Rail transport in Switzerland
| Rail network of Switzerland | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operation | |||||
| National railway | Swiss Federal Railways | ||||
| Major operators | Swiss Federal Railways (SBB CFF FFS) BLS AG (BLS) Rhaetian Railway (RhB) Matterhorn-Gotthard-Bahn (MGB) | ||||
| System length | |||||
| Total | 5,323 km (3,308 mi) | ||||
| Electrified | 99% | ||||
| High-speed | 137 km (85.1 mi) | ||||
| Track gauge | |||||
| Main | 1,435 mm / 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in standard gauge | ||||
| High-speed | standard gauge | ||||
| 1,000 mm metre gauge | 865.7 km (537.9 mi) | ||||
| 800 mm | 55.2 km (34.3 mi) | ||||
| 750 mm | 13 km (8.1 mi) | ||||
| 1,200 mm | 1.964 km (1.2 mi) | ||||
| Electrification | |||||
| Main | 15 kV 16.7 Hz | ||||
| standard gauge | 3,773.4 km (2,344.7 mi) | ||||
| metre gauge | 865.7 km (537.9 mi) | ||||
| Features | |||||
| No. tunnels | 612 | ||||
| Tunnel length | 439.4 km (273.03 mi) | ||||
| Longest tunnel | Gotthard Base Tunnel 57.09 km (35.47 mi) | ||||
| No. bridges | 7558 | ||||
| No. stations | 1838 | ||||
| Highest elevation | Jungfraujoch railway station | ||||
| at | 3,454 metres (11,332 ft) | ||||
| Lowest elevation | Piano di Magadino | ||||
| at | 200 metres (660 ft) | ||||
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Rail transport in Switzerland is noteworthy for the density of its network, its coordination between services, its integration with other modes of transport, timeliness and a thriving domestic and trans-Alp freight system. It is made necessary by strong regulations on truck transport, and is enabled by properly coordinated intermodal logistics.
With 5,200 kilometres (3,200 mi) network length, Switzerland has a dense railway network, and is the clear European leader in kilometres traveled: 2,505 km (1,557 mi) per inhabitant and year (2019). Worldwide, only the Japanese travel more by train.
Virtually 100% of its network is electrified, except for the few tracks on which steam locomotives operate for tourism purposes only. There are 74 railway companies in Switzerland. The share of commuters who travel to work using public transport (as the primary mode of transport) is 30%. The share of rail in goods transport performance by road and rail (modal split) is 39%.
Switzerland was ranked first among national European rail systems in the 2017 European Railway Performance Index for its intensity of use, quality of service and strong safety rating. Switzerland had excellent intensity of use, notably driven by passenger traffic, a good rating for quality of service, and an excellent rating for safety. Switzerland captured high value in return for public investment with cost to performance ratios that outperform the average ratio for all European countries.
Passenger trains have two travel classes: 1st class, sometimes with larger windows (e.g. in the Gotthard Panorama Express), and 2nd class. Long-distance trains feature an on-board restaurant (or at least a vending machine) in the middle of the train and sometimes a "kids area" at one end of the train. Rail and most other modes of public transport operate under clock-face scheduling. There is a national integrated ticketing system for rail, bus and other modes of transport, grouped in tariff networks. The Swiss Travel Pass facilitates travel by train, bus and boat for tourists.
Switzerland is a member of the International Union of Railways (UIC). The UIC Country Code for Switzerland is 85.