionary.[3] The aim of the concept was to connect the main hub stations in less than an hour (particularly Zürich, Bern and Lausanne) so that trains could arrive before the hour or half hour and depart again shortly thereafter. Trains therefore would have to run as fast as necessary to meet this object, not as fast as possible.[1]

The federal parliament voted to approve Rail 2000 in May 1986. It granted CHF 5.4 billion for the Mattstetten–Rothrist new line between Olten and Bern and for a connection from near Herzogenbuchsee to Solothurn. Opposition formed in regions where the new line would be built. The opposition was directed not against the rail project, but against the route of the new line and the loss of arable land. Nevertheless, all major parties supported the project at a referendum in 1987 and it gained a majority of 57.0%.[4]

During the implementation of Rail 2000 sub-projects were brought into operation every 2 years from 1997. The biggest improvement, the commissioning of the new line, however, was not completed until 12 December 2004. Additional improvements included:

• Trains every half hour on some long-distance routes
• Same travel time between Geneva and Zürich via Bern and via Neuchâtel.
• Reduction of the travel time between Zürich and Bern by 13 minutes.

Due to the delayed introduction of the new ETCS train control system, the new and upgraded sections of line initially had conventional signalling technology with a maximum speed of only 160 km/h. Therefore, the journey on the central section between Zürich and Bern was shortened by only about 11 minutes instead of the planned 13 minutes. Since March 2007, the entire new line operated with ETCS, allowing an increase to the maximum speed to 200 km/h since December 2007. The resulting reduction in travel time has allowed the regular interval timetable to be stable as it can now cope with some delays.

As part of Rail 2000, in order to introduce language neutrality, the former regional local trains (German: Regionalzüge) were renamed Regio (abbr. R) and the regional fast trains (German: Schnellzüge; French: train direct; Italian: treno diretto) were renamed RegioExpress (Abbr. RE) or InterRegio (Abbr. IR).

The core of Rail 2000 was the 37 km long new line from Mattstetten to Rothrist between Bern and Olten, which was opened in December 2004. This allowed the following travel time reductions:

• Olten–Bern reduced from 40 minutes to 26 minutes
• Zürich–Bern reduced from 69 minutes to 56 minutes
• Basel–Bern reduced from 67 minutes to 55 minutes
• Lucerne–Bern reduced from 81 minutes (via Wolhusen and Langnau) to 60 minutes (via Sursee and Zofingen to the Mattstetten–Rothrist line )
• Olten–Biel/Bienne reduced from 41 minutes to 32 minutes (via NBS and upgraded Inkwil-Derendingen)
• Zürich–Bern–Geneva reduced from 2 hours 56 minutes to 2 hours 43 minutes
• Zürich–Biel/Bienne-Geneva reduced from 3 hours 9 minutes to 2 hours 42 minutes

• Mattstetten–Rothrist new line, double line. Commissioned 2004; cost: CHF 1,679 million
• Reconstructed line between Derendingen and Inkwil (connection of Mattstetten–Rothrist line to Solothurn). Commissioned 2003; cost: CHF 107 million
• Zimmerberg Base Tunnel, Stage 1 (Zürich–Thalwil), second double line. Commissioned 2003; cost: CHF 945 million
• Adler Tunnel (Muttenz-Liestal on Hauenstein line), double line. Commissioned 2000; cost: CHF 387 million
• Vauderens Tunnel (Vauderens–Siviriez on Olten–Lausanne line), double line. Commissioned 2001; cost: CHF 71 million
• Deviation and duplication between Onnens–Bonvillars and Gorgier-St Aubin on Jura foot line. Commissioned 2001; cost: CHF 363 million
• Third track between Coppet and Geneva on Geneva–Lausanne line. Commissioned 2004; cost: CHF 285 million
• Expansion of the Zürich HB node (Total cost: CHF 544 million)
  • Platforms 3-9 extended to 420 meters
  • Sihlpost station extension (platforms 51-54), 320 metre long platforms
  • Station interlocking
  • Kohlendreieck substation
  • Herdern maintenance facility and car shed
  • Kohlendreieck grade separation
  • New bridge between station and Wipkingen line
  • Track work between station and Altstetten
  • Four tracks between station and Wiedikon/Zimmerberg Base Tunnel (separation of Zürich S-Bahn and long distance trains)
  • Löwenstrasse underground station extension (platforms 31-34)

Other projects included:

• New connection at Aarburg between lines to Bern (Rothrist) and Lucerne (Zofingen)
• Capacity expansion between Wankdorf, Ostermundigen and Gümligen, near Bern, third track
• Platform expansion at Basel station
• Capacity expansion between Basel and Muttenz, third track
• Olten station expansion
• Capacity expansion between Olten, Olten East and Dulliken, third or fourth track
• Expansion of Aarau station
• Duplication of Aarau City Tunnel to add third and fourth track
• Third and fourth track added from Aarau to Rupperswil,
• Expansion of Zug station
• Duplication between Zug and Cham
• Duplication between Rotkreuz and Rotsee
• Additional tracks between Dietikon and Killwangen–Spreitenbach
• Third track south of Winterthur,
• Duplication between Goldach and Mörschwil
• Expansion of Landquart station
• Duplication between Bad Ragaz and Landquart

In parallel with the Rail 2000 projects, the NRLA project is upgrading the two major railway lines through the Swiss Alps: the Gotthard railway (including the new Gotthard Base Tunnel and the Ceneri Base Tunnel) and Lötschberg line (including the new Lötschberg Base Tunnel). The upgrade of Gotthard will shorten the journey between German-speaking Switzerland and Ticino by an hour. The Lötschberg base tunnel was opened in 2007, making a trip from Zürich to the canton of Valais in less than two hours possible; it has shortened the journey between Bern and Brig and Italy by about a quarter of an hour.