Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK
For members

GENEVA

Geneva news roundup: Commuter property prices rise and trains to France cancelled

A strike disrupts rail traffic between Geneva and France; more expensive property prices in nearby areas; and other news from Switzerland's second-largest city.

Published: 18 January 2023 12:25 CET
Geneva news roundup: Commuter property prices rise and trains to France cancelled
Nearby French slopes are within Geneva's reach. Photo by Quenten Janssen on Unsplash

All Geneva-Paris TGVs will be canceled on Thursday

Strikes in France on January 19th against the proposed pension reform will impact rail connections with Switzerland as well.

Starting tonight and throughout Thursday, all TGVs on the Lausanne-Geneva-Paris line, in both directions — a total of 16 trains — are canceled, according to train operator Lyria. 

Tonight, the Paris (Gare de Lyon)-Geneva-Lausanne trains at 6:18 pm and 8:18 pm will not be running. The same applies to the Lausanne-Geneva-Paris connection at 7:45 p.m.

The Léman Express between Geneva and Annemasse in France will be as disrupted as well, impacting hundreds of cross-border workers who use this train daily to travel to and from their jobs.

More information about alternate connections can be found here. 

Traffic to and from Geneva on Léman Express will be disrupted. Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP

Property prices in neighbouring French regions are no longer cheap

For years, real estate prices in French border areas were lower (and sometimes by much) than properties in Geneva, where housing market is notoriously expensive.

This difference in price made border communities attractive to buyers from Geneva.

However, while properties in France are still cheaper than in the Geneva area, the gap is closing: in 2022, houses and apartments in Haute-Savoie have increased by 8.6 percent. and in Ain by 7.3 percent over the 2022 prices.

Prices are the highest in French “commuter” towns of Divonne-les-Bains and Ferney-Voltaire, which are only minutes from Geneva.

The same phenomenon extends to rents, which are higher in parts of France that are closest to Geneva.

So is it still worthwhile for Genevans to purchase property in France?

Yes, according to Sébastien Cartier, president of Fnaim Savoie Mont-Blanc real estate agency.

However, they should be willing to “to move away from the regions located near the Swiss border, towards areas farther away, where prices are more affordable,” he told Tribune de Gèneve. 

READ MORE: How the Swiss city of Geneva impacts rent prices across the border in France 

These three ski areas are only a snowball’s throw from Geneva

Now that the winter weather is finally here, and snow has fallen in the mountains at last, you may want to go skiing again.

No need to venture far: there are some family-friendly slopes right at Geneva’s doorstep.

However, given Geneva’s geography,  they are all located on the French side of the border:

Les Brasses, only 37 km from Geneva in Haute-Savoie, offers 30 km of slopes. 

Hirmentaz-​Les Habères, 35 km away, also in Haute-Savoie, has 25 runs. 

Monts Jura, 40 km from Geneva, combines the 21 ski areas of Lélex-Crozet, Mijoux-la Faucille. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

What are the chances of a Geneva to London rail route ever happening?

Following the positive feedback received in Switzerland over the proposed rail service between Basel and London, a similar move is now underway in Switzerland to ‘connect’ Geneva with the UK’s capital as well.

Published: 12 April 2024 13:56 CEST
What are the chances of a Geneva to London rail route ever happening?

Today, it takes at least seven hours to travel from Geneva to London (and vice versa) by train, and the trip is not exactly hassle-free.

The easiest way currently is to take the train from Geneva to Gare de Lyon in Paris. From there, they must take the Metro or the RER across town to Paris Gare du Nord and then embark on a connecting Eurostar train to London’s St Pancras station – after having gone through border and security checks.

At present, there aren’t more convenient connections between the two cities.

However, the momentum to create a direct railway link — which would allow people to travel between the two destinations in just over five hours — is growing.

Two lawmakers, one from Geneva and the other from Vaud, the two cantons which would benefit the most from such a rail link, have filed motions in their respective parliaments to approve this ambitious project.  

Their arguments focus on the importance such a rail link would have for environmentally-conscious business and leisure travellers, who would like to reduce the harmful effects of up to 45 daily flights between Geneva and the UK capital operated by several airlines.

Basel to London first?

A similar project, connecting the northern city of Basel with London, is also under discussion at the moment.

The plan calls for an Eurostar train from Basel to reach London in about five hours via the Eurotunnel.

READ ALSO: Could a Basel to London direct train really happen? 

However, as the two deputies point out, if only one direct train service between Switzerland and the UK  is feasible, then the one from Geneva would make more sense.

That’s because Geneva “is a more important economic centre than Basel,” according to the Vaud MP, David Vogel.

And in terms of tourism, Geneva also trumps Basel, because the mountain resorts  in Valais that British skiers favour can be reached more easily from Geneva.

Could Geneva-London link happen?

It is not only elected officials who are pushing for a Geneva-London link.

An online petition to this effect, intended for the Swiss national rail company  SBB was launched by Nadine McCormick, a dual Swiss-British citizen.

She too has been arguing that a direct link to and from Geneva makes more sense to British travellers than the one with Basel.

“Geneva and London are two of the world’s most important finance and banking centres, a further reason to enhance the transport links between these two cities,” she said. 

“And Geneva airport has more passengers going to London than Basel and Zurich airports combined,” McCormick added.

To date, almost 5,200 people signed McCormick’s petition, proving that interest in this connection is strong.

The petition points out there would be strong demand.

“It’s estimated that the journey would take approximately five and a half hours. The petition points out that there are 14,000 British citizens living in the Swiss cantons of Geneva and Vaud, with 5,000 in nearby French departements,” it said.

There is also approval for the Geneva-London train on social media.

Lonely Planet travel writer Nicola Williams, who is based in Lake Geneva said it the link is “such a logical rail route.”

She said: “Geneva’s train station, Gare de Cornavin, already has a huge border/customs area – manned to boot – already in place for high-speed TGVs to/from Paris in neighbouring France”.

Another mentioned how much faster the direct train would be than the current rail link.

Will this project actually get off the ground?

While there is no visible opposition to the project, and assuming that as yet undetermined budget could be allocated to this project, a number of challenges still exist.

And they are pretty much the same for both the Basel to London and Geneva to London lines.

For one, the infrastructure is expensive on this route – partly because of the journey through the Eurotunnel.

From the logistics point of view, since the UK has left the EU and only participates in the Schengen Agreement to a limited extent, boarding the train in Switzerland would involve both security and passport controls akin to those required at airports, which would require new checkpoints to be created in both Geneva and Basel’s SBB station.

And given its international reach, Switzerland can’t set up the connection on its own.

According to the Federal Council, the project can only proceed in close cooperation not only with the UK and France, but also with an operating company Eurostar.

Considering all the steps that still need to be taken, the actual launch of this direct rail link is still way off in the future.

SHOW COMMENTS