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TRAIN TRAVEL

Switzerland mulls new direct Basel – London train connection

A Swiss parliamentarian is calling for a new direct train link running from Switzerland to the UK – but there’s a minor hang-up. 

Could a new rail route connect Basel and London?
Could a new rail route connect Basel and London? Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

Hop on the train at Basel SBB and exit at London-St Pancras International just 5.5 hours later: that’s the suggestion of Bernese national councillor Matthias Aebischer who has put forward a new plan to the Swiss government which would see Basel and London connected via a direct rail route.

Currently, Switzerland-based travellers choosing to reach England’s capital via rail have to jump on a train at Basel SBB and change at Paris Gare de Lyon. From there, passengers must take the underground train to Paris Gare du Nord and then embark on a connecting train to London St Pancras. While the whole journey from Basel to London takes just over seven hours, many travellers find the changeover to be inconvenient.

Aebischer has now proposed for the Swiss government to liaise with both Britain and France to figure out how a direct daily train link between the two cities could be launched.

Many benefits

According to Social Democrat (SP) politician Aebischer, strengthening rail transport in international traffic is an essential contribution to achieving climate goals as it is a well-known fact that train travel causes far fewer CO2 emissions than air travel. Thus, offering travellers both in Switzerland and the UK a more attractive and convenient alternative to air travel may well encourage more train travel between the two cities, and not only help the environment but also draw more tourists.

In recent years, transport companies have made significant efforts in this regard. The daily connections to Italy and Munich, for example, as well as the range of night trains currently available from Switzerland have been significantly expanded and seen rising demand. 

READ ALSO: What are the best night train routes to and from Switzerland

Platforms would require rebuilding

However, Aebischer also notes that establishing the new train connection – if approved – wouldn’t be smooth sailing since Britain is no longer in the EU. If the cross-Channel link were indeed to see the light of day, Basel’s SBB station would need to be extensively rebuilt.

Since the UK has left the EU and only participates in the Schengen Agreement to a limited extent, boarding the trains in Switzerland would involve both security and passport controls akin to those required at its airports. This also means that the Basel to London trains could only use fixed tracks.

Still, Aebischer insists that what is possible for Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam, should also be feasible for Switzerland – and he’s not alone.

So far, his proposal has been signed by the Basel-based Mitte politician Elisabeth Schneider-Schneiter and the Basel-Stadt LDP representative Patricia von Falkenstein, among others. 

Watch this space! 

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TRAIN TRAVEL

Why the ‘strategic’ Geneva to Lyon train line needs drastic improvement

Commuters on trains between Geneva and Lyon (and vice versa) have had to face a number of problems over the years. But there is a new move to drastically improve the service.

Why the 'strategic' Geneva to Lyon train line needs drastic improvement

The train services circulating several times a day between Switzerland’s second-largest city and Lyon in France are used by thousands of commuters on both sides of the border.

But these trains, operated by France’s national railway company SNCF, as well as the country’s regional rail network,TER, are subpar, according to Swiss Green Party MP Delphine Klopfenstein Broggini, who has brought this issue to Switzerland’s Federal Council.

She has sounded the alarm over the fact that many of the trains circulating between these two major cities are in poor condition, and she says the rail infrastructure on the French side of the border is dilapidated and in need of urgent upgrading.

Not only are these trains uncomfortable for passengers, Klopfenstein Broggini argues, but the outdated infrastructure also means that additional trains can’t be put into circulation.

“This link is strategic for Switzerland, as it is its gateway to southwest Europe,” Klopfenstein Broggini pointed out, so improvements on this 112-km-long line “must therefore become a priority” for the government.

What exactly is she pushing for?

“My primary goal is that there should be more, but less obsolete, direct trains running on this line,” the MP said.

“Today, there are around thirty trains which connect Zurich to Stuttgart every day. But on the Geneva to Lyon line, there are only around ten. There should be twice as many, which would alleviate the [overcrowding] situation a lot.”

But that’s not all: she also wants Swiss trains to be put into service on this line for more efficiency.

“I am also asking if it would be possible for Bern to invest in rolling stock on this line, so as to ensure its maintenance, or even its operation, in collaboration with France,” she added.

The SBB operates trains from Geneva to Milan, so Swiss trains could also run to Lyon, Klopfenstein Broggini said.

“This would be in Switzerland’s interest,” she added.

And there would also be another benefit in a more efficient train connecting Geneva with Lyon, according to the MP.

If the infrastructure were in better shape and the trains more modern, the two-hour journey between the two cities could be shortened.

That would make the commute more appealing to some of the 220,000 cross-border workers who commute to their jobs in Geneva from France by car.

“The goal is to transfer some of these motorists from road to rail,” the MP said.

The next step is for the Federal Council to discuss Klopfenstein Broggini’s proposal.

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