Cities in Western Switzerland are resisting the SBB timetable

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Seven cities in western Switzerland want to pull the emergency brake. Geneva, Morges VD, Yverdon VD, Neuchâtel, La Chaux-de-Fonds NE, Delsberg JU and Biel BE jointly want to avoid the 2025 timetable presented by SBB on Friday.

The cities jointly appealed against the timetable on Monday, the city of Biel writes on its website. The timetable presented for western Switzerland is unacceptable and, according to criticism, entails a significant deterioration of transport links between the regions. The Sunday newspaper “Le Matin Dimanche” reported on it for the first time.

A year ago, the rail company led by Vincent Ducrot (60) from Freiburg made no secret of the fact that customers in French-speaking Switzerland would be disadvantaged in the future.

“Two-class, two-speed rail network”

The affected cities, which are supported by Geneva airport, are complaining about the introduction of a “two-speed, two-class rail network”. They fear that rail will become less attractive and shift to road.

This decision is all the more regrettable as the price increases for public transport that occurred at the same time may have already discouraged users from traveling by train. In addition, this decision goes against the federal government’s climate strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from transport.

Cities want a “round table”

The cities of western Switzerland are calling on the SBB, the Bundesamt für Transport and the cantons to reconsider their decision and come up with alternatives within a reasonable time. The cities encourage a “round table” to discuss solutions acceptable to all.

The SBB and the West Swiss Transport Conference announced on Friday that they have reached agreement on a redesign of the SBB timetable from 2025 in western Switzerland. The aim is to improve punctuality and at the same time promote the renewal of the rail infrastructure.

The new timetable will take effect on December 15, 2024. The problem here is that the travel times of most routes will be extended to improve punctuality. At the same time, Renens VD station must become a kind of transfer hub for long-distance trains. The service between the Jura Arc and Geneva will be doubled, but travelers will have to change trains at Renens – with the exception of some direct services during peak hours. (Okay)

Source:Blick