Swiss Federal Railways Targets London As It Seeks More Cross-Border High Speed Trains
The title of this post is the same as that of this article on the Railway Gazette.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Swiss Federal Railways is looking at ordering up to 40 high speed trainsets for use on international services to Italy and France, and ’potentially for other destinations such as Barcelona and London’.
There also three paragraphs, which talk about Switzerland and London services.
SBB has also examined the possibility of launching a direct service between Switzerland and London, concluding that this would be technically feasible but challenging.
The need to provide security and border controls at all the stations served has long been a barrier to new services through the Channel Tunnel. However, SBB believes this may be possible at Zürich HB, Basel SBB and Genève Cornavin.
SBB would like to offer such a service and is to further develop its plans, but implementation is not seen as possible until the 2030s at the earliest.
These are my thoughts.
The Channel Tunnel Is Being Opened Up For Other Operators
The Channel Tunnel is at last looking to put on other services.
Switzerland could be easy technically, but there is the security and border controls, as the article points out.
But I see sorting security and border controls as an opportunity, not a problem.
Surely, a workable solution would have export potential all round the world.
London And Geneva Is Only Six Hours On The Train
Six hours in comfort on a train, would not bother me!
Switzerland And London Are Both Suitable Destinations For Year-Round, Short-Break Trips
C and myself were always popping off for short breaks, as it suited our work patterns.
She would sometimes say, that a case had come out and we would nip off somewhere for a couple of days.
I think, that more people will work flexibly and will have more gaps, where two days in Geneva or Zurich would fit. Provided, they could just turn up and go.
I also have done several business and leisure trips to Switzerland.
Fast Direct Trains To Switzerland Would Make Italy More Accessible
I have taken trains to Italy and it is a long way.
But breaking the journey in Switzerland could make the journey easier and you could use one city going South and another going North.
When I stayed in Geneva to go to CERN, I got a free day ticket for the buses and trams thrown in, which was very useful.
Will The Swiss Offer A Rail Pass For All Their High Speed Trains?
I wonder, if the Swiss have this in mind, as they already offer passes that include all Swiss public transport including all the cable cars.
A Swiss High Speed Rail Pass might allow me to go London and Florence, Naples or Rome and return all on one ticket.
Americans wanting to get away from Trump could fly to Switzerland and then explore Europe in Swiss trains, with no worries.
Conclusion
The Swiss should take their fingers out and go for it!
Getlink To Enable The Doubling Of Direct High Speed Rail Services From The UK Over The Next 10 Years Via The Channel Tunnel
The title of this post, is the same as that of this press release from Getlink.
This is the sub-heading.
This doubling will be achieved by reducing the “time to market” from 10 to 5 years for operators who intend to launch new services between London and Cologne, London and Frankfurt, London and Geneva, London and Zurich.
These three paragraphs introduce the press release.
On 6 May 2024, Eurotunnel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Getlink, will celebrate 30 years since the opening of the Channel Tunnel and the introduction of the first LeShuttle and LeShuttle Freight rail services linking Folkestone (Kent)to Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais). This year will also mark the 30th anniversary of the first direct rail links between London and Paris, and London and Brussels.
Three decades after this pioneering step forward in Europe’s rail network, and in the wake of the development of the recently introduced link between London and Amsterdam, Eurotunnel is aiming to further accelerate the low-carbon mobility of people between the UK and continental Europe by doubling the number of new direct destinations from London via the Channel Tunnel over the next 10 years.
The reduction in the time needed to launch new services to just 5 years is the fruit of the work by Eurotunnel, the infrastructure manager and keystone of the cross-Channel high-speed links, in cooperation with partners from across the European ecosystem (infrastructure managers, authorities, manufacturers, regulators).
Getlink will use these four steps towards simplification.
- Market research carried out by Eurotunnel to identify destinations.
- Standardisation of Tunnel regulations with the relevant authorities.
- Integration of tunnel specific criteria with manufacturers in their standard rolling stock offering.
- Preparing cross-Channel connections with network operators and stations.
It will be so good to have more services between London and Europe.
Between Lucerne And Interlaken Ost Stations On Die Zentralbahn
The Zentralbahn is the scenic railway, that connects Lucerne and Interlaken Ost stations along the Brünig Line. Wikipedia says this about the ownership of the railway.
The Zentralbahn is a Swiss railway company that owns and operates two connecting railway lines in Central Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland. It was created on January 1, 2005, with the acquisition of the independently owned Luzern–Stans–Engelberg line, and the Brünig line of the Swiss Federal Railways.
I don’t know, but as the railway is metre rather than standard gauge, I do wonder, if it was to Swiss Federal Railways, a bit like the Settle-Carlisle Line was to British Rail; Expensive to run, loved by locals and tourists and in need of new investment.
These pictures show the railway.
As some of the pictures show, the line was busy in places. and judging by the number of Asian groups on the train, a lot were tourists.
The trains are modern Stadler SPATZ trains.
- Fully-electric.
- Metre gauge.
- They are able to use sections of the line which have a rack to assist climbing.
- Large panoramic windows for good views.
It appears that the three-car train has been designed with all the electrical gubbings in the middle car, with the end sections similar to the Stadler GTW.
Stadler seem to be able to shuffle their ideas and especially, the central power-pack to produce trains for all purposes.
Greater Anglia’s Class 755 trains, and the tri-mode Flirts of the South Wales Metro, will be just more variations on the same theme.
Next Time I Go To The Area
There are two groups of mountain railways grouped at Interlaken and Lucerne, which are linked by the
Brünig Line. The route is not simple and there is a reverse about half-way at Meiringen station.
Searching the web, it appears that there is reasonably-priced accommodation in and around Meiringen.
With a Swiss Pass, which gives a worthwhile discount on the expensive mountain trains, I shall be staying around there on my next trip to Switzerland.
Consider.
- You could fly in to Zurich Airport and buy your Swiss Pass there.
- Lucerne and Interlaken are about an hour away on the scenic Brünig Line.
- Bern and Zurich are close enough for a day trip.
I didn’t explore Meiringen, so check the guides first. But it looked OK from the train.
The Anonymous Widower 