Capacity is more important than speed
Posted: 4 August 2011 | | No comments yet
No country has better train and bus services than Switzerland. But recent increases in passenger numbers are stretching the system to its limits, especially at peak travel periods. Switzerland has therefore set clear priorities for future rail expansion: to increase capacity through longer, more frequent trains. Reductions in journey times are less central in view of the already attractive connections, and will therefore be realised at a later date.
High-speed trains such as the French TGV and the German ICE are the poster children for their respective country’s transport policy. They provide excellent long-distance connections between major cities. But on their own they cannot handle the huge passenger volumes. The hundreds of thousands of commuters who travel to and from work by public transport every day in Switzerland travel in normal S-Bahn or double-decker trains. During the morning and evening rush hours these trains are often full to the very last seat. And all predictions indicate that the number of rail passengers will continue to grow substantially. The Swiss Confederation’s transport scenarios assume an increase of more than 50% by 2030. For the cities, calculations indicate growth of up to 100%.
No country has better train and bus services than Switzerland. But recent increases in passenger numbers are stretching the system to its limits, especially at peak travel periods. Switzerland has therefore set clear priorities for future rail expansion: to increase capacity through longer, more frequent trains. Reductions in journey times are less central in view of the already attractive connections, and will therefore be realised at a later date. High-speed trains such as the French TGV and the German ICE are the poster children for their respective country’s transport policy. They provide excellent long-distance connections between major cities. But on their own they cannot handle the huge passenger volumes. The hundreds of thousands of commuters who travel to and from work by public transport every day in Switzerland travel in normal S-Bahn or double-decker trains. During the morning and evening rush hours these trains are often full to the very last seat. And all predictions indicate that the number of rail passengers will continue to grow substantially. The Swiss Confederation’s transport scenarios assume an increase of more than 50% by 2030. For the cities, calculations indicate growth of up to 100%.
No country has better train and bus services than Switzerland. But recent increases in passenger numbers are stretching the system to its limits, especially at peak travel periods. Switzerland has therefore set clear priorities for future rail expansion: to increase capacity through longer, more frequent trains. Reductions in journey times are less central in view of the already attractive connections, and will therefore be realised at a later date.
High-speed trains such as the French TGV and the German ICE are the poster children for their respective country’s transport policy. They provide excellent long-distance connections between major cities. But on their own they cannot handle the huge passenger volumes. The hundreds of thousands of commuters who travel to and from work by public transport every day in Switzerland travel in normal S-Bahn or double-decker trains. During the morning and evening rush hours these trains are often full to the very last seat. And all predictions indicate that the number of rail passengers will continue to grow substantially. The Swiss Confederation’s transport scenarios assume an increase of more than 50% by 2030. For the cities, calculations indicate growth of up to 100%.
Therefore, the Swiss government wants to prioritise its support of increasing capacity. This includes the planned deployment of 400m double-decker trains on the most important traffic axis diagonally across Switzerland, from Geneva in the west via Bern and Zurich to St. Gallen in the east. To accommodate this, some stations will have to lengthen their platforms. And various access routes to the larger stations will have to be extended so that an increased number of S-Bahn trains can travel in the future. In addition, express trains will run every halfhour instead of every hour along certain routes. This requires new track for overtaking, crossings and sidings. Some station buildings will also need to be enlarged, so that the commuters are not stepping on each other’s toes during rush hours.
Switzerland is investing a total of approximately €7 billion (CHF 9 billion) up to 2025 in the expansion of rail infrastructure. The planned measures should make it possible to steer a large proportion of the additional mobility onto rail, so that road traffic does not rise disproportionately. But new funding streams have to be found for the necessary expansion. One plan is to raise ticket prices by 10 to 15%, to involve the cantons in covering the costs, and to reduce the amount that commuters can claim against federal taxes. Even with these new revenues the available funding will be tight, and so measures to speed up connections are being postponed for the moment. We consider this to be reasonable, as Switzerland already has an excellent service with fast connections, thanks to the integral regular-interval timetable and the hub principle. Journey times between the main cities are coordinated and the timetables networked so that connecting trains will usually carry passengers further after only a few minutes’ wait. Most rail travellers in Switzerland are happy with journey times, but often find the tightly packed trains to be more problematic.
The planned expansions to increase capacity will be implemented in a way that ensures it is still possible to raise speeds on particular routes at a later date. The long-term objective is still to lower journey times further, in 20 to 30 years, particularly in the triangle between the cities Basel, Bern and Zurich, and between Bern and Lausanne. Very large investments will be needed to achieve this: new stretches and tunnels will need to be built. But first we are investing in expansions that are less spectacular but that bring greater benefits to passengers in their daily journeys. I am convinced that both Parliament and the voting population will approve our plans and the necessary funding – as always in Switzerland the population has the final word, at the ballot boxes, on how public transport should be designed.